My thoughts.-the Christian atheist.finished

*the finished book*

I've spent the last 3 hours powering through the last few chapters of this book. It gets intense at the end. It really is an amazing eye opening book and if you ever question your faith any part of your faith you should read this book. I still have questions of course some that came to me while reading this book. I do wish I read this book while I was in Vegas so my pastor could walk me through these questions while they are still fresh. He read this book after my sister told him I wanted it for christmas. He has past it on to her to read, and I cant wait for her to read it, I want to know what questions she has about it if any. She is more involved and knowledgeable about Church and God than I am.

I now know I am a First-Line Christian. I plan to change that. I know I wont change it right now, I really do need my Church, family, and pastor to change it. I do wish I had been smart enough to pack my bible on this trip though. I really would like to get back into reading it. I've missed it. I've missed Church a lot I am so ready to get back into it.

So Ill get to it. The last quotes from the book. There are A LOT!

-Before you begin your journey toward change, brace yourself. The excuse monster is waiting in the shadows, ready to rear his ugly head:.

-If you're not dead, you're not done. God still has something important for you to do. These truths alone make you important. You can change.

-The apostle Paul said, "Do not be misled:'Bad company corrupts good character'"

-You can't change in your own power. If you feel overwhelmed by something bigger than you, let the one who is bigger than all things be the power you need in your weakness.

-But when the night sets in, I stare at the ceiling, feeling alone, afraid to trust God completely. If I can be truly honest, I am often overwhelmed with worry.

-Matthew 6:27 asks a practical question: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his ife?" I wonder how many hours worry has shaved off the end of my life? (Now I'm really worried.)

-If you do catch yourself worrying even after you've done what was wise, remember that God is bigger than our problems, and that he wants us to hand them over to him. Worry then becomes a signal alerting us that it's time to pray. Any time you hear the alarm start to blear, stop. It's time to stop worrying and start praying.

-Sometimes God's response to prayer may take longer than you want. Second Peter 3:8-9 says, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness."

-Can your worry change anything? No. Can God change anything? Absolutely he can. Do what God tells you to. Give everything you cannot do to God.

-"When you have proven faithful with little, I will trust you with much."

-Our actions confirm that a disturbing number of us truly believe this equation: better possessions+peaceful circumstances+thrilling experiences+the right relationships+the perfect appearance=happiness.

-Instead of seeking to serve one another, we wrongly believe that there's one person out there who exists solely to make us happy.

-God hates it when we pass up on the real life and settle for the false promises of this world.

-We are strangers, aliens, foreiners on earth. We are made to dwell forever with our Lord in heaven. Phil. 3:20 We will never discover lasting happiness in the temporary things of this world because we weren't made to live a temporary life.
That's why we should lower our expectations of this place. Earth is not heaven. Thats why no amount of money, new house, new furniture, new kitchen appliances, new clothes, new hair, new baby, new vacation, new job, new income, new husband, or new anything will ever satisfy us, because we were not made for the things of this world.

-Why is it that those who have so little often seem to have so much? And why do those with so much seems to have so little that really matters?

-The apostle Peter says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have"

-However you normally communicate, you can naturally weave in your own story.

-When you serve others in Christ's name, with no strings attached, people will notice something is different about you.

-Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

-When he chose friends, Jesus surrounded himself with the lonely, the broken, and the overlooked. God is calling you to be a part of his church, to be his church. If you dont feel like you're good enough, then you're exactly who he's looking for.



So there is the lastest book. =) I loved it. If you read it I hope you love it, let me know if you do read it Id love to hear your thoughts on it. On to the next...