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Posts Tagged ‘faith’

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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What’s Wrong with Saying “I Don’t Know”?

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , on August 27, 2014| 6 Comments »

To those of us who have grown up in ‘church’, have you ever felt that you needed to know all the answers?

When a non-believer questions your faith, or asks something about the bible, do you feel you have to know the answer and be able to explain it to them?

I know I have always felt that way. Although the more I think about it, and the more I run into people who have all sorts of questions, I have come to realize that I don’t have all the answers.

Even my wife and I talk and have questions we can’t answer. We’ve come to realize that God is too big for us to have Him all figured out. If we don’t have all the answers for ourselves, how could we have all the answers for everyone else?

Basically, questioning is not wrong. I think we’ve been taught that we shouldn’t question the pastor, the bible, our faith, even God, but God isn’t afraid of our questions. What is wrong with us saying ‘I don’t know’?

Do not know

Admitting that you don’t know does not mean you aren’t a good ‘christian’. Admitting that you don’t know doesn’t mean your faith is shallow or we don’t believe God.

If we knew everything, what kind of a God would we be serving anyway? The Spirit will be teaching us during our entire life here on earth, and we still won’t begin to know it all.

While Jesus was on earth, he basically told stories and parables. A lot of the time, he did not give a direct answer. He usually asked another question rather than give a direct, set answer. I suppose if he gave a direct answer, we would have made it a basic doctrine by now anyway.

Don’t be afraid to question. That is the best way to learn. God is perfectly capable of guiding us to the truth in His timing.

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Act in Faith

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, tagged , , , on June 19, 2013| 1 Comment »

I remember when I was a little boy waking up in the middle of the night and calling out in the dark to my mom.

I could not see her but I knew she was there. If I went by sight I would never have called out to her and I would not have received the help I wanted.

The same with God, we cannot see Him but we know He is there. We must realize that we live by faith or we will never call out to Him and receive what we need.

Faith1

In certain ways, I see all people as people of faith. That is not saying that all people have faith in God but all have faith. Some people have faith in science, some in various religions, some in humanity and others have faith in God.

God loves each one of us no matter what we put our faith in. He has come to call us to himself, to accept us and to love us.

None of us can prove beyond a doubt that there is a God or that there is not a God. None of us can prove Heaven or Hell. It is all by faith.

Just as it is by faith that we flip a light switch and expect the lights to come on, or sit on a chair and expect it to hold us, it is by faith we accept God and know He is there and has provided access to fellowship with him by grace.

Don’t worry about trying to prove God to everyone you meet. Live your life daily by faith in God. Allow Him to live through you to touch others and, in his way and time, prove himself.

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Finding Church – New Book

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , on November 16, 2012| 1 Comment »

What happens when people begin to question church? Millions of people are “leaving church” each year as they begin to question the deeper meanings and structures of gathering together. They’re asking a fundamental question of, “What does it mean to participate in church and what would happen if we did something different?” They are not abandoning God, ignoring Scripture, or giving up on Jesus. While a few do leave for such reasons, the vast majority report that they leave church to better follow Jesus, obey God, and live out their faith in meaningful and relational ways. They stop attending church to pursue something more intimate and personal. Finding Church explores these stories of people leaving, switching, and even reforming their basic understanding of church. It will open your eyes to a growing trend in culture for people to take responsibility for their faith.

List of Contributors
Lew Ayotte, Carey Crawford, Michael Donahoe, Glenn Hager, Wayne Hobson, Judith Huang, Mike Keffer, Travis Klassen, Tyson Phillips, Tara Pohlkotte, Will Rochow, Brian Swan, Genevieve Thul, Shannon Brisco, Jessica Bowman, Lauren LaRue, Kellen Freeman, Eric Hatfield, Wayne Hobson, Kimberly Parker, Felisa Reed, Sam Riviera, Cara Sexton, Alan Brisco, Kris Camealy, Daniel Darling, Melody Harrison Hanson, Dan King, Alan Knox, Sonny Lemmons, Travis Mamone, Mary C. M. Phillips, Bill Reichart, Aubry Smith, John Walker, and Markus Watson.

Available for Presale – Publishes December 1, 2012 from Civitas Press
http://store.civitaspress.com/books/377

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People of Faith

Posted in christian living, tagged , , on March 27, 2012|

When I think of people of faith, my thoughts go to those of us who are Christians and faith in God.

Thinking more about this, I have come to the conclusion that every person in the world is a person of faith.

This isn’t some wild, new age, ‘everyone will make it to Heaven’ idea. I am talking about how we all use our faith day to day. Humans are born having an inner desire that only God can fill. Not all of us come to that conclusion, but we all have a spiritual need and we all use faith constantly.

Faith is listed in the dictionary as confidence or trust in a person or thing; belief that is not based on proof. We all turn on a light switch with faith that the light will come on. We all sit on a chair with faith that it will hold us. Some people have faith there is no God, no Heaven, no Hell. Others have faith in Buddha, or Confucius, or in fate. Others have faith in God and an eternity with Him.

Having faith is a natural thing that God created within each of us. God also created us with a freedom to make our own choices and decisions. Unfortunately, a lot of people make the wrong choice in regard to their faith.

Obviously, we as Christians want to let others know that the only meaningful faith is in God. We need to remember that God does not push himself on others, but gently and quietly works through the Holy Spirit to lead others to Him. We also should not be pushy, forcing our thoughts and beliefs on others. We know there is a natural spot for God built within us, and faith is within each of us. We need to pray for those who have not come to that knowledge, and allow God to work through us in a kind and gentle way.

We as Christians should be ready to let God work through us and speak through us at the right times, and to be witnesses to the faith that brings about salvation through Christ.

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Law or Faith

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , on January 17, 2012|

Galatians 3:24, 25

The Law very clearly was used under the Old Covenant as a tutor, a set of rules to basically keep us in line. The Law was there for us to follow, and if we kept it entirely, we would be perfect and could obtain salvation.

Unfortunately, due to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, evil had control over the earth and we mere men could not live up to the standards of the Law. We kept falling short and were unable to obtain perfect living by the Law.

The Law showed us that we were in need of someone to save us. We were unable to do it ourselves. The Law, through its rules and regulations were ineffective to bring us to salvation.

Fortunately, Jesus came and lived on this earth and was able to fulfill the Law. He lived a perfect life and fulfilled every part of the Law up through His death on the cross.

At that point, He said ‘It is finished’, meaning that fulfillment of the Law was complete in Him and He was now the perfect sacrifice for us. The Old Covenant was a thing of the past and a New Covenant began at His resurrection.

Now we live through love. We love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and we love others as ourselves (Galatians 5:14).

Jesus lives in us and He has fulfilled the Law. We now live by faith in Christ and are saved through His grace. We no longer need to worry about trying to fulfill the Law or any part of the Old Covenant.

Jesus fulfilled all that was needed to provide for our salvation. We live through faith in Christ and depend on Him solely for our salvation. We are no longer slaves to the Law, but we are sons of God (John 15:15). We are righteousness in God’s eyes because He sees Jesus in us.

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Faith without Works

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2011|

We read in James 2:26 that faith without works is dead. Many think of works as working in a food pantry, helping the homeless, being active in a church, maybe doing door to door evangelism etc. These things are all well and good, but I’m wondering if this verse might actually mean something a little different than this.

In this verse Jesus is saying that if we believe in Him, we will do the works that He did, even greater ones. Obviously we can’t do anything on our own, but by faith and the power of the Spirit within us, we can do the works of Christ.

When we think of the works that Jesus did, we think of love, compassion, mercy, giving of ourselves, caring, selflessness, healing and teaching. Jesus did these things on a daily basis, with people He came in came in contact with as a normal part of His day, and usually in ways that were not exceptional or highly dramatic.

I believe we all have different callings and different interests, but each of us as followers of Christ can be daily living in the love of God and doing the works that Jesus did, through faith.

Whether we are out doing a specific ministry, or going about our daily routine, we can by faith let God work in us and through us, and allow the Spirit to work in a way that will touch those we come in contact with and show them the love of God.

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Sin is not our master

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , on October 14, 2011|

Romans 6:14 – For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace

This says to me that people who try to fulfill the law and try to earn their salvation by good works are the ones that sin rules over.

Those who have accepted grace through faith are free from the law and now dead to sin. Verse 11 tells us to ‘consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus’.

In verse 23 we are told that ‘the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’. This doesn’t just mean physical death, but can also mean spiritual death. We can be dead to the things of Christ, either by being an unbeliever or by trying to follow the law.

Through grace we can live a life pleasing to God, dead to sin and alive to God. Through grace we enter into eternal life with God in the present.

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Faith and Works

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 23, 2011|

James 2:18 You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works…..

I have always read this verse with the thought of works being things I do to earn what God has given me, salvation. Maybe not earn, but pay back for what God has done. After thinking a little about this, I think that what is being said isn’t paying God back by doing good things. Our works are a result of our love for Christ and what He did for us. Our works are our actions that we do day by day. Our actions are a result of spending time with Christ and learning from Him.

We need to truly be His disciples. A disciple is one who spends time with the Teacher, listens to His every word, watches how He acts, spends all his time with the Teacher, eating, sleeping, talking, traveling, learning, just like the disciples of Jesus. It is then that our actions will mimic those of Christ. The Bible says we can be no better than our teacher, but when Christ is our Teacher, we have the best.

When our actions are the same as His, people will no longer see us but they will see Jesus. Our actions, or works, then show the love of God to the world. Our ‘good’ works as far as we normally think of works, and our words do not mean a lot, but our actions speak louder than either.

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Love One Another

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2011|

John 13:35 – By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another….

This verse is one of the main points of Christianity, next to loving God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. The way we are to be noticed as being Christ followers is by the love we have for other Christ followers. I think this is an area where we modern-day believers have gotten off track.

The early followers of Christ were of one mind and one purpose, loving God, loving others and spreading the Good News. They took care of each other, supplied for each other and were generally concerned for the well-being of each other. Today we are divided up into so many different groups and denominations because we can’t agree and get along on basic points of our Christian faith. Non-believers watch us and see all the arguing and back-biting among Christians, and they don’t want anything to do with us.

It is time for the body of believers to get past their differences and start truly acting in love and concern for each other. This is the way that those outside the Christian faith are going to see a real difference and start asking what it is that we have. It is then that we will have a real impact for our faith in God.

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