In the study portion (in the back) Shelia switches gears a bit and talks about Paul's conversion. She talks about Christ's love being fierce for us and can knock us down so we have to look up to see his glory. Have you had this experience with God? Do you know how passionate his love is for you and your interests?
I see so many SDA Christians who have never had a real experience with God... they walk though their Christianity with head knowledge of God but know heart knowledge. Where do you think you are in your conversion?
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I was born into the adventist church and lifestyle - and honestly I've always felt a little jipped. I've heard so many great conversion stories, or of people that truly feel like they know God in their heart. And while I feel I know parts of God and I ask Him to live in my heart...I may not know Him as well as I may have if I had to search Him out from the beginning. I think adventists (including myself) get comfortable with the information they have been given about Jesus and God. And when you're comfortable with something...you don't question it. If your socks are feeling good...you don't twist them around. Which to me, is unfortunate. I think that everyone, whether you're Adventist, Buddhist, Catholic, whatever - you should be questioning your beliefs. Not necessarily doubting them, but questioning them. I think there's a difference. And in questiong things you learn and grow more than ever. Instead of it just being the social norm to trust and follow God...I should be making it a carissa-norm. Instinctively trusting Him, not from being born into christianity, but from knowing God as my Father and Savior.
ReplyDeleteI was born into the Seventh-day Adventist church and life style too. I am the second generation in my family. My parents were the first SDA's in our family. I grew up knowing a lot of stuff b/c I would sit in on my Dad's Bible studies. My parents were and are very proactive about their faith. When I hit high school age and started to attend public school, it was there that I was challenge on my own faith and beliefs. I was baptized when I was 12 and new the doctrines and even studied each one so I could say for myself why I believe what I believe. I studied them to the point that I could almost give a Bible studies on the big doctrines. I had no challenge from anyone at that time though to why is it I believe Saturday is the sabbath and why I believe and do thing differently then the majority of our society. Anyways... long story short high school I didn't like being different and people would say why can't you come to the Friday night games or dances?I was good in sports and we had a few races on Saturdays and that always sucked b/c I would have pressure from my team mates. It was then that I really started to doubt everything and was not sure why I had to keep the Sabbath. Thankfully, my parents insisted that I come to the LIVE Dough Batchelor seminar on 3ABN. Little did they know the internal struggle and things that I was hiding. I hit the bottom with my faith, I even thought that God might not even exist, even though I was talking to him about Him not being there. I went to the seminar and all the first meetings were a drag and I hated being there, but the Sabbath message came and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so stupid for not believing. The whole thing reaffirmed my faith and that next summer I worked at a summer camp and created wonderful Godly SDA friends who I still have today. There was no one at school who was a SDA or even had real Christian morals. True Godly friends are important, but so are parents. I must say going over the doctrines in a bible study format I believe is what made me hang on as long as I did and its that reaffirming that told me I can stand on my own two feet on the bible and not my parents. Right now I am continuing to grow in Him and he has showed me in so many ways how wonderfully he loves me and wants me to come home.
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