Moving Forward

Central to Christianity is the task of carrying the timeless message of God to the world around us. As I'm reading about the things Paul (the Apostle) did I can't help but notice the changes he made while communicating to different audiences. For instance, to interested Jews he would use a significant amount of references to the Hebrew Scriptures. Then to the people in Lystra he makes no reference to the Old Testament but instead quotes "secular" sources to communicate. I also notice the different ways that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John chose to write based on their respective audiences.

I believe that we must ask about what it looks like for us to be a church here and now. I think we should constantly be exploring new and creative ways to communicate the teachings of Jesus. The goal is, of course, to carry the message of Jesus forward to the world around us.

Let me tell you 2 principles I'm seeing in the bible that could be helpful on this topic.

LETTING GO OF THINGS WE ONCE THOUGHT WAS RIGHT:
Read Philippians 3:4-8. In there you will see Paul saying that he used to be the best of the best in religious circles... He thought he had "arrived" spiritually. He thought he did all the right things and knew most everything. Then he had a moment of explosive revelation and new life when he realized (with God's help) that everything he had done in the past was shit compared to knowing Jesus. Yes I used the "s" word. Paul used the Greek word "skubalon" in the scripture I referenced... The "s" word is a very close translation into English.

In other words Paul found that in order to move forward sometimes we will find that there are things that we need to let go of. As we move ahead, we'll discover some things that we once thought were right and good, but in reality we need to leave them in the dust because they are "skubalon".

This has implications for us. What things are there in our lives that are not essential that we need to let go of? What's Skubalon compared to knowing and following Jesus? Are there some things that you need to leave behind as you move forward with your faith?

DISCOVERING ESSENTIALS THAT WE NEED TO EMBRACE
In 2 Chronicles 34: 14,15, 18-22 You'll read about a Jewish king who discovers the Torah. Here we have the King who is supposed to be leading God's own people and He's dusting off a copy of the Bible after years of power. I like to point out that in this story the king seeks the advice of a woman to discover what should be done with his discovery.

The principle is simple. In our lives we will and should discover very important things that we need to embrace. If we intend to move forward, we must realize that there are discoveries to be made about God. About ourselves. About following Jesus. When we discover those things, we should embrace them.

I see this faith as a journey. I assume that there will be change along the way. Innovation is welcomed. I'm asking myself if there are things to let go of and are there things to embrace. But better than just asking myself, I'm asking God the same questions.

How will I move forward as a believer?