Minor Thoughts from me to you

How many regular church members could explain the Gospel this clearly, succinctly, and correctly?

I went to Mars Hill for the first time that January. I sat near the door in case it was weird. It was not at all like I had feared it would be. Here were happy people full of hope and purpose in their lives. "You've got to be kidding me," I said to myself. I didn't know how to respond.

I met two guys who took me to lunch afterward. I explained to them that I couldn't understand why they were so full of joy. I explained that I was a pretty good person, had cleaned up my act somewhat, and still could not find God despite years of fruitless seeking and searching. I explained that everything and everybody had let me down, from my father onward, and that I had been defiled. I was jealous of them, for it was clear to me that day that they were loved of God and I was not.

They pointed out that my attempts at finding God were going nowhere because I had fashioned a god to suit myself and worshiped according to my own preference and superstition. A voice inside my head cried out your whole worldview is sin. God created you. You did not create him! I began to see that I had been wrong about life, God, and everything.

They told me they had some good news. "You have tried to worship what you do not know," they said. "Now you can worship the Living God in spirit and in truth. God became the man Jesus Christ to live a perfect life and then die on the cross to pay for your sins with his own blood. Jesus Christ did not just die. He rose again and is alive today and reigns as God at the right hand of the Father. In him we have reconciliation with God and forgiveness of our sins. If you will give your life to Jesus today and repent of your sins, God will adopt you into his family and you will have eternal life."

Changed by Jesus #16: Trust in the Truth

Right on. I Praise God for what he's doing at Mars Hill Seattle.

(Via The Mission & Vision.)