Why The "Panicking Christian"?

Like most Christians, I occasionally find myself in a borderline, all out panic about something which I already knew, but seem to have forgotten or that I only knew in my head, as opposed to my heart. And mercifully, God decides to show me what is really going on or what it is that I needed to know, before I completely lose my mind.

So the writing within is just that. It is that which God has shown and taught me while I was typically in one of those times in my life. Since the way in which He has chosen to reveal things to me tend to be fairly easy to follow and understand, I am sharing them via this format. That said, I take no glory for any of this. It is God whom has given me the ability to write, and it is He who has given me the content to write as well and He who saved me by His glorious grace in the first place.

Friday, September 23, 2011

One Year Later

How about a quickie Q & A towards the believers, to get things rolling?

Do you know why you are called a "Christian"?

Do you know why those in the early church - apostles included - came to identify themselves as "Christians"?

I do not mean how the word came into being, I mean do you know why we are called by that name?

Quick answer time: because...drum roll please... we follow CHRIST! Shocking, eh?

Well, it might be for some actually.

Father, Son, Spirit. All three different, yet the same. No matter how you try and describe or think or picture them together as One, something always seems lacking somewhat. I suspect it is a slight limitation of our own minds to be honest - although really, who wants to follow a God you can figure out easily with your own brain power - takes away from some of the reverent awe.

Now I have known people who focus primarily on the Spirit. Not such a bad thing to pay attention to Him since He does tend to get less attention than He truly deserves by times. After all, it is He and His presence and power that makes life even possible for us not to mention ministry, etc. Unfortunately, some focus a tad too much on Him and really, for a lot of wrong reasons. What wrong reasons could there be? Well, how about only looking to and for Him to get what you want out of Him? "Make me giggle, make me cry, make me quiver, make me feel warm and fuzzy, etc". Now do not take me to be saying anything against the experience of the manifest presence of God Almighty. But it is those who come and seek Him as more of a parlor magician at a kids party (pull a rabbit out of your hat, make a balloon animal, pull scarves out of your nose, etc) than the Spirit of God Himself, whom I personally think may have some off motives. And really, somehow I cannot picture Him being pleased with being looked at in that way - He is God after all.

Others focus primarily on God the Father. Again, nothing wrong with focusing on Him. He is God after all. He is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Eternal, Invisible, Creator, Awesome. He is God. 'Nuff said. We are told that we are not to worry as God will provide for us (isn't that a hard one by times?). That He takes care of us. That He knew us even before we were born (that's pretty cool if you think about it). He is very much Father. Which is why we also get discipline from Him as well. After all, sometimes children need correction to keep them from going in a direction that may cause them immediate, or latter, pain and problems. We are by far, no different. Perhaps, identifying God the Father as "merely" being in a provider/parent role is over simplifying His position and role, but it does get the point across for the time being. Again, not saying not to focus on Him either anymore than we are to ignore the Spirit.

Now here is where things get interesting. I have found that sometimes, some of us, in our quest for knowledge and understanding (among other things) seem to forget a few, somewhat important, tidbits. Such as, you may wonder. How about:

The CROSS.

It was Jesus who took the cross. Jesus who bled. Jesus who died to pay the price for OUR sins - not His, ours. Jesus who rose and kicked the tar out of death in the process. It is Jesus who bought us - totally - at a high price - His own blood.

It is Jesus to whom we belong. Jesus to whom we owe our allegiance. It is Jesus whom we follow. Just as the apostles followed Him. We are His disciples. We are not called disciples of the Spirit. Nor of the Father. In Jesus' own words, to see Him is to see the Father. He and the Father are One.

The early church knew the person of the Holy Spirit far better than I suspect most of us do. They did not follow Him. They relied on Him for guidance, counsel and power to do whatever it was that needed done in the moment - whether that just surviving life or raising the dead. The Spirit testifies about the person of Christ Jesus - he points to Him - He bring us closer to knowing Him from the inside out.

The Old Testament talked about Him constantly - pointed to Him (ever read the OT just to see "how" many places Jesus is referenced to - is pretty cool to say the least).

Jesus is our Savior, our Shepherd, our Master and our King.

In the end, it is very much all about Jesus.

And if you lose sight of who He is, and who He is to be to you, you are in deep doo doo.

Remember The Father. Do not ignore The Spirit. And, no matter what, do not forget about The Son.

So one year after the Panicking Christian left hard copy and went online, I had thought that perhaps this timely post would be something reflective. Or perhaps with all the changes in my life, it would be more relevant to change and holding on. Apparently though, it seems that a quick back to the basics has been the order of the day instead. Go figure, what He wants me to write and what I thought I wanted to write turned out to be different things (bit of sarcasm there - it happens ALOT).

Thank you for reading and being a part of this with me. As always, to God goes the glory. Forever and ever, Amen.