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Houston, We have a Problem

By Ross Penniall

This book resolves the crisis of the HOW in Christian living. Many Christians live frustrated lives because they have tried 'doing' it for so long and nothing seems to change. They have prayed countless hours, they have fasted plenty meals and they have cried buckets of tears and yet, they can't seem to live in the good of the abundant life Jesus promised. How do I do this? This book shows you. More

“I cannot do this anymore. I’ve tried and I’m frustrated. Why does it feel as though one week I take one step forward only to take two steps backwards the next? I’m not sure how long I can carry on doing this. I just can’t live the Christian Life!”

That’s pretty much the gist of what my friend was telling me. Don’t get me wrong. He’s not an undercover-secret-agent-Sunday-Christian either. He’s been a believer for over 15 years. He loves Jesus. Passionately! He’s active in his church. He leads his family as well as any Christian father and husband I’ve known. We ‘coffee’ regularly and on this particular day, I’m not sure how we stumbled upon the subject, but he admitted, with clenched fists, his absolute frustration at trying to do the Christian life.

Getting born-again; no problem. Eternity with the Lord; can’t wait for that. But the activity in between those two events - Christian living has caused him much frustration. He was expressing what many believers feel: “Houston, we have a problem.” Those infamous words spoken upon Apollo 13 resonate with countless Christians today – they’re in trouble and they have no idea how to fix the problem. Libraries of books have been written on how to ‘Live the Christian Life’. Christian book shops are full of them! If we’re at all honest with one another, it’s the ‘how exactly do I do this’ that has led many down the road of frustration, disillusionment and sadly for some, even abandonment of their ‘Christian walk’.

This is not going to be another self-help book. I’m not going to give you a theological outline on how to live more like Jesus and less like the devil. I’ve been a Christian for over 20 years. I have read countless books on Christian Living, written with the greatest of intentions I might add, but they all boiled down to one thing: My performance. My Christian Living ultimately depended upon my putting in the hard yards. The thought process: I would see more fruit and breakthrough in my life if I did more fasting, praying, Bible reading, loving, abstaining, feet washing, hand lifting, hand laying, worshipping, church attending, book reading, theology studying and interceding. Those books spelled out fantastic formulas and reasons why doing these things would lead to a Christian Life as described in the scriptures. The truth is: It doesn’t work. My performance and effort in the DOING did not bring about the Christian LIVING I desired and I suspect many who are reading this know exactly what I’m on about.

Are you tired? Are you frustrated at the endless cycle; some days up and some days down? The key is not in the doing, my friend, but in the being. The key lies, not in your performance, but in your identity. It’s time to believe what He has done and who he’s made you to be