Because Kristin and I are leaving (way too early) for El Salvador. I may not be blogging for the next week or so, but you can keep us in your prayers. We’ll be ministering in San Salvador and in a small village about two hours outside the city. Here are a few things I’d love for you to remember in prayer:

• Travel
• Favor in the schools
• Good response to evening meetings
• Ministry worker’s conference
• Health
• Team unity

con·sist·ent – /kÉ™nˈsɪstÉ™nt/ Pronunciation Key[kuhn-sis-tuhnt] –adjective – constantly adhering to the same principles, course, form, etc.

Lately, I have followed a Bible reading plan as part of my daily devotion. I really like it. I used to hate the idea of any kind of layout that would “restrict” my devotions. There was a part of me that thought it was neccessary to be unplanned and spontaneous in order to “get anything” out of time spent with God. That is not the case, nor is itimportant. It’s not about what I can get in the first place. My main fear was that my Bible reading would become yet another item on my daily checklist and that I would read for the sake of completing the task. However, I believe that God honors faithfulness. Consistence. If you make a commitment to read through a certain book, portion of the Bible, or period of time, God honors that faithfulness. It may seem elementary, but it is something that we all think about. Should my time with God be more spontaneous? Should I be a little less planned? Should I spend more time? Less? All of these are valid questions. I am not saying to abandone spontanaity. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Be spontaneous, but be consistent. Commit to do something and do it. As I thought about this post I realized that spontanaity is romantic. Romance is not love. They are not the same. I am sure there have been many a romantic one night stands. Often when we don’t have a plan for daily devotions, we become inconsistent. We have an occasional “one night stand” with God. True love is built on consistency. Relationships don’t last because of spontanaity. Relationships last because of consistency. “Love never fails”.

Have you ever heard someone share a story that caused you to step back and even wonder if you are a real Christian?  Lately, I have been so challenged by people who are doing radical things for the Kingdom of God.  So if there existed a checklist of things you had to do to be considered a follower of Christ, what would be on it?  I have no idea.  Okay, so I have an idea.  I know where it would begin.  I am sure that it would begin with experiencing Christ in some way.  That experience would trigger a response and that response would be accepting Jesus as Savior.  Beyond that, where do we go?  Is it really enough to accept Christ and then follow a certain code of morality, attend church, and tithe?

I think it is necessary that we experience God to the fullest extent.  In his book entitled, “The Signature of Jesus” Brennan Manning states that, “We do not need to theorize about Jesus; we need to make Him present in our time, our culture, and our circumstance.”  Manning teaches that the only way we can be sure of our beliefs is to experience God.  He says that, “When we encounter the God revealed by and in Jesus Christ, we must revise all our previous thinking about God.”  This statement is paralleled with the call of Abraham to abandon the comfort of his home in Haran to an unknown destination.  When Abraham was called God was asking Abraham to forsake his polytheistic views about God.  Therefore, the experience with God changed Abraham’s preconceived notions concerning God.

I just know that there is a lot more to faith in God than we generally understand.  Following Christ is not a system of beliefs or a code of morality.  The Kingdom of God is a way of living.  It is an ever present presence of God.  Manning says this about the divide between belief and faith: “For contemporary Christians, there is an essential difference between belief and faith.  Our religious beliefs are the visible expression of our faith, our personal commitment to the person of Jesus.  However, if the Christian beliefs inherited from our family and passed on to us by our church tradition are not grounded in a shattering, life-changing experience of Jesus as the Christ, then the chasm between our creedal statements and our faith-experience widens and our witness is worthless.”  We have to take the journey of faith between knowledge and experience.  For Abraham, it was from Haran to Canaan.  For us the physical journey may not be so drastic.  The Spiritual journey, however, will be just as life changing.