If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?
I would want to be one of the earlier followers of Jesus from the Bible.
I would have liked to have been present at His miracles, His sermons and the every day conversations along the road or around the camp fire.
To be present to see Lazarus raised from the dead, the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, demons caste out and Jesus walking on the water would have been priceless.
I am so thankful we have these things recorded in the pages of the Bible, but to be there would have been amazing.
So who would I be from a book? One of Jesus’ early followers.
My wife often has worship music playing in our home. This one was on today. What a beautiful song by Jordan Feliz. Please enjoy!
Satisfied
I have stumbled through the darkest of valley’s And I have climbed upon the highest of hills All my travelling has brought me to your fountain And all I want is to come and drink my fill All I want is to come and drink my fill
My heart Your throne This life belongs to You and You alone Let there be No divide And only You may my soul be satisfied
There is beauty that can lead into temptation There are voices that will call me far away But I have found in my surrender Your salvation And in Your love I’ve come to find a resting place Yes, in Your love I’ve come to find a resting place
My heart Your throne This life belongs to You and You alone Let there be No divide And only You may my soul be satisfied
There broken, there thirsty Who long for Your mercy Can run to You only You And peace everlasting Beyond understanding In You only You
My heart Your throne This life belongs to You and You alone Let there be No divide And only You may my soul be satisfied And only You may my soul be satisfied
One of the things Bible college did was teach me to read outside my church tradition. By this I mean do not just read things that are written by people in your denomination.
The Bible college I attended had lecturers from across the Christian traditions. We had people from evangelical, pentecostal, orthodox and even catholic churches as lecturers. Most were open to tell us which tradition they came from, some would not tell us. They wanted us to try and guess during the semester.
I found this really helpful in understanding what people and various churches taught. I think it made me more open to learn and to help me solidify some of my own beliefs. It also showed me that we have way more in common than differences.
For one of my theology units we used the textbook “The Mosaic of Christian Belief” by Roger E. Olsen. It took a topic and broke it down as follows for example on creation…
Issues and polarities of christian beliefs about creation.
The consensus christian beliefs about creation.
Alternates to the christian consensus about creation.
Diverse christian beliefs about creation.
A unitive christian view on creation.
Looking at topics from this perspective gave us a broad overview of what christians believe today about an issue and positions held down through the ages.
Since finishing Bible college I have continued this habit. Last year I read a number of books from the Catholic tradition, this year I am reading more Anglican books and catechisms.
Some might think of this as not helpful or even a little bit “dangerous”, but I do it through the lens of Bible college and being well formed in my beliefs. I can eat the meat and spit out the bones as they say.
Being open to other traditions has helped me to read the early church fathers, read the catholic and anglican catechisms, read about the lives of the Saints, and about praying with the catholic rosary and anglican prayer beads.
Reading from other traditions has helped me grow in my faith. Not only do I understand different positions a little bit more, but I have learned and incorporated new things in to my personal faith.
The Bible tells us to forget not the benefits that God gives us in our relationship with Him (Psalm 133:1-5). What then do we gain from our new life in Christ?
Catechism number 15 lets us know…
What does God grant in your new life in Christ?
God grants me reconciliation with him (2 Corinthians 5:17–19), forgiveness of my sins (Colossians 1:13–14), union with him in Christ (Romans 6:3–5), adoption into his family (Galatians 4:4–7), citizenship in his kingdom (Ephesians 2:19–21; Philippians 3:20), new life in the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4–5), and the promise of eternal life ( John 3:16; 1 John 5:12).
When I first became a Christian there was a saying, “I am not religious, I have a relationship with Jesus”. It was meant to show that I do not just perform religious duties, but actually walk with Jesus like in the image above.
I have said this many times to people over the years. My heart was to show people there was more to my faith than just fulfilling “religious” duties, it was about being in relationship with Jesus.
The further I go on this journey of life I realise that being religious and being in relationship are both as important as each other. While we can do one without the other, it is best when we do both.
If we look up the definition of being religious in the dictionary it describes it as three things…
relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity
of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances
scrupulously and conscientiously faithful
When I think of the three things above, I want to be all three of them. I want to be faithfully devoted to my God, faithfully devoted to my beliefs, and conscientiously faithful.
The same goes for being in relationship with Jesus. Let us see the definition of the word relationship…
the state of being related or interrelated
a romantic or passionate attachment
the relation connecting or binding participants in a relationship: such as kinship
It is the same again. I want to be in a passionate relationship with Jesus, I want to be interrelated with God as His child, and I want to be bound to Him.
I want to be religious in my devotion to God. I want to do the things that make my connection strong, things like praying, reading the Bible, serving others, and spending time with people who share my faith.
These “religious” things also help me to walk closely with Jesus. It makes and keeps my relationship strong and growing. It keeps my roots firmly planted in Him.
Reflection verses
Colossians 2:6-7 NLT [6] And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. [7] Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
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