Jump

Hello Brothers and Sisters,
It's been far too long since I've blogged on this blog. I've had some amazing (and not so amazing) things happen to me in the past two months I'd like to share.
First, school is back which is a blessing. I love being in Wise. I love being able to be around my friends. But, probably one of my favorite things about Wise is Wednesday night Bible Study. This fall, we decided to read Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I looove Rob Bell...for the most part. Sometimes, the man irks me (not as much as Beth Moore did at the end of last year...holy cow) but I love this book. I think I like it because it challenges me.
So...I'm going to put quotes into this blog from this book. I might have side notes about these quotes but know, this is where I am in my faith walk right now. Tomorrow, I might look at this quote and feel like it's speaking differently to me. Next year, one of these passages might be different. I don't know...what I do know is God is always behind these words.
"When it comes to faith, everyone has it"
"The real question isn't whether we have it [faith] or not, but what we have put it in." What have you put your faith in? Who are you blindly following?
"In his compassion, peace, truth telling, and generosity, he [Jesus] was showing us God." Do we mirror God?
"God is the ultimate reality. There is nothing more beyond God."
"God has no thingness because there's no end to God" I find that scary and comforting at the same time.
"If there is a divine being who made everything, including us, what would our expereinces with this being look like? The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God. We are dealing with somebody we made up. And if we made him up, then we are in control. And so in passage after passage, we find God reminding peopel that he is beyond and bigger and more."
In regards to people proving that Jesus wasn't born of a virgin...what if people proved something that contridicted the Christian faith..."Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian?"
"You can jump and still have questions."
"Questions bring freedom."
"Maybe that is who God is looking for-people who don't just sit there and mindlessly accept whatever comes their way."
"Truth always leads to more...truth."
"It is possible in these settings to be in, and to believe all of the correct things, and even to be effective at getting others in, and yet our hearts can remain unaffected. It's possble to believe all the right things and be miserable. It's possible to believe all the right doctrines and not live as Jesus teaches us to live."

Friends, please read this book. These are just some of the things I noted while I read. The next blog entry will be about the second movement.
Love you all.