Firsthand Faith

"The way to life - to God - is vigorous and requires total attention." (Matthew 7:14 MSG)

Often I have settled for someone else's description of God...looked for shortcuts to God...and my deficient view of God has often left me stranded, especially in times of crisis.

Glenn Packiam's book, Secondhand Jesus, has spoken to me this summer and challenged me in "trading rumors of God for a firsthand faith."

"God wants you to know Him, deeply and personally. But there are no shortcuts to God.

So often we too easily settle for someone else’s descriptions, the CliffsNotes from another’s spiritual journey. We are content to let “God experts” do the heavy lifting and then give us the bottom line. And after enough times through the grapevine, the truth about God deteriorates until crumbs and rumors are all that remain.

But when life derails, when things don’t go as we planned, our thinview of God is challenged. In those critical moments, we can choose to walkaway from God … or let our questions lead us home. When you decide to wrestle with God, to engage Him for yourself, you—like Jacob and Job and David and Glenn—will see rumors die and revelation come alive.

It’s time to hear the magnificent divine invitation. It’s time to take God up on His offer and embrace the mystery and majesty of knowing Him for yourself." - http://www.glennpackiam.com/books.jsp

As you begin your journey at Calvin, I hope that you will yearn for a firsthand faith. Add Secondhand Jesus to your reading list this fall and engage God for yourself.