I am by no means a book critic. More accurately, I am an aspiring bookworm. That is, I really enjoy reading, but I have to learn to stay awake long enough to finish books in a timely fashion. I actually end up reading the same pages and paragraphs and two or three times because I nod off, twitch back into alert mode, re-read, and repeat as necessary until I give up and turn off the light. I'm sure some of you can relate.
Anyway, I recently managed to finish a new book that I thought I would recommend to anyone who claims Jesus as their Lord, Savior, et al., but whose faith could easily be challenged or "called out" (with regard to their "un-Christian" behavior) by friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and in this day and age... Facebook friends -- yup, you see it all the time in status updates... "Praise God!" one day, and "I got hammered" the next. Heck, I'd be willing to bet you've seen, "Praise God, I got hammered!"
So the book is perfectly titled
The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel (pastor, LifeChurch.tv). It's about "believing in God but
living as if He doesn't exist." It's a book for the self-proclaimed Christ follower that: doesn't really take the time to get to know God; doesn't pray as often as he should; doesn't always think God is fair; doesn't always forgive on the level he has been forgiven; doesn't think God can change his ways; continues to worry all the time; doesn't share his faith; wants to claim Christ but not be a part of His church; and more.
On levels fortunately much lower than they were ten years ago, I still wrestle with my newly defined "Christian Atheism" daily, but I believe God
can change me,
has changed me, and
is changing me. This book actually helped me identify some specific areas I can improve on and better represent Christ to the people around me.
Today's
Good Read:
Titus 1:16
