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Posts Tagged ‘religion’

Be Holy

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , on June 20, 2012| 2 Comments »

1 Peter 1:16 –  because it is written, “you shall be holy, for I AM holy.”

I used to read this verse and think of it as a command. I thought God was telling us we had to live a holy life. Of course this made me wonder how that could ever be possible.

As I became more aware of God’s grace and what all it means, I found my answer as to how to be holy.

God’s grace is a gift. Our sins were crucified with Christ when He died on the cross. Our old sinful nature was buried with Christ and we were raised up a new creation.

Because of God’s gift of grace, our souls are now made perfect. Our hope is fixed completely on the grace brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We no longer have a soul that is sinful. We are a new creation in Christ.

Our soul has been made perfect by the grace of Christ. Our body and our mind are still in process of being transformed. As we allow the spirit of Christ to change and transform us, our body and mind will start to come in line with our soul. Of course, that will take a lifetime to complete.

I now realize this is not a command, but a statement. We are holy, because God is holy. Now that Christ has given us the gift of grace, we don’t have to live a Holy life by works, but God sees a perfect and holy soul within us.

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Love One Another

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , on June 14, 2012|

Whether you are part of an organized religious organization, or what we today call church, or if you are not part of one, we as followers of Christ are the Church.

We should be able to get past our differences in doctrine and interpretation, get past what church we attend or if we attend at all, and focus on our love for God and our love for one another.

We obviously aren’t going to come in contact with every person in the world, but we are to be ready each day to allow the Spirit of Christ, which is within us, to reach out to those individuals we come in contact with each day.

All our organized services and plans to get people in to a service so the pastor can get the good word out will never make a huge difference. It is our job to go out into the world and live a life of love. Again, that doesn’t mean all of us has to become a missionary and go to some far off land. The people we come in contact with each day during our regular routine are the people we need to be showing love.

This is the way we will make a difference in our world, when non-believers see the love Christians have for each other and for God.

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Discouraging

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , on May 18, 2012|

You know what bothers me? The way we Christians can’t seem to get along.

Now I don’t expect everyone to agree with each other. God gave us minds and personalities and we are all different. But as I read different blogs and postings, I see a trend sometimes that is more than just disagreeing. It seems to get down right ugly sometimes.

Obviously we are going to disagree on things, but can’t we still disagree and yet respect and love the other person? It discourages me so much when I read a blog and go through the comments and see disagreements that turn into arguments. It gets to a point sometimes that I have to get away and stop reading.

I always wonder why it is we just can’t accept each others views and go on. Seems like a lot of people really get upset when they can’t get someone else to think the same way they do. We’ve got to go on and on, trying to prove our point or our way of thinking.

I know when you write a blog you are opening yourself up to comments and disagreements, but do we have to go to some of the extremes of getting mad and losing our tempers because someone else has a different viewpoint.

Aren’t we being just like the worldly crowd? Aren’t we supposed to be known as Christians by the love we have for one another.

Humans are never going to agree with others on every point, but we Christians should be able to disagree with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and yet do so in a way that the non-Christians will still be able to notice that extreme love we have for God and for one another.

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Temptation

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , on April 3, 2012|

2 Peter 2:9 – then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation…

We all are bothered by temptation every day of our lives. No matter if we have been saved for years, or have just come to know God, temptation is always knocking at our door.

When we were saved by grace, our spirit was made new. Our spirit is now holy, righteous and perfect in God’s sight. Our body and mind are in a continual process of regeneration and sanctification. As we grow in Christ, read His words and allow the spirit to transform us, we grow and become more like Christ and more like our new spirit.

Remember, temptation is not a sin. God has given us the power to overcome the temptation and He always provides a way of escape.

When Jesus lived on earth, He also was tempted. Because of this, He knows how we feel. He knows the pressures we deal with and He knows how to help us through those temptations. He knows how to rescue us.

When temptation hits us, rather than trying to overcome it in our own way, we need to focus on Christ and depend on Him to provide us the strength to overcome. Only by grace and the strength we get from Christ can we overcome and live a life of victory.

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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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Be Careful How You Act

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 21, 2011|

Have you ever come across someone who calls themself a Christian, yet the way they act says something different?

I remember an experience my wife had recently. She returned a couple books to what used to be a library. She did not realize the library had closed and a church was now there. A few days later she realized that the library was no longer at this site and went back to the church to get the books.

She said she will never forget the look and condescending attitude of the guy she talked to…who turned out to be the pastor.

My wife assumed that this pastor didn’t agree with women wearing makeup or knee-length dresses. Now I know there are groups that don’t believe in women wearing make-up, and I feel that is up to them how they interpret the Bible and what they feel is right and wrong, but my wife does not in any way over do her make-up, so I did not see any reason why anyone would even think to question the way she looked. Obviously this guy had a different thought on this. He was not nice to her, it was obvious that he didn’t want to talk to her and felt she shouldn’t be in his so-called ‘house of God’. What rubbish.

This whole incident made me think of Jesus when he was with some of the religious leaders of His day and made the statement, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness”.

First off, that building wasn’t the house of God. People tend to forget God doesn’t live in buildings. He lives in people who are saved by grace.

Second, what kind of witness was that to her. This guy did not know if she was a Christian or not. The way he treated her could have been the final straw for her wanting to know God.

We Christians need to stop and think about how we act in the world. We are God’s witnesses to the world. We may be the only witness they see, and if we aren’t living under the guidance of the Spirit of God, we can make a very negative impact of those we come in contact each day.

We need to be careful not to have a religious spirit. Let God’s love for others flow through you. Remember God told us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t be a stumbling block to someone by the way you act and treat others.

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Can’t We All Just Get Along

Posted in christian living, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 12, 2011| 1 Comment »

When it comes to Christianity, with all its different denominations, interpretations, different versions of the Bible, it seems there are always times when we run into conflict.

Each of us as brothers or sisters in Christ seem to want it our way. Our ‘church’, our interpretation, our version of the Bible. We each feel that we are right and feel the need to distance ourselves from those who feel differently.

Have you noticed how religion just wants to set the rules so each of us know what it takes to be a ‘good’ Christian? Do this, don’t do that, stay away from this and make sure you participate in that. Be in every service and be active with this group or that group. If you aren’t reading a particular version of the Bible, you are just wasting your time, if you aren’t part of a ‘church’ you must be backslidden, at least that’s the way some fellow Christians make you feel. Rules, rules, rules.

Maybe it’s time to stop arguing over versions, interpretations, church attendance and such and start focusing on Christ, who is to be our first love. If we can focus on Him and loving others, we should be able to agree to disagree on other topics.

When we find common ground in our faith in Christ, when we love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, we should be able to look past the minor differences we have in our various denominations, Bible versions and interpretations.

Let’s stop fighting against each other and begin to love one another as Christ loves us. Don’t let the minor differences come between the love we can have for one another and the things we can share and learn through fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Everyone Welcome

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, The church, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2011|

Have you ever passed a ‘church’ building and saw a sign out front that says ‘Everyone Welcome’?

When I see one I always wonder if they really mean what they say. I’ve seen so many congregations over the years get set in their ways and enjoy the people who are “regular’s”, but what would happen if ‘everyone’ did come to their church?

What would the thoughts and feelings be if a gay couple walked in, or a few prostitutes decided to come in for a service. What if a group of homeless people walked in to hear the Sunday morning sermon? Would everyone be truly welcome?

We know that Jesus welcomed everyone, literally, and mostly those who the ‘religious world’ didn’t want to have any association. Jesus met with and cared for the people who probably wouldn’t go to church, either because they wouldn’t be welcome or because they just didn’t think they would fit in.

Maybe that says something about our ‘organized church’ of today. Maybe we’ve become so involved with religion and the proper way of doing things that we’ve lost our first love. Could we be so caught up in the trends of modern religion that we forget our relationship with the God of the universe?

Maybe we need to concentrate more on living in fellowship with Christ on a daily basis, loving Him and loving others, and not worry so much about what building we go to on Sunday morning….if we go at all. The true Church is not a building, and it does not matter which day we meet or where we meet. The Church is a community of believers who live for Him each and every day. We should not be focused on a building, but on a daily walk with Him.

To love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love others as ourselves fulfills the law. We no longer need to worry about obeying the law and the rules and regulations. We now live under a new covenant which went into effect at the death and resurrection of Jesus. We now have the Living Word within us through the Holy Spirit. We no longer need any man to teach us the ways of God, because now the Spirit is our guide.

It is time to put our focus back on our first love, Jesus. It is time to live out our relationship with God on a daily basis, not only on one day. If you are a follower of Christ, it is a daily way of life of loving God, loving others, and being prepared to give an answer of the hope that is within us to those who ask us. I pray we are all letting the love of God show through us so that others will be drawn to Him.

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