"FUNCTIONAL CHRISTIAN?" - By Niki Melton

Have you heard the term “functional” Christian?  No? Well, how about “functional” alcoholic? That is one more familiar, and chances are you have known one.  The point is when someone is using something to function, it is functional, but not foundational.  The difference is this: one is a coping mechanism, one is woven into the fabric of its core.  So, a functional Christian is someone who, at their core, is using their faith as a coping mechanism.  
 
Deuteronomy 8:3 says “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
 
Sound familiar?  It is the same passage that Jesus is recorded as quoting to the devil when he was being tempted.  What does that mean?  We may have had a time when we felt brought to God through our circumstance, but that is not where we stay.  After Jesus was tempted, he immediately went out for his disciples, and officially began his ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17)
 
Now go – move beyond functional, get it in your core and make it foundational.  Trust God, read his Word, and let it change you.