Self-Help Christianity (part 2)

Self-help books. You've all see them; you've all heard of them; perhaps some of you have even read one or two. Well, when we tell people how to overcome or deal with something in their lives through a certain way of living, we're feeding them self-help crap. When we share the "good news" with someone about any change that can be wrought in their lives, to the exclusion of God's direct work in their lives through the Holy Spirit, we de-spiritualize the message. When we preach or proclaim a message of living a better life through the sole application of spiritual or biblical principles, without any mention of the actual work being performed by the Spirit, we empty the truth of its power. Christianity is not an applied religious belief (that's what Scientology is). Christianity is rooted in, always has been and always will be - at least within the true church that God recognizes - personal interaction and relationship with our Creator. We cannot use God's truth on our own terms and still expect it to carry the same power that is only available through the personal Spirit of Christ.