There are more churches, more religions, more preachers and more Christians than ever before and yet, the world goes hurling on to hell. Jesus said that the religious leaders of His day were as whitewashed tombs, beautiful and shining on the outside but rotting corpses on the inside. I can't help but liken that to many of today's Christians who have lost their "first love" and got involved in politics. They judge and condemn everyone who is not like them, they no longer wonder what Christ would have them do.
First of all Christianity is not a religion. It is a way of life. It is a way of following in Christ's footsteps. There is in my opinion, and this is just that, my opinion, a total lack of understanding as to what makes a Christian in today's world. Jesus told us to be "apart" from the world, even though we live in it. We need to focus on what Jesus came to do, that is to save people from the consequences of "sin" (imperfection) and to be a light to those lost in darkness.
Being "saved" means repenting of sin. We are ALL, every one of us, sinners. That is not to say we are bad people or good people for that matter. We are just imperfect due to Adam's sin. We can not ever be perfect in this life. Ever. Not even after we are "saved" but, the difference is we are forgiven. God can not look upon sin, He is perfect and will not tolerate sin, so in order to be rectified with Him we must accept the sacrifice that His son Jesus made for us. We just simply ask for Jesus to come into our life and heal us of our "sin". God must answer that prayer because He promiced He would.
What then? well, that depends. Some people who have had a hard life, made bad choices maybe, we may see a complete change, overnight even. Others who led a less dramatic life may see no change at first. It also depends on how much we seek, listen and probe and learn. If you are a curious person as I am then my path was one of reading and studying various religions until I hit upon what I know is the truth. Jesus came to save our souls and He takes a personal interest in us as individuals.
Again, people can have the wrong idea of how that works. Why is there so much evil in the world, how can He allow bad things to happen to good people? Man of those questions turn people away from believing in God because they simply do not understand. It is therefore the Christians job to show them by the way they live and depend on God.
The world will not change for the better, it will get worse, people will die. Atrocities will happen. God will not stop that because at this point in time Satan is being allowed to work in this world and turn people from God, and things will only get worse until that final day of reckoning. What God does promise us is that He will be with us to guide us and to help us get through these times, not stop them from happening, but to help us understand. If you are of the mind set that this life is not everything, that it is not the end, look at it as a learning and growing experience. What we learn here we take with us into eternity. We can not take material things but what we store in our hearts will be there forever.
When a child goes through a terrible illness and people say "where is God"...........God is there, and through suffering sometimes people are saved and the soul is more important than the body. The soul is eternal and through one persons suffering a soul could be saved, and like the Good Shepherd, that one lost soul is worth the suffering. It will all be in attitude. How can some people forgive the ones who murder their child? Because they know the child is safe with God and maybe by forgiving that terrible person they can be saved, or others can who see the love of the person who suffers. Only God can give us that grace. Far better to see forgiving hearts than those who pour hate onto the killer. We do not know that persons life, background or heart. Most people like that are damaged and even Paul who was a killer of Christians was saved and went on to save many. We can not judge a persons heart. God can forgive and we must too.
To understand the Bible we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He comes when we ask Christ into our hearts. The Bible is a magic book that will be read by one person who gets something from it and yet the same passage gives someone else what they need from it as well. The basic tenet of faith is there for everyone to see. That is unchangeable.
God tells us things for our own good and safety not just for the heck of it.
Divorce............God says no. That the only reason for divorce is when one partner is unfaithful. Today we see the results of so many divorces and what it has done to family life. The thing is if we have God in our life as a young person then we allow God to chose our spouse. Then we work out everything within the marriage along with God's council. Well that's the idea. In today's world that doesn't happen. Fortunately in my life I took my vows serious and so knew for me that it would not be an option. So I worked things out when things got tough. My daughter has been married 3 times. I had her out of wedlock and as I get older I see what the actions of my youth have caused many people down the line. I see that her first marriage could have been saved and both parties would probably have been better off as would the kids. Her X has also been married 3 times and the 3rd breaking down. So..........it is within out power to work most things out and as they say, the grass is not always greener and what we do in our life does not just affect us but our children and children's children too. Once we work outside of the box, outside our life with Christ then the consequences are our responsibility. Can we get back on track? You bet we can. Prayer and communication with God will set us back on track. We can't unravel the damage but can guide our children to the right answer. That is reliance on God and understanding the consequences of what we do.
Gay people.........I believe that our DNA was damaged way back. That some people have the unfortunate gene that makes them gay (I hate that word) Are they bad people no. Are they sinners yes. WE ALL ARE. So we should never judge. Is what they do wrong? Yes, it is against what God made man and women to be. Having said that, one sin is not worse than another and when two people love each other and are committed to each other then the rest is up to the Holy Spirit to guide them and show them if they need to change their life style, that is not something they can do themselves. If it's wrong then that will become apparent to them. In the meantime it is our job to love not to condemn. Not to be condescending but to behave the same as with any other human being, with love and understanding. I would be wrong to say it's OK but in the scheme of things its not the worst possible sin and so many married people do worse things............and the only one unforgivable sin is to ignore God and not ask for His salvation.
Sex before marriage.......well I can vouch for that one. It is not a recreational sport and has dire consequences. Not a wise choice but for many a really difficult thing to avoid in this day and age especially.
The worst sin to me is being judgmental. I mean, who are we really to judge another when we are sinful ourselves? That does not mean we should not correct our children and advise them and if by chance they mess up in life we should be there for them. It does not mean we can accept the wrongs of others in our lives when it affects us, but we should not cast them off either. We should always do our best to help people. Drug addiction and alcoholism are two things they can be very destructive in a family.
We can not take material things out of this life, if you can't give up what you have, then possessions mean more to you than people do. Be willing to give up anything. If someone robs you they do not deserve to die for it. To me killing them (guns to defend homes) is wrong. Different if it's a case of self defense. If you are attacked then you have the right to defend yourself best you can. I do not believe in guns at all. Full stop. My life is worth no more than anyone else's and I rely on God's protection, my time here on earth is limited and God knows the day and hour, I do not. If I die it's not the end. If I kill that other person I take away his chance of salvation. Now, that may be a bit extreme and Pollyannaish.......but it is the truth. Can I go through with that if put to the test? phew!!! I don't know but it does not change what is right. Jesus took much physical abuse without retaliation. We should be willing to do the same. Can I? I don't know and hope God does not test me.
The thing is, Christians today do not look at Jesus the man. They do not listen to what He taught us. "Turn the other cheek" "Be content with your station in life" "teach the people around you what it's like to be a Christian, as in slaves obey your masters". He did not come to free the slaves physically but to save their eternal soul and then for them to save others within their lives. He did not advocate slavery, far from it, but He did say to be content and not fight it. Not all people have the personality for that and we do admire those Spartacus's in the world by golly. I am a rebel type personality and would find it difficult.
Christ said to remain single if you want to follow His discipleship (priests) but that if one could not do so without sin, then to marry. Easy enough, either you can or not, whatever your place in life is, serve Him from there. It is easier for a single man to devote his life to his work than for a married man with a family, its just that simple. Everyone has a place.
So much is common sense. There are many things we can't understand but some become clear as time goes on.
As a young person reading the Bible I could never imagine the part in Revelations where it says about the mark of the beast. Do not take the mark on forehead or hand it is the mark of man, the beast. 666. The AntiChrist. Well who in their right mind would walk around with that on your face? No problem. Well thats all well and good but when the option is starving due to not being able to buy or sell or work without it? What then? Well now they have micro chips and it is a great idea actually. Do away with plastic and cards and ID and just have the chip under the skin and all your medical records and information available to be scanned. Makes perfect sense to me now. Just don't do it. One of the hardest things is to let go of self, what is good for me, what I want out of life. Instead it should be, how can I help others and what can I do for you? without thought of return or thanks. It is very hard. That is what Jesus expects of us though.Then on top of self sacrifice we are expected to keep quiet about it. What you do for others is to be between you and God.
Well, I do go on and there is much more to say but I will stop for now. I may have a part 3 or not I don't know. Depends on what comes to me.
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