{"id":9039,"date":"2015-05-21T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T14:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=9039"},"modified":"2015-05-21T09:31:29","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T14:31:29","slug":"book-review-jesus-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=9039","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Jesus > Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jesus-greater-religion\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few years ago, I saw Jefferson Bethke’s spoken word video Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus<\/a>. \u00a0Since then I’ve heard and read other things from him and about him and think that he is an outstanding young man that is doing a great job of stripping away the distractions of religion in order to point people to the simple truth of the gospel. \u00a0I picked up his book\u00a0Jesus > Religion<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and read it this past weekend. \u00a0It’s a quick read and flipping through the pages feels like chatting with a friend. \u00a0Bethke’s transparency is endearing and helpful for anyone looking to shut out the noise and learn what it means to truly follow Jesus. \u00a0I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below…<\/p>\n

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  • Make sure your discussions are guided by gentleness, humility, and learning. \u00a0We are all on this journey toward real and authentic truth together. \u00a0You won\u2019t find an arbitrary concept when you get there, but a Man with scars in his hands and a crown on his head.<\/li>\n
  • I didn\u2019t know it then, but God broke me to fix me because he loved me.<\/li>\n
  • Religion says do. \u00a0Jesus says done. \u00a0Religion is searching for God. \u00a0Jesus is God searching for man. \u00a0Religion is pursuing God by our moral efforts. \u00a0Jesus is God pursuing us despite our moral efforts. \u00a0Religious people kill for what they believe. \u00a0Jesus followers die for what they believe.<\/li>\n
  • Love is the new law.<\/li>\n
  • When religious discussions are broad and consider the ideas of theologians rather than the facts about Jesus, they generate apathetic views of Jesus. \u00a0Changing the focus of the conversation from religion to Jesus actually invites people to face him and the grace he provides. \u00a0It lets his grace so confront them that they have to address it.<\/li>\n
  • I sacrificed real safety for the appearance of safety\u2014and it was more work! \u00a0That is the essence of fundamentalism\u2014living by the rules to stay out of trouble rather than seeing the rules as tools to bring us into intimacy and joy.<\/li>\n
  • Even in Bible times, Christians were quick to abandon the pure gospel. \u00a0We so deeply want to contribute to our own salvation that we become intoxicated by the rules.<\/li>\n
  • \u201cThe greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their mouths and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.\u201d \u00a0Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel, p. 199<\/li>\n
  • One of the best barometers of a true Christian\u2019s heart is to see what kind of people he attracts and what kind of people he repels. \u00a0If Jesus is in you, you should attract the marginalized and beaten-down members in society, just as he did. \u00a0And there will be some people who aren\u2019t happy with it.<\/li>\n
  • If we say we love Jesus, let\u2019s start acting like followers and stop acting like fans. \u00a0The world is waiting, and they can tell the difference.<\/li>\n
  • A grace economy is backward to most of us\u2014those who think they qualify, don\u2019t; and those who admit they don\u2019t qualify, do. \u00a0There\u2019s no bell curve involved.<\/li>\n
  • Too many times we curse the rain in our lives\u2014suffering, trials, hardships\u2014but the truth is, without rain nothing grows.<\/li>\n
  • The problem with wearing masks is even when we receive love, it\u2019s really the mask that is receiving the love, not us. \u00a0Whatever gets thrown at us will always hit the mask and can\u2019t penetrate our souls. \u00a0So it is with God\u2019s grace. \u00a0Every second of every day he pursues us and offers grace, but until we take off our masks, we will never be able to accept it.<\/li>\n
  • Grace always wins.<\/li>\n
  • If we only give God glory for explicitly Christian things, we are thieves. \u00a0He wants all the glory.<\/li>\n
  • But combining worship with spirit and truth is a beautiful thing. \u00a0Truth with the Spirit becomes vibrant, organic, and alive. \u00a0It feels fresh and new. \u00a0Thankfulness sparks in a heart frequently. \u00a0That\u2019s true worship.<\/li>\n
  • The only way he gets a voice at the table is if he authentically and strategically engages his craft in his mission field.<\/li>\n
  • We all come in with baggage. \u00a0We all come in trying to find our way. \u00a0We all come in with broken edges. \u00a0In the same way a mosaic is made up of broken, ragged, and dirty pieces of glass, so the church is made up of broken, ragged, and dirty people. \u00a0But when you zoom out and see the whole picture, you see something beautiful. \u00a0Broken people living life together is a beautiful picture.<\/li>\n
  • He is a better king of your life than you are. \u00a0No one has caused me more hurt, shame, guilt, and pain than me. \u00a0He knows, and he rescues me. \u00a0He can do the same for you. \u00a0Just come as you are.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A few years ago, I saw Jefferson Bethke’s spoken word video Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus. \u00a0Since then I’ve heard and read other things from him and about him and think that he is an outstanding young man that is doing a great job of stripping away the distractions of religion in order […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,14,35,25,17,18,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-book-review","category-creative","category-education","category-leadership","category-north-cobb-christian","category-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}