Living a Jesus Centered Life

This weekend my wife and I were discussing how we felt about our new church. I have enjoyed my experience at the church. I feel like myself with friends and relationships that make me feel alive. The church is unconventional as I have stated in previous posts. I find it a great challenge to my own spiritual life. Anyways, my wife has not had such an easy time getting used to church. She has told me that part of the reason that she finds it hard to be comfortable with open style of our church is that she has been doing "church" for so long.

This Sundays discussion was about living a more Jesus centered life. A life of relationship with Jesus not following all the rules of the "church." "Church" could also be inter-changed with "the law" as in the law of the old testament. Jesus and Paul told us that Jesus came to make a new covenant. One that would do away with the rules and regulations of "the law." Our pastor stated that Christianity was supposed to be the anti-religion. Jesus fulfilled all parts of the old testament "law" giving us access and a fresh start. My wife found the discussion very helpful.

So in the end, It comes down to something my wife said. That our church is all about relationship and that takes time and can be messy.

Exciting Weekend

This weekend was filled with excitement. My younger son learned to ride his bike without training wheels. I then got my oldest daughter to ride her bike as well. All in less than twenty-four hours. They even have requested to go on a bike ride. This all makes me happy since I now can share my hobby with my children. No longer will I have to leave them at home. I can enjoy something as father and son/daughter.
It is exciting to have two of my children learn such a great sport from me, but my oldest son has resisted any attempt to teach him to ride. Maybe with time I can teach him as well.

Being Asked to make the Leap

Yesterday, I listened to my pastor ask the congregation to consider giving more to the church. I feel that I should explain first that we are not a traditional church that works on tithes alone. The philosophy has been that we should give where we felt God was leading us to give. For my wife and I there were a few non-profits that we both liked to give too. Unfortunately, the money in our budget dried up. That's not a good way to put it but it's the truth. The first problem I have with what I just wrote is that I said the money "dried up" as if I only give when I have excess funds. But that's the truth. I gave only when I had the extra money. In the early years of my marriage we gave nothing at all because we couldn't seem to fit it into the budget. That didn't benefit us at all.

Back the main point, I heard the pastor asking us to consider giving even if we didn't have the money. I assure you that he was not trying to bleed us dry or con us out of hard earned money. Our pastor merely laid out the verses from the Bible that showed the tradition of tithe and the benefit God said he would shower on us for giving even when we couldn't. During the whole talk, I heard God speaking to me. I imagined myself walking the high wire balanced perfectly over the abyss of debt and bills. I heard God asking me to leap. I physically felt the rush of adrenaline flowing through my blood. I always hear it in my ears. It sounds like rushing wind mixed with the high pitched whine of a finely tuned engine.

Who knew that God could cause such a reaction in my just sitting in church? I take money seriously. I don't have a lot so I want it to go as far as I can. I am doing better at putting more toward the family and less toward the billing, but I don't have room to mess around. I know what God has asked me to do. He gave me some pretty good ideas how I could make my budget fit around the tithe. Now it is up to me to make the leap. It's really scary, but I know from experience that God will catch me.