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Just had to share this article I came across on the Christianity.com web site.
ARE YOU A PRACTICAL ATHEIST?By Bob George
Do you ever hear Christians talk about how hard it is to live the Christian life? I do, often. However, I tell people that the Christian life is not difficult at all  it is impossible. Only Christ can live it! These people find life such a burden because of their attempt to live it in their own strength.
A practical atheist is someone who, when he encounters a problem or situation in life, meets it as if he is the only resource available.
The practical atheist reminds me of this story:
A man is driving his pickup truck down a road when he meets a hitchhiker carrying a heavy load. He pulls over and offers a ride, which the hitchhiker gratefully accepts.
A little way down the road, the driver looks in the mirror and sees the hiker sitting in the bed of the truck, hunched over, still holding his bag. The driver stops again and says, “Hey, buddy, why don’t you put that sack down?â€Â
The hiker’s response is, “That’s okay. I don’t want to bother you that much. Just take me to my destination and I will be happy.â€Â
“How ridiculous!†you say. How like many Christians that is! We happily board the Lord’s “salvation wagon†that will take us to heaven, but we will shoulder the effort along the way.
What a contrast this attitude is to the words of Jesus: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light†(Matthew 11:28-30).
Jesus is our perfect example as well. While He was and is truly God, on earth He lived as the perfect Man. In other words, Jesus gave us the example of how man was created to live by his Creator. How did Jesus approach life? Listen to these statements:
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does...Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father living in Me who is doing His work†(John 5:19; 14:10).
The amazing thing is that Jesus went on to say that we can live in the same way that He did. He summed it up in the illustration of the Vine and branch  “I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing†(John 15:5).
The key that makes Christ’s Life available to us is TOTAL DEPENDENCY. The branch is totally dependent upon the vine to produce fruit, and for life itself. A branch is just a “fruit-hangerâ€Â; only the vine can produce fruit. A branch will bear fruit as it continually allows the life of the vine to flow through it (abiding), not as it “grunts and groans†in its efforts to produce fruit on its own.
As children of God, we are to live in total dependency upon our Father in every area of our lives.
• Live in total dependency upon God for your meaning and happiness in life. As Augustine said, “Thou has made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.†John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.â€Â
• Live in total dependency that “in all things God works for the good†in your life as He promised (Romans 8:28).
• Live in total dependency upon Jesus Christ as your sufficiency before God  “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from Godâ€â€that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption†(I Corinthians 1:30). We can therefore rest in our standing before God, due to our position in Christ.
• Live in total dependency upon God for the ability to face whatever trials you encounter in life  “He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’†(II Corinthians 12:9).
The Christian life begins in faith and is lived by faith. Make it your aim to experience the abundant life that Jesus Christ has promised through a life of total dependency upon Him and His love and grace.
source: http://content.christianity.com/352/20890/352_20890_AreYouAPracticalAtheist.Document.pdf
http://home.christianity.com/49013.html
.
Just had to share this article I came across on the Christianity.com web site.
ARE YOU A PRACTICAL ATHEIST?By Bob George
Do you ever hear Christians talk about how hard it is to live the Christian life? I do, often. However, I tell people that the Christian life is not difficult at all  it is impossible. Only Christ can live it! These people find life such a burden because of their attempt to live it in their own strength.
A practical atheist is someone who, when he encounters a problem or situation in life, meets it as if he is the only resource available.
The practical atheist reminds me of this story:
A man is driving his pickup truck down a road when he meets a hitchhiker carrying a heavy load. He pulls over and offers a ride, which the hitchhiker gratefully accepts.
A little way down the road, the driver looks in the mirror and sees the hiker sitting in the bed of the truck, hunched over, still holding his bag. The driver stops again and says, “Hey, buddy, why don’t you put that sack down?â€Â
The hiker’s response is, “That’s okay. I don’t want to bother you that much. Just take me to my destination and I will be happy.â€Â
“How ridiculous!†you say. How like many Christians that is! We happily board the Lord’s “salvation wagon†that will take us to heaven, but we will shoulder the effort along the way.
What a contrast this attitude is to the words of Jesus: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light†(Matthew 11:28-30).
Jesus is our perfect example as well. While He was and is truly God, on earth He lived as the perfect Man. In other words, Jesus gave us the example of how man was created to live by his Creator. How did Jesus approach life? Listen to these statements:
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does...Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father living in Me who is doing His work†(John 5:19; 14:10).
The amazing thing is that Jesus went on to say that we can live in the same way that He did. He summed it up in the illustration of the Vine and branch  “I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing†(John 15:5).
The key that makes Christ’s Life available to us is TOTAL DEPENDENCY. The branch is totally dependent upon the vine to produce fruit, and for life itself. A branch is just a “fruit-hangerâ€Â; only the vine can produce fruit. A branch will bear fruit as it continually allows the life of the vine to flow through it (abiding), not as it “grunts and groans†in its efforts to produce fruit on its own.
As children of God, we are to live in total dependency upon our Father in every area of our lives.
• Live in total dependency upon God for your meaning and happiness in life. As Augustine said, “Thou has made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.†John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.â€Â
• Live in total dependency that “in all things God works for the good†in your life as He promised (Romans 8:28).
• Live in total dependency upon Jesus Christ as your sufficiency before God  “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from Godâ€â€that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption†(I Corinthians 1:30). We can therefore rest in our standing before God, due to our position in Christ.
• Live in total dependency upon God for the ability to face whatever trials you encounter in life  “He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’†(II Corinthians 12:9).
The Christian life begins in faith and is lived by faith. Make it your aim to experience the abundant life that Jesus Christ has promised through a life of total dependency upon Him and His love and grace.
source: http://content.christianity.com/352/20890/352_20890_AreYouAPracticalAtheist.Document.pdf
http://home.christianity.com/49013.html
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