The other day I met a lady and when she found out that my husband is a pastor, she ran down a litany of questions. "Have you seen 'God's Not Dead'? So you listen to Toby Mac? Oh, you home school too? What curriculum do you use? Have you used (favorite 'Christian' curriculum here)? Have you read (current favorite book at Christian bookstore)?"
I have been subjected to this line of questioning quite a bit since moving to Oregon. Very good, well-meaning people asking me the same questions. I think I finally understand why.
There seems to be, within people who if asked would identify themselves as "Christians", a popular culture. There are preachers we "should" all be listening to (Voddy Bauchmann, Paul Washer, and around here, Matt Fox), authors we "should" all be reading (Lysa Teurkhurst, James Dobson, Gary Chapman), and music we "should" all be dancing with (Casting Crowns, Selah, MercyMe).
Please know that I do or have listened, read, or feebly danced with, many of the above.
But the line of question is asked not because of a desire to get to know me or genuinely learn about me. It is asked to judge if I am a "Christian". If I preform well on the Quiz on "Christian" Culture, then I am judged as a Christian. I am one of the group, a true follower of Jesus. There are smiles and nods and secret inside "high-fives".
If I don't, which my husband usually doesn't, because beyond the music he doesn't really care to keep up with the books and the preachers (more on that later), he receives puzzled, quizzical looks of bewilderment. "Is this guy for REAL?!? He's a pastor and he doesn't know (current Christian icon)?!? What kind of church/pastor is this?!?" (He probably hasn't noticed, but I have noticed.)
Hmmmm. . . . .
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ----Hebrews 11:1
A
wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall
no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left
them, and departed.----Matthew 16:4
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.-----Romans 10:17
The just shall live by faith.------Hebrews 10:38
What I figured out is that there are a lot of people identifying with the culture of Christianity that very likely aren't Christians at all.
Although only God can judge the heart of a man, He did leave us with a means of inspecting someone's Christian walk: judging the fruits of their lives.
But the most important thing we can judge is our own lives. (Actually the books of 1, 2, and 3 John are great at helping us judge ourselves).
The verse in Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the word of God. What is the word of God? Jesus is called the "the Word", and Jesus told us in John that when He left earth that the "Comforter would come unto you, and he will speak those things that testify of me." The Bible isn't Jesus. Jesus is Jesus.
I hear a lot of the time, "God really spoke to me in that song/book/preacher", and while God can certainly use those things. . . .He doesn't have to HAVE those things. He is God, and He is big enough to communicate to His children through, as Elijah and so many have discovered, the "still small voice" of the Spirit.
Which brings me back to the point on exile.
The apostle John was not martyred for the cause of Christ unlike the other disciples, but was rather sent to exile on the Isle of Patmos. "Patmos" means "my killing" in the Greek. This was not a place where a person would want to be. And although he was exiled from his own people, he wasn't exiled from all people, as Patmos had temples erected to false gods.
There were quite possibly no other Christian people on Patmos. Maybe there were, maybe there weren't, but it is pretty easy to see that Patmos was not an island set up on Christian principles.
And yet------this is where God gave him THE REVELATION. As in, THE book of Revelation.
In fact, John writes in the very beginning, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day . . . "
John was in the Spirit, in the presence of God. . .. in the absence of a Bible to read, or the works of other Christian authors, musicians, and movie producers.
John was certainly a blessed man with a special job from God. He wrote the book of Revelation and the books of John, and is someone I KNOW I need to be more like.
But the Spirit of God is given to all who are truly known of God. John himself tells us that in 1 John 2:27: But the anointing which
ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man
teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is
truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in
him.
Do you have real faith in Jesus? If you were suddenly unplugged from Christian culture, would you find comfort in just being in the presence of God? Have you ever really been in the presence of God? Being with the Lord is incredibly humbling-----those in the Bible who found themselves in God's presence, even someone like Joshua, fell on their faces before the Lord in fear and humility. If you haven't had an experience where you felt like that in prayer, where you felt humbled and lowly and unworthy, you need to talk to God about it. Salvation is that kind of experience. If your salvation experience didn't include humility and repentance and then a peace from God, you need to make sure that you really have salvation.
If you have had that experience and are like me, do you run too quickly to Christian culture to meet your spiritual needs? I know for me, when I have a problem with my relationships or something else and I need answers, it is very tempting to open a book or turn on the radio rather than humbly pray and seek God for what HE wants me to do.
Why? Because it is easier! There is no waiting on the Lord. It is instant, fast. . . and not specifically accurate to me. Why would I not go to God, when He made me and knows exactly what I need? Because I may have some repenting to do for my sins to Him before I can really start to pray and seek God for what I need. Oh, and the biggest one of all:
He may want me to sacrifice some things in my life if I start asking Him to help me.
Christian media doesn't generally do that. It kinda leaves it on my terms to define what it means to me.
But the Holy Spirit gets right down where you live at. You don't even know what you don't know about yourself. But when you get into the presence of His light and it shines in the dark corners of your heart----then you have a problem to get solved, and it's probably going to hurt. Because God is GOD, and wants to "Lord" over your life. He won't force Himself on you, but He does desire that we kill off our desires and live our lives the way He would want us to.
Friends and loved ones, may we all strive to follow JESUS. Actually JESUS. Not some song or book or movie about Him. Not a preacher who talks about Him.
But may we fall in love with Jesus.
I used to be a little dismayed that my hubby didn't follow "the culture", and when I would see someone give him the look I would scramble on the inside to find something to say to give this person evidence that he was "legit".
Not anymore.
I don't care if he knows the culture, because I realized long ago that, although not perfectly, he actually follows Jesus. He seeks Him in prayer when he has a problem he can't solve far faster than I used to, but this journey has caused me to be a faster learner that I thought I could be.
You are all loved. May God bless you today and always-----
Sandra
