Authenticity. Is it real?

Ive been really stirred up lately by a lot of things Ive read on facebook. My heart breaks when I see people post countless verses swimming in abstract beauty and vague concepts without an ounce of true depth or application. And then, in rush the like-aholics. And at the end of the day, all that has happened is uff, and everyone seemingly feels better. While no disciple-makers have been made, and potential future-sold-outbelivers are sucked into a false sense of accomplishment centered around an ability to click share to facebook and click like. If there is no life change, no actual response to community, no real scripture reading, no rebuking, no growth, then there is respective stagnation, wistfully empty notions of community, vague spiritual phrases, afrmation of sin under the guise of love and dont judge, and active growth as an enemy of God. It sounds harsh, but this is what I see. If these were just my opinions, then that would be dismissible. But, myself and others have seen these examples over and over and over and over and over as marginal Christians travel from one community to the next poisoning them with eshly, emotional demands. This is an issue that infuriated Paul as he wrote to the churches that he and others planted. In Romans 2:23-24, Paul says: You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For as it is written, The name of God is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you. And again in Acts 5 we see that lip-service without actionable heart-change is DETESTABLE in the the eyes of God. How are we so good at deceiving ourselves that we are whole, merely based on a poetic or sing-song phrase we drum up? May it never be! Declared faith shows its vanity when we dont change. For example, I will ponder the way that is blameless. I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. We shine like a city on a hilltop. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Does that match up with the direction we lead those around us? Are we pondering the way that is blameless contagiously or selshly? Are we setting our eyes on a hypothetically ideal future spouse while neglecting Gods call on our life for same gender disciple-making? What truths are we shining from the hilltop? What song do we sing when things dont pan out like we knew they would? When someone has a contagious sickness, other people get sick. Its black and white. The disease that is spreading is the disease that we have. Look at the epidemic and its source and you know the heart. You know a tree by its fruit. -Jesus. Before you like another spiritual post, ask yourself these questions as I do to search out the sin in our hearts: Have I been doing a lot of talking? If I consider myself to be on the right track, then where is the fruit? Where are the 3rd and 4th generation disciple-makers? (I like your posts :*) :-) :D <3 (^: is not a complete picture of this generational fruit) When I think of biblical community, do I think of some nostalgic A-team that I gather from a 5-state radius? When was the last time someone rebuked me and I liked it and changed? Or do I deny wisdom when it conicts with my emotional strongholds? Do I go to God in search of my eshs emotional x that my current/former signicant other isnt meeting or do I pursue God because Hes my spiritual life-bread? Do I incessantly talk about the

Word, but deny its power by distancing myself from difcult passages that demand lifechange? If were supposedly all about _______, then where is the evidence weve pursued it for the past 4 or 5 years? The answer for each truly is: I am a wretched, worthless sinner desperately in need of a savior, desperately in need of authentic (not wistful) community, desperately in need of being broken so I see my need for Christ. Praise the Lord for difcult circumstances! But dont be the one whom God calls via a difcult circumstance and yet outright denies the power He offers. Be the one that humbly recognizes a sinful heart and asks God to help you with your unbelief. I dont care if you like this or comment; click away, type away, feed the vanity. What I am encouraging you to do is: Go BE contagious.