Viral Faith

See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:19 Recently, I had a spiritual breakthrough.  It was not that I received a new message or gained new information.  It was perspective regarding the nature of authentic faith.  I believe that God is continually doing new things in our lives and communities.  There is no room for complacency or commonplaceness in following Jesus.  So, if God is creating in us a newness of life, equipping us for new challenges, and sending us new journeys, why is the Christian faith so dull, life-sucking (instead of life-giving), and fear-based in so many people who identify themselves as Christian?  Here are four reasons why we may have misdirected faith: 1. We misunderstand the radicalness of the calling to follow Jesus .  In the Bible, Jesus asked his disciples to follow him. To follow, meant to leave lifestyles, vocations, and even relationships behind to fo...

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 There is a sense of radicalness in the call of Jesus and a decision to follow him.  In the gospels, as Jesus invites his potential disciples to follow him, he expects an all or nothing response.  The disciples either drop everything and immediately follow Jesus (Mark 1:16-20) or they attempt to fit Jesus into their plans, priorities, and agenda (Luke 9:57-62, 14:25-33).  Those who attempt to make a nominal decision (a decision in name, but not radically changing their lives) are rejected by Jesus as disciples.   Its strange to talk about Jesus rejecting anyone, because Jesus offers an invitation to all, regardless of background, religiosity, character, or experience (Rev 21:6).  However, the invitation is not without expectation.  There is a sense in Jesus' call of "leaving" before "following".  In the call of Andrew and Peter, as well...