One night I had this dream and in my dream the question of what makes Christianity relevant was answered

24 We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things.25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer. Hebrews 10:24-25

I had this dream I have to share with you. In my dream I asked the question, 'What is relevant Christianity'.

In my dream there was an open expanse of water of which you could see for miles and miles. On this open expanse, all spread out, were life rafts filled with people. They too were spread out. Occasionally, people would wave to one another. It was a calm and sunny day and people were splashing the water around. This was fine until the weather started getting turbulent and the winds began picking up.

As I looked across the open expanse I could see terror in the eyes of the people in those life rafts. The same people who moments ago were splashing the water around and having fun were now terror stricken and wondering how they would survive the approaching storm.

So often we are more concern about the number of tassels we see on the heads of those around us, or the number of biblical courses they have taken that we forget that relevant Christianity isn't about that, but relevant Christianity is about watching God write your faith story and helping you unfurl it for all the world to see.

Our faith story ought to be brought above the surface where hurting people can see how relevant Christianity really does help someone survive the storm. People are searching for hope in this hopeless world we live in and often that hope is as near as the person they are sitting by in the pew.

We were never meant to be lone rangers telling ourselves that 'I don't need the church, or I can get my bible teaching on-line or watching the church service on the high definition television.

When Maria died in 2007 I decided I would cling to my faith commitment and continue attending my local church week after week, no matter how I felt because I knew that God was going to one day take my horrible journey of loss I was on and use it as my faith story. I knew I needed to attend church just so I might be able to receive an encouraging word from those around me. If you are having a terrible time dealing with grief and loss I encourage you to seek out a local Christian church and like me place one foot in front of the other and keep attending no matter how you feel.

As I watched the video in this post it occurred to me how God individually tailors his message to reach each person at a time. Like two snowflakes each Holy Spirit way of reaching people is different. As unique as our personal testimonies are, together they have a similar message which is how God makes Himself known to  his people.

 If you are in a terrible storm and you do not know if you will survive it I encourage you to listen to some personal testimonies because in their message you will find that hope only can be found in Christ Jesus.