Monthly Archives: January 2015

Being Cool following Jesus

Following Jesus is a very individual thing to do. There’s no need to be a Stereotyped Christian.

For each person it will be different. Which is why it is so important to actually do this by letting Him live His life through you by His Holy Spirit. Only in that way will the believer ‘get it right’, because God’s way of working with each person is personally tailored to that person. This is the beauty of being a believer (well, one of the many beauties!) because each of us as an individual is respected by God and used individually by Him and related to on a personal basis. Being Christlike does not mean we have to grow a beard and wear sandals – although you can if you like! – but it means we need to be Jesus to those we meet. 1 John 2:6 says that whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

It’s possible to be contemporary, it’s possible to be cool, it’s possible to keep your own personality, and still be Christlike. That’s what individuality is all about. And the brilliant thing about all this is that He can then reach people who are of a like mind – through you. Because the believer associates with his peers, whether at work, the Flying Club or the gaming group, Jesus is at large in the community. The believer is being Jesus to those he meets. Reaching individuals at their level just as He has always done.

Sin, Pharisees and Punishment

A quotation from one of the key Christian books of our time:

“Therefore, we had better have a mechanism in our Christian culture that deals effectively with the sin when it comes out right in front of us.

For whatever reason, we’ve come to expect that church is a place where there isn’t going to be any sin. It is just not true. If we don’t know how to deal with sin, then we don’t know how to deal with people.

We inevitably create a culture of law in order to keep people from sinning. The message of this culture is, ‘Contain your sin within yourself. Don’t show it to me; I can’t handle it’

Remember, this was the Pharisees’ line. They were famous for being afraid of sin, largely due to the fact that the only remedy for sin in their day was various degrees of punishments. The fear of punishment ruled their hearts, relationships, and culture. Jesus, on the other hand, had a group of unlikely companions. They were the thieves, tax collectors, and the hookers of the day. Compared to the other religious leaders at the time, He was like “Jesus of Vegas.” He was not in the least afraid of messes people made in their lives, and of letting them happen around Him. Even the people who spent three years walking personally with Jesus were still making messes the night of His crucifixion.

But ultimately, His love and the way He led people empowered them to rise above their mistakes and issues. ” – Danny Silk, Culture of Honor