07-13-2018, 11:54 PM
Ed's blog entry Friday ended with five words "our existence is His glory" made me pause and I realized that I couldn't recall a specific moment when I came to the conclusion that my sole purpose for being was to bring God glory. The whole idea of a gradual conversion is anathema to evangelicals because it takes "I" out of redemption. I do remember when I was told I was saved, being a noob I believed what I was told. I was also told that certain things would instantly change but, they didn't so I then told I was backsliding and needed revival because backsliding was caused by a lack of faith which, needed constant self flagellation.
After all these thirty plus years, I've come to realize that what the evangelicals told me was salvation was God tapping me on the shoulder and whispering "I, the LORD, choose you, you're mine kiddo". It took years of study and prayer to begin to know God. Years of horse feathers before I was led to a man like Gordon Noble whose attitude was "welcome, no one cares where you were or what you did yesterday, we love you as God loves us. Let us praise the Lord". It's a rare thing to find a western church that doesn't want to get it's hooks into you and control every thing you do. Not having people trying to indoctrinate me was God's lighting the path that led me here. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
The Way that Jesus taught his disciples, the way the priests, scribes and pharisees had lost, the way the Church in the west has lost. The heart led path of Christ that we are trying to revive begins when turn our back on the world focused church and turn our face towards Jesus Christ and truly embrace: our existence is His Glory. Amen.
After all these thirty plus years, I've come to realize that what the evangelicals told me was salvation was God tapping me on the shoulder and whispering "I, the LORD, choose you, you're mine kiddo". It took years of study and prayer to begin to know God. Years of horse feathers before I was led to a man like Gordon Noble whose attitude was "welcome, no one cares where you were or what you did yesterday, we love you as God loves us. Let us praise the Lord". It's a rare thing to find a western church that doesn't want to get it's hooks into you and control every thing you do. Not having people trying to indoctrinate me was God's lighting the path that led me here. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
The Way that Jesus taught his disciples, the way the priests, scribes and pharisees had lost, the way the Church in the west has lost. The heart led path of Christ that we are trying to revive begins when turn our back on the world focused church and turn our face towards Jesus Christ and truly embrace: our existence is His Glory. Amen.