Thabiti's book (I just like the name Thabiti.)

Well, I'm here! I'm not gunna ignore the fact that I haven't posted in 2 months; I'm just not going to talk about it. A few things have changed in my life in the past 2 months - some disappointing, but others proof of God's grace (undeserved favor) on me. Relationships have changed... some are leaving and some are beginning to grow. Life is exciting, really. It's always interesting how things turn out. I've had some great expectations for what I thought my summer would look like. However, that's not how it's gunna be, and I'm very glad. I think this is the first post I've made since I got a Mac! That's cool...

I've partially put off writing because it HAS been so long and I'm just not even sure what to say. But I've got to start some time, so here we go. One of the sorta big things that has happened between my last post and now is that I'm officially a member of my church, Brainerd Baptist. They have a "Membership Matters" class for people who are interested in becoming a member, or just learning more about our church. Parts of the class are boring because it's basic knowledge - facts that are crucial to the foundation of church membership, but just stuff that I've known since I've grown up in churches. Other parts of it were interesting, but my favorite part was all the new, free stuff I got (consumer Christian, I know). They gave me four new books, 3 that I didn't have before.

The one my college pastor suggested I read first is What Is A Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile (yeah I can't say it either). It gives 10 marks of a healthy church member, and if I had thought about this before finishing chapter 8, I would've written a post on every chapter. But... I'm too anxious to read other books this summer to go back and read it again just to blog about it. Mark 7 (of a healthy church member) says that a healthy church member seeks discipline. Since school has been out and my work schedule isn't consistent right now, it's so much harder for me to designate a time for reading the Bible. I can't blame my schedule though. The only thing I can blame is my own lack of discipline, apathetic attitude, and forgotten faith that the Word can speak truth into my life and that it is how God speaks to me personally.

Thabiti's book helped me to examine myself by asking these questions:

• As we read the Bible, are we reading for information only or with faith that God actually speaks through his Word?
• Is our first reaction to the Scripture "how does this make me feel?" or "do I accept this as true?" Do we allow our feelings to determine what's true, or do we allow the Scriptures to determine our feelings?

We should receive the Word "with a friendly and submissive heart." "Specifically, we accept the fact that the Bible is true, that it's the only sufficient authority for shaping our lives, and that it must govern how we feel and think."

This helped me to realize that the reason I just haven't been excited about being in the Word everyday is even though I know the Bible is true and God's avenue of communication for us, I "forgot." I wasn't applying the truth to my heart and applying it to my life. If I had been truly believing that God will speak and that I'm doing more than gleaning information, I would have found a desire for reading it. "The Bible was not written to satisfy your curiousity; it was written to transform your life" (not sure who said that, but I remember it).

When a believer is seeking discipline (mark 7), he/she will be a growing disciple (mark 8).

I know I'm not the only Christian whose had those months of no growth. It's so easy in a Christian environment with Bible classes and chapels to rely on that for my spiritual feeding. But, that's not ultimately satisfying because that's not how God designed for us to be nourished. What I learned from this chapter is that I should always be striving for maturity. Here are some quotes and main points from chapter 8 in Thabiti's book:

• "We're far too vulnerable to settling for being thought of as mature rather than actually being mature."

• We get stuck in a performance trap that hinders growth. - So many things in American culture are measured by performance (sports stats, grammy awards, etc...) and we carry that mindset over to our relationship with the Lord. If we have enough quiet times, read enough books, and listen to enough sermons, then we're spiritually healthy, right? No - This isn't growth.

• Growth is also not relative to how the other Christians around you are doing. You're not a strong Christian just because you are surrounded by weaker ones. God won't compare us to others when he judges our lives. 

• "Self-effort is not the source of true spiritual growth." This was probably the root of my lack of discipline. I so often revert back to my own strength to grow spiritually instead of asking the Spirit to mature me. "Holy Scripture tells us that our progress in discipleship and spiritual maturity depends on the grace and will of God, not on our own self-effort and strength."

I might write a post on the next 2 chapters if I feel like it. But God has used this book to convict me, and I definitely recommend it. It's simple enough for the normal person to understand but profound enough to challenge you. And the best part was... it was free. :)