Lately, I’ve observed a sense of sorrow over how often Christians, themselves, are the cause of why skeptics never believe in God.
Those supposed to reflect Jesus often act more like the world than Christ. It’s tough to “act like Christ” when it seems as though the world gets perpetually worse.
At the same time, however, communities that truly embody the love, grace, compassionate truth, and gentle healing of Jesus have never been more attractive.
When most of society is tearing each other apart, embodying Jesus gives hope and encouragement for the future.
You don’t want to be one who turns others off from following Christ.
You want to be a catalyst for bringing someone into a deeper walk with Jesus.
But what do you do when you have questions and things you’re wrestling with? Have you ever wrestled with any of these?
1. If Christianity is true, why do church communities struggle so much with loving each other?
First of all, underneath this question is an assumption that we’re wrestling with more than the question itself.
We assume that within the Christian community there is supposed to be a reflection of the love of Jesus Christ. We are wrestling not so much with the question, “Is Christian true?” but rather, “Why don’t we see Jesus in the Christian community?”
In our sub-conscience, because we don’t see Jesus we wonder if he’s there.
Secondly, is it accurate to determine the truthfulness of something based on whether or not it brings about an expected result?
For instance, I recently made myself some oatmeal. The recipe I followed told me to pour a half cup of oatmeal into a bowl, then pour water until it just covers the oatmeal, and then heat it in the microwave for one minute. Suppose I followed it exactly, but it my oatmeal didn’t turn out. Does that make the recipe false?
We don’t often realize it, but we bring certain expectations into our faith. When those expectations aren’t met, we tend to become disillusioned and question core beliefs about whatever faith we adhere too.
As it concerns Christianity, there is a reason why humans struggle to do community with each other well. Understanding the story of scripture and everything that God has been doing throughout history helps us better understand why that is.
Paul also indicates in 1 Corinthians 11:19 that conflict is necessary to bring to light those who are genuine followers of Christ. So don’t get too discouraged by the struggle within the Christian community. It gives us an opportunity to practice the love of Christ ourselves, and it gives us an opportunity to see who are true disciples of Jesus and people we can become close friends with.
2. If the same spirit lives within me that raised Jesus from the dead, why don’t I feel more excitement for reading the Bible or spending time in prayer?
First of all, just because we have the spirit within us that raised Jesus from the dead does not mean we don’t experience the groaning and pains of this world. Paul says in Romans eight that even those of us with the first fruits of the spirit grown inwardly.
He is riffing off of his statement just before this verse that creation groans with the pains of childbirth because corruption has been unleashed throughout it and holds it in bondage. Therefore, as long as we are in this world we will continue to feel those birthing pans as well – even when filled with the Spirit of God.
The process of being conformed into the image of Jesus (Ro. 8:29) is a process of slow and sometimes agonizing transformation.
Secondly, they are very practical reasons why it’s hard to have a meeting for engagement with scripture or why we struggle to feel connected with God in prayer. I think we are living out of one of our misguided expectations when we assume that by being filled with God’s Spirit means there won’t be any work or struggle involved in building a close relationship with him.
Understanding the Scriptures is a process of study and investigation. Experiencing connection with him in prayer is a process Not that unlike dating and the work that goes into getting to know someone intimately.
Having a community of people to journey through this process with can be a beneficial way of discovering delight in God’s Word and deeper communion with him.
3. Does God care about what I’m going through right now?
If you are reading this, You probably know that the good Christian answer is a wholehearted, “Yes!”
And yet you’re still struggling with the question.
Have you ever wondered why we face that question? I mean, if the answer is so clear that God cares about us, why do we go through these seasons where it sure feels like he doesn’t?
Throughout scripture, God gives amazing pictures of how he cares for us. He says as a mother comforts her child, so he cares for us (Is. 66:13). Another place he says he will never leave us nor forsake us (Josh. 1:5). Matthew tells us that Jesus promises to be with us even to the end of time (Matt. 28:20). Jesus expressed God’s care when he wept over Mary and Martha’s loss (Jn. 11:35). Even while hanging on the cross, he made sure his mother was taken care of (Jn. 19:25-27).
If we have so many pictures of how God cares about us throughout the Bible, why does it struggle to feel real to us today?
These are tough questions and ones I have wrestled with as well. They are a big reason why I launched the Finding My Place in God’s Story course. Being able to see what God is doing and how you and everything you’ve experience fits into what he is doing can be a rewarding and healing process. It’s necessary for being able to go and embody the love and grace and truth of Jesus to others.
One member shared in response to a discussion about whether God cares about what happens to us:
“Thank you Asher this was so timely and an answer from God. Sometimes I feel I am losing my mind and then I read something like this and I totally feel in control and sane. He’s leading me out of my depression the long hard and right way. His way.”
Understanding God and embodying Jesus in our communities isn’t always easy, but it is a lot easier when we can process our questions and struggles together.
There is still time to enroll in Finding My Place in God’s Story. I invite you to join us today!
Maybe you are interested in the course, but have some questions about the course itself. Various people have been emailing me with some of these questions, so let me take the time to respond directly here.Grace and peace.
How many hours per week do you estimate that one should expect to reserve to properly benefit from the course?
The course is designed to easily fit into a busy schedule. Each week, you receive one video lesson ranging from 10-20 minutes.
A workbook accompanies the video lessons that involves as much or as little time as you prefer. Some people may spend an hour just filling out the workbook, others may fill it out fairly quickly in 10-20 minutes. A few previous members didn’t even utilized the workbook, but just watched the videos. It’s there to help internalize everything more if you wish.
Also, the videos are very much designed to be something you can listen to as you’re doing something else. The app allows you to watch/listen to them on your mobile device anywhere at any time.
Then there are monthly meetups where I connect with whoever wants to jump on a Zoom call for an hour and discuss things we’re learning.
I point out articles, podcasts, or other books along the way, but they aren’t necessary for the course, if that makes sense.
How many months will the course take?
The course runs for 24 weeks. So, basically 6 months.
What is the total cost of the course?
We charge a monthly fee for the course because access to the course gives you access to this course, future courses made available, PLUS all member content. So, you can either have the membership for just six months while going through the course, or you can continue on and be able to access everything else even after you’ve finished Finding My Place in God’s Story.
If you choose to pay annually, however, you can save 16%. So here’s the specific breakdown:
- Monthly fee = $35
- Total cost after 6 months = $210
- Annual fee = $352.80 (which comes to $29.40/mo)
How do I sign up correctly?
The best way to sign up is to to click the button below:
Drop a message in the comments below if you have any more questions or if any of my answers to these aren’t very clear.
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