Radical; Chapter 1 Question 1

1. Following Christ means continually sacrificing who we are for who He is (Luke 14:27). What does it mean to "carry our cross"?  When we follow Christ, what might we be asked to sacrifice? How do churches in America tend to cater to self rather than foster abandoning of self. (see page 7 of the book).  What should we or can we do about it?

Comments

[Abraham Colon]

I believe we are all accountable to God one-way or the other. As we begin our walk in Christ ultimately depending on our commitment to God we will often be lead by the Spirit of God to change all aspects of our lives. The bible does not offer alternative Christian life styles for those who are less versus those who are more committed to God, but God through His amazing love has patience with us to allow us time to grow. With that said, we have to understand the sacrifice that was made on our behalf, and often times we trivialized this action by thinking of it as a symbolic event. If we took the time to truly understand what God has done for us we would take this walk a bit more serious and not make it a walk of trial by convictions. In the church of America today there is less emphasis on the saving of souls and more emphasis on how to keep members in the church. Due to the pressure that exist today with the media, and the modernism of Christ we often find ourselves looking for ways to sell the church building and its content rather than finding ways to reach lost souls. We are in an era where the focus should be on saving souls for the Kingdom of God. As difficult as it may seem we should strive to sacrifice all we can through our convictions from praying, fasting, and reading the word of God. The Spirit of God will take care of the rest by speaking directly to our hearts and trust me you will change and you will see everything differently if you simply take the first step by faith. I have been blessed with a staff of Pastors and a church that truly believes in the harvesting of souls and as a result of the decisions they have made on how to disciple the church it has caused me to search deep and adjust all aspects of my life to try and be a better disciple of Christ.

[Eva Gonzalez]

In my eye even though I don't have the book, I've been doing my own Bible Study at home, work, in travel and this is an affirmation for me as I just finished Matters of the Heart by Wanita Bynum and this means to me is to live the Godly life or at least to please God in his presence. We were born of a sinful heart but Jesus has saved us and through our father God we can be renewed and gain a New Heart, is which I'm yearning for, so live in faith to the best and work for the Lord....prayer is all the answers we need and constant communication with God in our own personal private way. God has loved me enough now its time toi show him how much I Love him!!!

[Joyce]

To carry our cross mean to do the will of God in our life. Know matter what the price he ask us to pay.

[Ann-Gela]

Churches in America are very much into a "God has to bless me, God has to give me more things." mode of worship
When God blesses us with what we want then we "thank" him with praise and worship. We have allowed our praise to be contingent upon what God has given us. it makes you wonder, for example, if we didn't have heat in church on a winter morning...how many of us would still be there?