Faith & God

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The Life of the Party

Did you know that God loves a good party?

If the average Christian is asked to describe God, we usually come up with terms like holy, perfect, provider, healer, good, all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, and so forth. Of course, these are all accurate, and we do well to keep them in mind.

Non-believers are often less upbeat. God has quite the reputation as a glowering wet blanket, someone who thinks that if it’s fun, it’s sinful. Unfortunately, churches with rules such as no dancing, no playing cards, (and certainly no alcoholic beverages), build into that stereotype. It appears that God really needs a new PR firm. (Oh, wait, that’s the Church’s job!)

This may come as quite a surprise, but I’d like to point out that God really is a fun sort of guy.

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Unbelief

For the second time in as many months, someone near and dear to me has announced that they’re going through a crisis of faith. One person is still struggling, questioning God’s very existence, while the other has concluded that God does not exist.

In both cases, I knew they were investigating various philosophical viewpoints, but they presented themselves as solid believers. There was no hint of the struggle happening on the inside, until each one in turn chose to disclose it.

These pronouncements have left friends and families reeling. Both spouses were blindsided. They thought the faith they shared was the firm foundation of their respective marriages. Now, the most important part of their lives has become a divisive issue.

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Read This

I don’t normally borrow material from other blogs, but this article by my friend Cynthia Bezek is too good to miss. I can’t re-post it here, since it’s copyrighted by NavPress, but I can send you to her site.

So click on over to “Let’s Talk” and be blessed by what Cynthia wrote about God’s answers to prayer. As her title states, there is An Alternative to “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait”!

Then read some of her previous posts. I think you’ll agree that her blog is well worth subscribing to.

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I Love My Body

Last time I examined some reasons people give for going to church. Today I want to talk about why I go. It isn’t the singing, although that’s important. And it isn’t the sermon, although I enjoy listening and learning. It isn’t even because of the many times I’m intensely aware of God’s presence during the service, although that’s a side-effect of being together. (God meets me in other circumstances as well.)

The main reason I go to church is because that’s where the body is. Following God is something we just can’t do alone.

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Why Do You Go to Church?

Why do you go to church?

I hadn’t really thought about it before… that’s what Christians do, right? But then several people challenged my assumptions, and this question has been nagging me ever since.

I didn’t always go to church. My family wasn’t “religious” and church wasn’t part of my childhood. When I became a believer, at the end of my freshman year in college, all my Christian friends assumed I’d be going to church with them—so I did. I’ve been attending church regularly ever since.

Recently, during my search for a meaningful church experience, I re-examined my purpose in attending a weekend service. What was the point? I searched through scripture, talked to friends, and read books and articles. Along the way, I learned a few things.

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Mission Myth 8: It’s All Strategic

I’ve been commenting on an article by Shane Bennett that appeared several years ago in Missions Catalyst.

In his two-part post on Top Ten Myths about Missions , Bennett explained:

I want to understand how the average Lou and Sue, sitting in the pew, think about missions stuff. … From what I’ve seen there are some serious misconceptions floating around in our churches, at least some of our churches. We could call these collective assumptions, beliefs that simply don’t reflect reality, “myths.”

If you want to read all ten myths now, check out the article online. You can see my other articles on this topic by choosing God:World under “Categories” on the right-hand column of my blog page.

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Measuring God’s Approval Rating

I’ve been grumbling way too much lately. Whining. Complaining. I hadn’t even realized that I’d gotten into the habit until my long-suffering husband pointed it out. And when he did, I didn’t exactly feel a rush of appreciation—“Gee honey, you’re right, thank you so much for telling me that I’ve been a grouch.” Instead, I retreated to my wife-cave (hey, if men can have caves, why not women?) and sulked. I even complained to God about Pete’s remarks! Then, gently but firmly, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to what I’d been doing. Sheesh. How embarrassing.

In the Evangelical Hierarchy of Sins, complaining isn’t the worst offense. In fact, I doubt we’d put it in the top ten. But God has a different perspective.

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Talking about Politics and Religion

Religion and politics are the two topics a genteel person is not supposed to discuss with company. I assume that’s because we usually have strong opinions on both of these topics and a civilized discussion can rapidly disintegrate into an all-out war, with normally well-mannered guests popping up from behind the sofas to lob verbal grenades at one another.

However, an article on CNN’s website caught my attention—and it deals with both religion and politics:

According to a poll released [last week] by the Public [Religion] Research Institute and Religion News Service, most Americans (56%) say it is somewhat or very important for a presidential candidate to have strong religious beliefs.

I have to agree. I want my president to have the fear of God deep down in his or her soul! However, the news report goes on to say:

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Worth the Wait

For the last several years, a friend of mind has been praying for a door to open. While she waits, her life is on hold—career, education, family—it all hinges on God’s answer. And until now, God didn’t say no, but He didn’t say yes either. In fact, He didn’t say anything at all.

Last week, she finally received an answer to her prayers. Amid the joy and excitement of God’s “Yes!” there’s the nagging question of why did God wait so long? From our perspective, He could have answered years ago. Even if He wanted her to wait, it would have been a huge help to know how long the wait was going to be. If you’re a planner, like I am, you understand.

Instead, God was silent while my friend prayed… and prayed… and prayed….

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Door-to-Door Seed Sowing?

Picture this: two extremely “clean cut” young men on bicycles, dressed in nearly identical blue suits, skinny ties, white shirts. They’ve each got a leather binder under one arm, and they’re pedaling from house to house, knocking on doors.

At this point, you’re probably pretty confident that I’m talking about either Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons. Both groups are noted for their determined door-to-door evangelism. Perhaps as a result, the Jehovah’s Witnesses can be described as the fastest-growing religion in America (as a percentage of their relatively small membership[1].)

Most evangelical churches don’t expect their members to knock on doors in an effort to win converts. (I’d look pretty awful in a navy blue suit, not to mention the mandatory haircut.) But I vividly remember my freshman year in college, when two upper class students from Campus Crusade came to my dorm room. An ardent atheist at the time, I’m embarrassed to confess that I wasn’t exactly cordial.

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