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Posts Tagged ‘Christianity’

Remove the Labels

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Lifestyles, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 1, 2016| 7 Comments »

I think that as followers of Christ, we should be able to accept and love everyone. No matter what we believe, what our faith or doctrine is, no matter our religion, nationality, sexual preference or color, we want to see each other as Jesus sees us. This is a type of love we cannot do on our own. It is only possible by the love of God within us. We want to love, accept and care for people. It’s only natural that we will not always agree, but we want to look past those areas and love each other in Christ. This seems to be the way that others will come to see the love of God, not through condemning and bashing one another. Not in trying to prove we are right and everyone else is wrong. Love doesn’t mean seeing eye-to-eye, it doesn’t mean we agree or even like some of the things people do, but it does mean we look past the differences and love each other as Christ loves us.

Labels

No matter if we are gay, straight, religious, atheist, asexual, baptist, methodist, charismatic or whatever label people put on us, the underlying fact is we are all human beings. We all deserve to be treated with respect and be accepted. Each of us should be able to live our life and make our own choices without being judged and condemned by others. We should be able to discuss our differences respectfully, and none of us should try to force our views and choices on others.

equals

If we could look past the labels and see each other as people who overall want the same things, to be happy, to be loved, be healthy, get our bills paid and enjoy life, I think things would be better even with our differences. This is not to say we are going to agree with everyone, always associate with everyone and be happy together, that just isn’t going to happen. There are too many different thoughts, ideas, beliefs, lifestyles and personalities for us to agree on everything and be totally comfortable with everyone, yet accepting each other and respecting each other in spite of our differences certainly is a possibility.

Let’s look past the labels and see each other as human beings who have feelings, who want love and friendship. Let’s be people who can get to know one another, learn from, share thoughts and ideas with and accept each other as being created in the image of God.

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We May Never Agree

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Lifestyles, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2016| 9 Comments »

I want to say thank you to to all of you who read my articles. I realize not everyone is going to agree with what I say. I am in a constant state of learning and changing myself, just as we all are in one way or another.

No matter what your lifestyle, what you choose to believe, how you accept things, none of us will ever completely agree with anyone else. As believers, we would not expect those who do not follow the christian faith to agree with everything we think and say. Yet, we also know that other christian people will not agree with everything either. We have so many denominations in the christian world, yet none of them can agree completely. But this is all OK, we are all individuals who see things differently. The last thing I want is to make people feel I expect everyone to see things my way.

Agreement2

Accept One Another

I think those of us trying to follow Christ should be able to accept one another, believer and non-believer alike, talk with each other about how we see things and still be respectful and kind. We are to be known by our love, but unfortunately, that just isn’t the case most of the time.

No matter if we are gay, straight, christian, muslim, jew, hindu, atheist, asexual, baptist, methodist, charismatic or whatever label people put on us, the underlying fact is we are all human beings. We all deserve to be treated with respect and be accepted. We each should be able to live our life and make our own choices without being condemned by others. We should be able to discuss our differences respectfully, and none of us should try to force our views and choices on another.

Unfortunately there has been a lot of name calling and disrespect among different groups of people over time. Christian people saying God hates gays, and atheists are of the devil, people being afraid of muslims, one denomination wants nothing to do with another denomination…this is all wrong and sad.

Look Past the Labels

If we could look past the labels and see each other as people who overall want the same thing, to be happy, to be loved, be healthy, get our bills paid and enjoy life, I think things would be better even with our differences. This is not to say we have to agree with everyone and associate with everyone and be happy together, that just isn’t going to happen. There are too many different thoughts, ideas, beliefs, lifestyles and personalities for us to agree on everything and be totally comfortable with everyone, yet accepting each other and respecting each other in spite of our differences certainly is a possibility.

When you read about the life of Christ in the gospels, you see someone who loved people. He did not disassociate himself from any particular group, nor did he turn away anyone or think he was better than others. Jesus showed the love of the Father by caring for people, talking with people, eating together, healing people and not condemning them. The only crowd he had a problem with was the religious leaders of the day who thought they were so much better than everyone else because they kept the rules. Their reasoning was they didn’t do the ‘wrong’ things and they did the ‘right’ things. They didn’t associate with the type of people they thought were less religious and unworthy of God’s love. Jesus was always getting on their case for being so religious they were no earthly good to the Kingdom of God.

Separation?

Speaking of all the different views and lifestyles, I can remember when I was young and growing up in the organized church, how I always stayed with people of similar belief. I do not know for sure if I was actually taught this or it was just a common belief I picked up, but I felt I needed to stay away from people of different views and lifestyles. I still see this in the church today, a separatist mindset. I thought it would be great to work in the church system or for a christian bookstore as a job, then spend my off-time in church services and doing church work. That way I would always being around someone who saw things pretty much the same as I did.  This way I wouldn’t have to be around ‘those’ people, whoever they were.

Pharisee

Sound familiar? So much of the traditional church setting is based on separation from those who think differently. This usually brings a feeling of superiority, being separated from those who need to see God’s love in action, and living a Pharisee-type lifestyle. (Pharisee: strict observance of religious ceremonies and practices, one who adheres to laws and traditions, self-righteous or hypocritical person).

Compare that to the life of Jesus we read about in the gospels, a person who loved people, wasn’t condemning or unkind, hung out with those who the religious crowd didn’t want anything to do with, spent time eating and drinking with the non-religious crowd, and truly cared for others.

I know we all see things differently. We all will not agree on things and we all have no way of proving our point in regard to spiritual matters. Yet I think it is time the christian ‘religion’ comes to an end and Christ-like people begin to daily show the love and acceptance of God to everyone.

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Missions: Home or Abroad

Posted in christian living, Missions, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 5, 2015| 4 Comments »

As Christians, we have been told that it is our duty to go into the world and preach the gospel.

For my wife and me, that has always meant we were to go to other countries and tell the gospel message to those who have never heard the good news.

We began to feel if we did not go on a mission trip to some other part of the world, we were not fulfilling the command to preach the gospel in all the world.

Yet, we never had a real desire or felt a ‘calling’ to go to another country. At first we felt a little guilty, like we were not doing our part.

After thinking and praying about it, we came to realize that not everyone is called to go to other countries to preach the gospel. Personally, I believe we are all to be ready to give an account of our belief and hope in God to anyone who asks. Yet I do not believe all of us are called to go to other countries, or participate in mission trips.

AllMissionaries

After getting involved with a local ministry at a major college in our town, we came to find a way that felt good to us to help reach the ‘world’ with the gospel. It is called International Friendships. I imagine most major colleges across the United States has this ministry to the international students. It is a Christian based ministry that gets other Christians involved with the international students coming here to attend college. They also provide home groups to learn about faith in God and a Friday night meeting when all groups join together for food and fellowship.

My wife and I got involved and thought it was a great program. International students come here to attend college, get hooked up with Christian friends, they hear the gospel message, then go back to their home countries and tell the gospel message to their own people.

For us this was a more meaningful way than trying to go to a foreign land and talk to people about Christ. We certainly have no problem with those who feel called to go on mission trips and give the gospel message. We also know that not everyone is called to do so.

On my job, I go into homes every day I work and see conditions that could be considered third world living conditions. It is hard to believe, but here in the United States, there are many who have not heard the true gospel message. They may have heard that we should attend a church, give our money, do good things and they have heard we are not do a list of many things. Yet, to hear about and actually see God’s love in action, they really do not know anything about it.

For us, we would actually feel bad if we paid a lot of money and gave our time to go to another country and tell others of the love of God when we know for a fact there are just as many right here in our home town that need to hear the same gospel message.

We are so thankful for people who are called to go to other countries and preach the gospel. Yet for us, we do not have that calling and we are content to stay right here and do the same thing by showing God’s love to all those we meet.

If any of you feel called to go on a mission trip to another part of the country or to a different country all together…..go. If you do not feel the calling to go on a mission trip, please, do not feel guilty. Jesus is building his church out of living stones, us, and each of us has a different calling and purpose to fulfill. Do not feel bad if your calling is different from another’s calling. Each of us are equally important parts of the body of Christ with a job to do. Not a job to earn our way, but a job that Christ will do through us to further his purpose and show the love of God.

YouareHere

Whether your mission field is in some far away land, or if it is your daily routine where you live and work, God lives within us and will touch others with his love. Be ready to give an answer of the hope within you when asked. Show the love of God to everyone you meet during your day, wherever you are at the time.

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Christianity, Christ and the Religious World

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 24, 2015| 8 Comments »

When we think about Jesus, we automatically think of Christianity. Although the two are completely different.

Jesus didn’t come to start Christianity. Jesus was not a Christian. We are missing the whole point when we focus on religion rather than the real reason Jesus came to live among us. He came to show us the Father and the love He has for each and every one of us, no matter what we call ourselves or what group we belong too. He even loves those who don’t think he exists.

According to Wikipedia it is stated that according to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Jewish, Christianity and every other religion are all actually related. They are all human based ways of trying to please the God (or gods) they believe in and serve.

In regard to just Christian denominations, World Christian Encyclopedia says that world Christianity consists of 6 major ecclesiastical-cultural blocs, divided into 300 major ecclesiastical traditions, composed of over 33,000 distinct denominations in 238 countries. It certainly can’t be stated that people are not interested in some type of higher power.

We want to argue over religion and who is right, who is wrong. All the different religions of the world can’t agree on who we believe in or what is right. We even break it down more and argue within Christianity with all the different denominations, as we consider ourselves Catholic, or Methodist, or Lutheran, Presbyterian or part of the thousand other groups. We argue over whose interpretation is right and really don’t want to associate with those who feel differently.

Needless to say, we all have our interpretations, thoughts and ideas, but those just make us unique individuals. They were not intended to cause separations and divisions among us. We should be able to be ourselves and yet love and accept those who are different from us.

If we could get past the religious part of our beliefs and live in the freedom God provided, things would go much better. Rather than defend our denominational interpretations and our personal ideas, if we would love and accept others with the love of Christ, people would be more open to hear about our Father.

Christ-Christians

We are normally busy pointing out the mistakes of others, even our brothers and sisters in Christ who have a different view, and condemning those who we consider sinners. When we do so, the love Jesus told us to show everyone seems to get missed. I personally don’t think it is our job to convict people of their sins. Most people know their shortcomings already, and the Holy Spirit will convict the worldly of their sins, drawing them to repentance.

Jesus told us to love God and love others…period. When we focus on the gospels and the life of Jesus and realize that he didn’t condemn and point out the sins and mistakes of people, we can see a distinct difference from the way we act today. He only had an issue with the religious leaders who thought they were better than everyone else because of their works.

When it comes to saying I am a Christian, I am hesitant anymore because of the meaning it receives from most people. If being a Christian means a follower of Christ, someone who wants to be like Christ, and show the love of God to everyone, then I am for it. But if being a Christian is the typical church going, law following, condemning others way of life, I am done with that. In that sense, Christianity is not the answer, nor is any other man-made religion.

Jesus is not into religion. Jesus came to show the love of God to every human being no matter who they are or what they believe. Jesus crosses the barriers of religion and loves everyone. In the world today, we are the Jesus people see, and we should be ready to show the love and acceptance that he showed to everyone we meet.

You may be interested in reading an article on the same topic by my friend Glenn Hager. Read it here: http://www.glennhager.com/2013/05/17/did-jesus-start-a-religion/

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Love is the Answer

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2015| 10 Comments »

With all that is going on in the news these days, especially here in the U.S., it makes a person wonder what this world is coming too.

Bruce Jenner and his gender change is getting national attention. Various police situations, the most recent being Ferguson and Baltimore are in the headlines. Racism, gay rights and many other situations are going on that seem to be escalating rather than improving.

There seems to be more and more unrest, with people getting very dissatisfied that nothing seems to be changing.

I’m not going to take up these issues directly and I certainly don’t have the answer that will satisfy everyone, but I will say that Christianity is not the answer. When I say Christianity, I’m talking about the religion with rules and regulations, do this, don’t do that, and all that comes to mind when talking about modern-day religion.

Loving and accepting others by the power of Christ from within is the only way that will make a difference.

I am disappointed to see so many people who follow Christianity being so mean and argumentative towards others who feel differently.

I see Christian people arguing, yelling at others, trying to prove their point and basically condemning them to their face. This kind of behavior certainly does not showing the love of Christ.

I personally feel that showing the love and acceptance Jesus showed to everyone he came in contact with while on earth is what is needed.

loveandacceptance

We are not called to condemn others, judge others or try to prove our point over theirs. Jesus said to love God and love others. It is not our job to judge and condemn, only to love.

That does not mean we have to agree with everyone. It doesn’t mean we condone everything others do. It just means that we can love and accept others as they are, and trust that God will bring about any changes. We are not the ones that need to point out things in others’ lives or try to force them to change. We can love them as they are and allow God to do the work.

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Christian Views (Original Post on May 25, 2010)

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , on January 29, 2015| 4 Comments »

Have you ever felt frustrated with the Christian world today? Obviously the church today is not what God intended and in America, the church has become a big corporation more than anything.

On the other hand, no matter what church or Christian group you belong to, it seems we just can’t accept each other as we are. We always have groups that say one thing and then along comes someone else who says something completely different. Then one group gets mad and argues their point and it just seems fruitless to continue debating one another. One groups says this is the way to do it, the other says no, your way is wrong but our way is the way to do it.

I’m at a point where I’m pretty well frustrated with Christianity as a whole and just ready to say forget it. God loves me. There is nothing I have to do or stop doing to receive God’s love. I am saved through faith in Jesus Christ and I have the Holy Spirit living within me. I don’t have to listen to this group or that group, this speaker or that preacher. God can guide me in the way He wants me to go and I no longer have to worry about my reputation or what others think. Does anyone else feel this way too?

I really think we just need to accept God’s love for us the way we are, follow Him, be willing to do what He wants us to do, and listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit within us. We no longer have to be tossed to and fro by listening to all the different voices in Christianity today. We just need to listen and trust God and enjoy the fellowship we have with Him through Christ.

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Looking Back….But Moving Forward

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , on January 6, 2015| 15 Comments »

It is a good thing to take a look back sometimes. Looking back can bring encouragement, but it can also bring remorse and guilt.

When looking back, we need to remember the past is forgiven and over. We can learn from the past, we can see where we’ve been and how far we’ve come, but we need to leave it there.

For my wife and me, looking back certainly shows us how much has changed. For many years, we were feeling something was wrong with us and our ‘church’ life. We had an inner stirring that there was more than attending a weekly service, listening to a few others doing all the talking.

We read about the first century church and many verses about everyone having a voice, everyone being a necessary part of the church. We read how Jesus is the head of the church and how each of us are equal parts he is using to build his Church.

We became so frustrated seeing such a difference in the modern-day church from what we felt church was to be, that we felt it best to move on. We are now outside the four walls; we are now being Church rather than going to church.

Looking back, there have been many changes in thoughts, interpretations and beliefs. Even though we aren’t in a church, we feel we are learning to depend more on our Father for guidance and truth. We are ready to show God’s love to everyone we come across during our day.

We no longer ask people where they go to church, we no longer worry about what denomination they belong to, or if they go to church at all. We want God to live through us daily and love people, without thought or concern of who they are or what they believe.

During this time, we’ve had more fellowship with other believers than we ever had attending a weekly service. Whether it involves meeting for coffee or dinner, or just sitting and talking, we learn more about people and are encouraged hearing how God is working in their lives.

Obviously, moving forward is the main goal. As Philippians 3:13, 14 says, ‘brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’ (NASB)

Looking back 2

Looking back can be a real encouragement to us when we look at it in regard to what God has done and where he has brought us. It we look at the past negatively, or with shame and guilt, then we need to forget it and realize that our past is done and forgiven. We need to move forward following the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit which is within us.

 

Synchroblog Bloggers looking back and looking forward this month:

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What Do We Mean by Christian?

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , on December 3, 2014| 3 Comments »

Christianity can mean a couple different things, and it depends on what meaning we are using as to how I feel about it.

If, when talking about being a Christian, we mean we are following Christ, acting like Christ and living like Christ, I am all in for being a Christian.

Usually these days when being a Christian is mentioned, it’s more about the religion of Christianity. Just like Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Baha’i, Shinto, Taoism and a host of others, Christianity is a religion made up by men, and it is divided up into many various denominations. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus did not start the Christian religion.

Here in the United States we are so proud to say that America is a Christian nation. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with that idea. America is a country made up of many religions and beliefs. Fortunately in this country we are not forced to be a part of any religion or belief. We have many freedoms that are not found in other places, and I am thankful for that fact. We are free to choose what we want to believe, who we want to follow and we have the right to express that without fear of punishment.

Following Christ is not about a religion. I actually think it is better sometimes not to even use the word Christian because of all the religious thoughts and ideas it brings up. Religion is a man-made, organized system that divides more than anything. We separate into groups that meet in buildings on set days and at set times, saying we welcome anyone, yet only want those who feel the same way we do in beliefs and interpretations.

It bothers me to see so many who profess to be Christians, those who believe in God and Jesus and spreading His love to others, who argue and fight with those who think differently. We are supposed to be known for our love for others and love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Still, it seems a lot of Christians are more interested in defending their personal views and thoughts, getting mad and arguing amongst themselves while those outside of faith in Christ are looking at them and wondering why they need to have Christ in their lives.

Now, talking about Christianity in the sense that we are following Christ, living like Him and treating others like Jesus treated people, this is an entirely different thing. As mentioned in Acts 11:26, the disciples were first called Christians by the people of Antioch, because they saw the disciples acting so much like Christ. To me, this is the true meaning of a Christian.

True Christianity is a community of people who act like Christ and let him love through them. It is a daily life-style and is not separated into normal living and religious living. It is not specifically following set doctrines, or following rules of do’s and don’ts.  It is not meeting in a building once a week listening to one person talk, singing a few songs, shaking hands and going home. It is not a system of leaders who are on a higher level than others. It is daily life, following the leading of the Spirit, meeting with those we come in contact with along our daily routine, showing Christ’s love, eating together, laughing and crying together, accepting one another, talking and discussing our thoughts and views. Those who have gifts of leadership lead by example, lead as equals, and lead by a servant spirit to encourage and build up their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

As followers of Christ, we are to love others, accept others, and treat others with compassion, respect and love. We do not have to agree with everyone, just accept them. We can agree to disagree and love people just as they are. Everyone does not have to be just like us and they do not have to believe like us. They should be able to be themselves and we as Christ followers should be OK with it.

It’s time to stop being a Christian in the sense of religion, and focus on Jesus and let Him live through us. After all, we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ, God lives within us. There is no reason why we cannot love and accept others just like Christ loves and accepts everyone.

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Are We to Convert Others?

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2014| 7 Comments »

Is it our job as Christians to convert the unsaved?

Are we to force our views and beliefs on others so that they might come to God?

My answer would be no. It is our job to follow Christ and love others, and the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and lead people to the Father.

We cannot convert others; we cannot make them come to Christ by forcing our views and beliefs on them. Only the Holy Spirit can convict the world of sin and lead them to repentance.

Jesus said in 1 John 3:23 that we are to accept Him and love others. Apart from that, we have nothing more to do than to be available to Him and allow the Spirit to work and love through us.

LoveGodandothers

We are called to make disciples, but disciples would be those who already have a relationship with Christ. The dictionary describes a disciple as ‘a professed follower of Christ’. We are to be there to encourage and help one another into maturity in our fellowship with Him.

We are also told to go into all the world and preach the gospel. The gospel being the good news that God loves us, He has provided freedom from our sinful nature and has restored fellowship with us. Again, this is done by loving God and loving others not by being judgmental, pointing fingers, threatening and other means we sometimes use to force others to accept Christ.

When we show the love of God to others and accept them as they are people will be be drawn to Christ easier than through condemning and threatening ways. This does not mean we have to agree with everyone or say you can live anyway you want with no consequences, but we can show the love of Christ to non-believers and accept them without expecting them to change and start acting like we think they should. God accepted us as we were before we came to Him we should do the same.

In love, tell the good news to those you meet that God loves them, encourage and make disciples out of those who know Christ and stop trying to force salvation on non-believers through ‘holier than thou’ attitudes, guilt and condemnation. Love is the answer. God is love.

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Connection

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , on August 14, 2014| 17 Comments »

The word connection brings to mind being connected with others. I think of a circle of friends, or group of people who have similar interests.

In our walk with God, it is those we meet together with for fellowship. We may have a similar interest within the fellowship such as men’s group, youth group, prayer meeting, bible study. It could be a Christian singles group, homeless ministry, prison ministry or such.

Outside of our Christian friends, connecting with others can be a million different interests and activities where people connect with similar interests.

Connecting with others in our daily walk is one of the best ways of showing the love of Christ to those with whom we share our lives. The trouble with connecting through similar interests comes down to what happens when those interests change?

If our connecting with others only relies on our interests, we truly don’t connect. We only have similar interests but not a lasting connection. Over time, interests change, people move on, and our groups of connections seem to constantly change.

For my wife and me, we feel that true connection can only happen when it is grounded on Christ. He is the only connection that is constant and does not change. When our interests in things change, he is still there, loving us and loving others.

In Christ, our connections can be true, sincere and lasting, all because we have a common lifestyle of following Christ and loving our father.

Earthly connections come and go as our interests change. Spiritual connections in Christ can truly be lasting connections. Build your connections on the love of God and walking with Christ each day. Then when the earthly connections change, we will still have the common connection through Christ with our brothers and sisters.

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This article was part of the August Synchroblog (http://synchroblog.wordpress.com). Here is the list of contributors this month. Go read them all and leave a comment!

Jerry Wirtley – Connection
Sara Quezada – Can You Really Know Someone In A Different Language?
Ford – Interindependence
Minnow – Our Dis-Connect
Justin Steckbauer – Connection in Love, it’s what Life is all about!
Carol Kuniholm – Disengagement and Connection
Wesley Rostoll – Finding Jesus In Different Places
Doreen A Mannion – A bunny, a fawn and some geese walk into a bar …
Leah Sophia – Touch of Life
Karen “Charity” Aldrich – Wuv True Wuv
Abbie Watters – Connection – Addicted to the Buzz
Liz Dyer – Human Connection and the Power of Empathy

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