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The reading today mentions the disparity between what Christians say they believe and how they live. Why do you think this disparity exists and how do you hope to see God work in your life through the 10-week Rooted experience?
If you missed yesterday, you can catch up using the navigation arrow at the bottom and don’t forget about the rules here for this challenge.
I’m the only Christian in my family (I have 3 brothers). I’m constantly wondering:”when they compare Kathy and I and our kids to theirs, what difference does this ‘Jesus’ make in their lives?”
I mean we all live in nice houses, drive nice cars, go on a few nice vacations/year and send our kids to good universities. Besides going to church on Sundays, how are our priorities different?
Jesus taught us, his followers, how to pray. In the last few lines, we pray:” THINE kingdom come, THY will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Tragically in RP as well as most western churches, what we really live out is “MY kingdom come, MY will be done.” And so our lives become indistinguishable from our non-Christian friends/family..devoid of impact/influence and transformation.
“Who DOES that?” Is what I want my non-christian family and friends to ask when they see how we follow Jesus.
Bumble/Jenney open up their home to foreign exchange students to share the Gospel to them. Who DOES that? People who are in love with Jesus and what he’s done for them..that’s who.
May Rooted be used by the Holy Spirit to transform RP into a community of self-less Jesus followers who prioritize His kingdom over our own, who find out daily that he was right when he said in Matthew 16:
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
For me, I would have to say that the main reason that exists between what we profess to believe and how we live has much to do with the lack of practicing living out our faith through the spiritual disciplines, (or rhythms,) as described in our study. In AA, there is a saying: “we can’t think our way into right action, but we can act our way into right thinking.” There is much truth to this🤔 As I reflect upon my own experience, if I am not in God’s Word, praying, repenting, serving, giving, sharing, or worshipping on a consistent basis, I easily fall prey to becoming distracted by the cares and concerns of this world and the desires of my own flesh. I easily forget the reality of the unseen realm, and begin to lose sight of God’s eternal kingdom work He no longer reigns in my heart and life. In short, it turns into “self will run riot!” Of course, salvation is a gift of God’s grace, through faith, and not a result of our own works or anything that we do, but we are also told to “work out our own salvation.” I have to say that my hope for this Rooted experience is that we will all develop spiritual routines and patterns in our life that help to keep our eyes on Jesus, draw our hearts closer to God, and keep us “fighting the good fight of faith” together as His people😁
(Dylan)
This common disparity among Christians is more common than we believe it to be. Many people like me have always said that I believed in a certain belief but never actually “lived” it. It’s so much easier to say that you believe in a set of values rather than taking it to heart and trying to live this lifestyle. In my opinion, religion is a lifestyle, and taking the necessary steps to find God’s made path for you is the goal. I recently attended Church with my friends because I believe I have him to thank for my current life and situation. I’ve never been happier than where I am today and it’s important for me to not only show my belief in him when I am at my lowest but also show that I am grateful for the path he has put me on.
The disparity exists, sadly, because of the lack of accountability. It’s easy for Christians to say they believe, but no one rarely check up on the way they live to see if they match with what they profess.
Applications (or the next steps) were given at the end of almost all of the sermons, but no one bothered to check if anyone actually follows through.
So as I put myself in a group of guys for this Rooted experience, I am hoping that these brothers will keep me accountable on what I share and what I say I would do.
I believe the disparity exists because we haven’t experienced a true transformation by God. The misconception is that merely attending church or being raised in a Christian family automatically makes someone a Christian. Being a Christian means being a follower of Christ, and it involves an internal transformation that reflects in our outward actions. Christians often struggle to live in alignment with God’s ways and commands because good deeds alone don’t bring about change; it’s only through Jesus that we can truly transform. My prayer is that through this 10-week journey, God’s truth will deeply touch our hearts, leading to a transformation that narrows or eliminates the gap between our words and our actions.
This disparity exists because perhaps everyday there is constantly a battle between flesh and spirit. Romans 8 paints the perfect picture. For the most part we all have a good grasp and understanding of Jesus dying for our sins and so we are saved by Christ. Thats a universal concept that even nonbelievers can tell you. But Christ being our salvation and what follows is another story. We are to daily seek our daily bread, constantly seek to feed the spirit. How does this work? We find ways to know more about Christ, find ways to be more like him. If we seek, we shall find it. Those who find shelter in the most high will abide in the shadows of the mighty one. So essentially when we still feed into the fleshly desires, fall to the temptations of the world, we literally pushing ourselves away from the life of Christ, creating this disparity between what we believe and how we live.
I hope to learn more about the life of a Christ and how I can root myself deeper in him that even through fatigue and tiredness that it is routine for me to fall back on the ways of the Lord.
There are actually times when I feel the disparity between what Christians believe and the way they live. I think the reason for this is that while it is very easy to be influenced by the world, it is often very difficult to follow God and forget if we are not continually aware of it. I often think deeply about the difference between the two. This is the thing I would like to study more. And I hope that these 10 weeks will help me to think about my relationship with God and how I want to change my life and how I want to live.