"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing." Jesus in John 14:12
I have been over this hundreds of times in my head and I do not understand why it takes so many of us so long to grasp this; We believe in God. We believe he is the creator and God our father. We believe the only way to him is through his son Jesus Christ our Lord. I see many people, and I have done it too, we believe in our heads but it still doesn't change the way we live. Do we really believe?
This is a silly illustration but what the heck! During the presidential election, you probably looked into the different candidates, learned their past and what they want to accomplish in office, their morals, religious beliefs, etc. You then pick your candidate you will vote for and you will try to get your friends and family to believe he (or she) is the best choice and you should put your faith in them. We proactively act as tools in their campaign to bring people to them.
So why if we believe in Jesus Christ do we just lay there. We act like doormats. We are not fully putting our faith in Christ. I know I'll have people jump on my back for this, like they have before, I get the argument "well all you need is faith in Christ and you will be saved," and I hate when people argue, "its not about getting other people to Christ, it's about growing in your walk with him." How can we say it's just about us? If it were just about us why would we be called to serve others? To act as disciples of Christ to lead others to Him. ...."...will do what I have been doing." What had Jesus been doing? Miracles- okay so we can't really expect do perform the miracles Jesus did, but he treated people with unconditional love. He taught the word of God so that people could be saved through him. If we weren't meant to spread the word of God and reach out to people, it would have been pointless for Jesus to come. It would have been pointless for him to die. He came, He loved and He died.
We are to do as Jesus did. We are to live as Jesus lived. We are to love as Jesus loved.
John 14:21 "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me."
John 14:23 "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching."
Jesus taught us to witness. It may be through prayer, through our actions, words or plainly the way we treat people. So make sure everyday you are living as a disciple of Christ. It's not always easy. There will always be good days and bad days, but what we have to look forward to is a life of unconditional love. An overflow of satisfaction. Grace and Mercy.
Do as Jesus did. We are to live as Jesus lived. We are to love as Jesus loved.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friend > noun.
Friend > noun.
-a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile
-a member of the same nation, party, etc
-a member of the Religious Society of friends; a Quaker.
If you look up the definition of 'friend' online those are the definitions you find. And if we are calling ourselves friends or others friends, shouldn't this be what we mean? Im finding more and more, especially with girls, we call people friends who don't deserve it. We, at times, can all be bad friends. We turn our "supporting" role into many other things it shouldn't be.
I am not a perfect friend. I have talked about other friends, listened to gossip about other friends. I tend to get very jealous of friends and I have not upheld the title of supporter when they might have needed me the most. But why continue this trend? Who says its too late to turn things around? To be a better friend.
It seems like sometimes we treat complete strangers with more kindness than we would our best friend. We use our friends. We use them to vent to, to borrow their stuff, to use their toys, how can we be sure that we are always there for them? If we are acting selfishly you are not being a friend. It's like being in a relationship, whether it be boyfriend/girlfriend, or husband/wife, we have to act with the others feelings and well being in our mind. If we only use our friends to gossip to or to keep our secrets or to lie for us, we are not being a friend. A friend would not use a friend to lie for them. If you really cared about someone why would you selfishly out them in a position that could hurt them or your friendship?
Jealousy
If we love our friends and care about their well being why do we get so jealous? Everyone has something in their life to be happy for or to look forward to, so why do we dwell on what they have that we don't? I am super jealous at times. I love my friends, but it's really not fair to them if I'm always mopey because I want what they have. I have a husband that loves me and a beautiful daughter that I adore, I have a house and food and 2 paid off cars, I have a relationship with my savior Jesus Christ, so why do I get so down and out? I am constantly on a day to day basis trying to just be happy for my friends. Happy for their life, their accomplishments, everything. I need to be joyful that they are happy.
Bragging
Friends brag. And it sucks. It's one thing to be excited about a new pet, car, outfit, whatever it is, but c'mon, hos nasty is it when you brag? I've bragged and I have friends that brag. Are we so unhappy/unsatisfied with life that we have to make our friends jealous, or make them sin. Ya, sin. It's one of the ten commandments.
10 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”
Okay, so jealous friend and bragging friend are both sinning. Friend: don't make your friend feel like they need something more to compete with you and other friend: be happy with what you have, supprt your friend, be happy for them when they are happy.
Gossip
Okay, so this can get better with age, especially when you are not in school anymore. But really, we were all nasty in middle school and high school. Just stop! Stop and think when you are hearing it or stop when you are saying it. We always think about it too late. "We really shouldn't have said that." But then again, stop telling your secrets! I cannot tell you this enough. Keep private matters to yourself. Sex talk first off shouldn't be in school nor is it something to discuss with your friends. It's like this thing in the back of our minds, we never really think about though, we assume, subconsciously, if a someone tells you a secret, then it's something to be talked about, whether with that person or any persons. We tend to hear and repeat. ANYTHING YOU DO NOT WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW, KEEP TO YOURSELF. We really should be able to have one friend that we can confide in, but in all seriousness how many of us have more than one bff? (I have 2) I really like being able to share things with them. I wish all three of us could be completely open 100% of the time. But sometimes we pick one friend to confide in, it's so hard when you think we are all friends, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I told the other. We have to stop with this mindset.
I like knowing what's going on with people from high school and if they put it on facebook it must be okay if you know.But when it gets to the point of you telling someone in private and it makes it to facebook or whether you are trying to find something out about them without letting them know, it's rude, it sucks, you would hate it if they did that to you. Just stop. Why do we care. If it's private, it's private. If they wanted you to know they would have told you. If you're not their friend I'm not saying it's not okay to care, but you cant gossip and pry into their lives.
_____________________________________________________
most importantly friends do not judge. they are not selfish, they truly care for one another.
they want whats best for the other and will do everything in their power to make it happen. friends appreciate each other. make time in you busy lives with your busy schedules and have a date with your friend. they help make life worth living.
_____________________________________________________
I wrote this a couple blogs ago;
In Matthew 22 a pharisee asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment? In verse 37, Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.
________________________________________________________
Noun> used to name or identify a person, place, thing, quality, or action
_________________________________________________________
Let you friendship be an action, not just a word to describe your relationship. Be an ACTIVE FRIEND> love and be loved. respect and be respected, care and be cared for!
Respect your friends. Love them as yourself. If you find that you cannot trust a friend be honest. I cannot trust you. Break the ties that bond you, take a break, if you both come back together and STOP acting selfishly, build a better friendship.
Building a better friendship starts with YOU. YOU need to be the better friend first!
-a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
-a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter-a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile
-a member of the same nation, party, etc
-a member of the Religious Society of friends; a Quaker.
If you look up the definition of 'friend' online those are the definitions you find. And if we are calling ourselves friends or others friends, shouldn't this be what we mean? Im finding more and more, especially with girls, we call people friends who don't deserve it. We, at times, can all be bad friends. We turn our "supporting" role into many other things it shouldn't be.
I am not a perfect friend. I have talked about other friends, listened to gossip about other friends. I tend to get very jealous of friends and I have not upheld the title of supporter when they might have needed me the most. But why continue this trend? Who says its too late to turn things around? To be a better friend.
It seems like sometimes we treat complete strangers with more kindness than we would our best friend. We use our friends. We use them to vent to, to borrow their stuff, to use their toys, how can we be sure that we are always there for them? If we are acting selfishly you are not being a friend. It's like being in a relationship, whether it be boyfriend/girlfriend, or husband/wife, we have to act with the others feelings and well being in our mind. If we only use our friends to gossip to or to keep our secrets or to lie for us, we are not being a friend. A friend would not use a friend to lie for them. If you really cared about someone why would you selfishly out them in a position that could hurt them or your friendship?
Jealousy
If we love our friends and care about their well being why do we get so jealous? Everyone has something in their life to be happy for or to look forward to, so why do we dwell on what they have that we don't? I am super jealous at times. I love my friends, but it's really not fair to them if I'm always mopey because I want what they have. I have a husband that loves me and a beautiful daughter that I adore, I have a house and food and 2 paid off cars, I have a relationship with my savior Jesus Christ, so why do I get so down and out? I am constantly on a day to day basis trying to just be happy for my friends. Happy for their life, their accomplishments, everything. I need to be joyful that they are happy.
Bragging
Friends brag. And it sucks. It's one thing to be excited about a new pet, car, outfit, whatever it is, but c'mon, hos nasty is it when you brag? I've bragged and I have friends that brag. Are we so unhappy/unsatisfied with life that we have to make our friends jealous, or make them sin. Ya, sin. It's one of the ten commandments.
10 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”
Okay, so jealous friend and bragging friend are both sinning. Friend: don't make your friend feel like they need something more to compete with you and other friend: be happy with what you have, supprt your friend, be happy for them when they are happy.
Gossip
Okay, so this can get better with age, especially when you are not in school anymore. But really, we were all nasty in middle school and high school. Just stop! Stop and think when you are hearing it or stop when you are saying it. We always think about it too late. "We really shouldn't have said that." But then again, stop telling your secrets! I cannot tell you this enough. Keep private matters to yourself. Sex talk first off shouldn't be in school nor is it something to discuss with your friends. It's like this thing in the back of our minds, we never really think about though, we assume, subconsciously, if a someone tells you a secret, then it's something to be talked about, whether with that person or any persons. We tend to hear and repeat. ANYTHING YOU DO NOT WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW, KEEP TO YOURSELF. We really should be able to have one friend that we can confide in, but in all seriousness how many of us have more than one bff? (I have 2) I really like being able to share things with them. I wish all three of us could be completely open 100% of the time. But sometimes we pick one friend to confide in, it's so hard when you think we are all friends, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I told the other. We have to stop with this mindset.
I like knowing what's going on with people from high school and if they put it on facebook it must be okay if you know.But when it gets to the point of you telling someone in private and it makes it to facebook or whether you are trying to find something out about them without letting them know, it's rude, it sucks, you would hate it if they did that to you. Just stop. Why do we care. If it's private, it's private. If they wanted you to know they would have told you. If you're not their friend I'm not saying it's not okay to care, but you cant gossip and pry into their lives.
_____________________________________________________
most importantly friends do not judge. they are not selfish, they truly care for one another.
they want whats best for the other and will do everything in their power to make it happen. friends appreciate each other. make time in you busy lives with your busy schedules and have a date with your friend. they help make life worth living.
_____________________________________________________
I wrote this a couple blogs ago;
In Matthew 22 a pharisee asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment? In verse 37, Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.
________________________________________________________
Noun> used to name or identify a person, place, thing, quality, or action
_________________________________________________________
Let you friendship be an action, not just a word to describe your relationship. Be an ACTIVE FRIEND> love and be loved. respect and be respected, care and be cared for!
Respect your friends. Love them as yourself. If you find that you cannot trust a friend be honest. I cannot trust you. Break the ties that bond you, take a break, if you both come back together and STOP acting selfishly, build a better friendship.
Building a better friendship starts with YOU. YOU need to be the better friend first!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Finding Time to Calm the Storm
So working in customer service, I have found, is far from the right job for me. And while I may be here until I finish school I am slowly learning some things I'm good at, and quite a few things I'm not. I'm an "emphasizer" I almost immediately feel someone's sadness, anger or joy and a tone of voice can either get you what you want or put you further away from it. I guess I'm not a people person. I thought I was. Thought wrong. I get phone calls 5 days a week, questions I cannot answer, people I cannot understand and voices that make me cry. When you are asking a question or asking for something, do you demand it? Or do you ask politely? People assume if they cannot get on the internet right away there's a tower down or it's out problem, FIX IT. I'm finding it very challenging to stay calm and treat these people with the respectful tone I'm supposed to keep. I don't believe the policy 'customer is always right', because they're not, they can be wrong, VERY WRONG> so how can I politely calm the storm? How can I be upfront and honest without being nasty? This balance is hard for me. I want to please people. I want everyone to be happy all the time, no problems, and I expect when there are problems, that people should understand. Stuff happens. Accidents are made, technology fails. We put so much dependence on computers, internet and phones, there will be times when they fail. When they don't work, or when WE can't work them.
We tend to get so wrapped up in the storm of life. It's pushing and pulling us in all directions. With greed and selfishness always in our minds it's hard to take the time to empathize, to apologize, and to understand. We can't always have what we want, when we want. I have found that is the way our society is these days. I can remember a time when we didn't have internet, or a computer for that matter. How did we communicate?! Dare I say phone or travel? Is it so much more convenient to be demanding? Treating the people, who may be taking your order or answering the phone, with disrespect and anger? Why can't we take the time to listen, understand and empathize in the situation. We jump to conclusions because we want answers and we want them now. You cannot always assume it's someone else's fault. Blame yourself first, others last. Take the time to see whats happening and why. This blog is directed to the people who make my day miserable. The people who cannot take the time to see if they are wrong, they jump on the phone and then at me. Please please please take the time to calm the storm. Whether you start it or your just in it.
Business is not just business. You have to have morals. Both parties have to be morally and ethically responsible in every situation. You cannot expect to always be right. Treat others with kindness. When I was a waitress a man that went to my church would come in with his family on Sundays. He did not recognize me, but I sure knew him. Inside the church he was polite, kind, talked to anyone. On Sundays at Beefs he was rude. Condescending. I always felt inferior to him. Like he knew he was better than me. Once he realized he knew me from church his attitude changed. But my view of him never will. He came into my place of business wanted my full attention, respect and service, but refused to treat me with common decency. I guess all y rambling comes down to this: I want to fully be able to serve others, I want to give them my respect and obedience, but when you demand things and treat others poorly you will have to wait. Jesus calls us to be kind all the time, just think of your waiting as time for us to cool down so we can treat you with kindness.Treat others how you want to be treated.
Proverbs 21: 23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. 10 Drive out a mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended. 11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
17:14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
18:2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights is airing his own opinions.
We tend to get so wrapped up in the storm of life. It's pushing and pulling us in all directions. With greed and selfishness always in our minds it's hard to take the time to empathize, to apologize, and to understand. We can't always have what we want, when we want. I have found that is the way our society is these days. I can remember a time when we didn't have internet, or a computer for that matter. How did we communicate?! Dare I say phone or travel? Is it so much more convenient to be demanding? Treating the people, who may be taking your order or answering the phone, with disrespect and anger? Why can't we take the time to listen, understand and empathize in the situation. We jump to conclusions because we want answers and we want them now. You cannot always assume it's someone else's fault. Blame yourself first, others last. Take the time to see whats happening and why. This blog is directed to the people who make my day miserable. The people who cannot take the time to see if they are wrong, they jump on the phone and then at me. Please please please take the time to calm the storm. Whether you start it or your just in it.
Business is not just business. You have to have morals. Both parties have to be morally and ethically responsible in every situation. You cannot expect to always be right. Treat others with kindness. When I was a waitress a man that went to my church would come in with his family on Sundays. He did not recognize me, but I sure knew him. Inside the church he was polite, kind, talked to anyone. On Sundays at Beefs he was rude. Condescending. I always felt inferior to him. Like he knew he was better than me. Once he realized he knew me from church his attitude changed. But my view of him never will. He came into my place of business wanted my full attention, respect and service, but refused to treat me with common decency. I guess all y rambling comes down to this: I want to fully be able to serve others, I want to give them my respect and obedience, but when you demand things and treat others poorly you will have to wait. Jesus calls us to be kind all the time, just think of your waiting as time for us to cool down so we can treat you with kindness.Treat others how you want to be treated.
Proverbs 21: 23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. 10 Drive out a mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended. 11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
17:14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
18:2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights is airing his own opinions.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
What Would Jesus Do? Love!
What Would Jesus Do? In any situation or circumstance Jesus would Love.
In Matthew 22 a pharisee asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment? In verse 37, Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is Love.
Love Your Enemies:
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (46) If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend them without expecting to get anything back.
Love:
Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (10) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Romans 13:10 Love does no harm to it's neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give all I poses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (5) It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. (6) Love dose not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.(8) Love never fails.
Why Do We Love?
We love because Jesus clearly stated that it is the first and greatest commandment, we love because we are made with the need to love and be loved.
But 1 John 4:19 says it best: We love because he first loved us.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be children of God!
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an anointing sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (12) No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
How Do We Love?
1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (18) Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions in truth.
1 John 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands.
The Bible teaches us what love is, what it does, and how we should love. Loving isn't always our first instinct or reaction, but it's the most important one we can have; whoever does not love his neighbor does not love God. Let us love God by loving him. Obey his greatest command to LOVE> EVERYONE!
In Matthew 22 a pharisee asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment? In verse 37, Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is Love.
Love Your Enemies:
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (46) If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend them without expecting to get anything back.
Love:
Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (10) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Romans 13:10 Love does no harm to it's neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give all I poses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (5) It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. (6) Love dose not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.(8) Love never fails.
Why Do We Love?
We love because Jesus clearly stated that it is the first and greatest commandment, we love because we are made with the need to love and be loved.
But 1 John 4:19 says it best: We love because he first loved us.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be children of God!
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an anointing sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (12) No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
How Do We Love?
1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (18) Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions in truth.
1 John 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands.
The Bible teaches us what love is, what it does, and how we should love. Loving isn't always our first instinct or reaction, but it's the most important one we can have; whoever does not love his neighbor does not love God. Let us love God by loving him. Obey his greatest command to LOVE> EVERYONE!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Faith and Good Works
James- "Real Christian faith is shown by one's good works" -Know Your Bible- James clarifies that good works will follow true faith.
Listening and Doing. Faith and Deeds.
When I spoke at the youth group some odd weeks ago I tried to emphasize this; you are saved through faith. Works aren't necessary, but when you truly believe and have Jesus in you heart there will be a change. "Good works will follow true faith." I am so glad I found a book with that clearly stated!
James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?
2:17 faith itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:18-19 But someone will say, "I have faith, I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
James 2:24 You see that a person alone is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
2:26 As the body without spirit is dead, so is faith without deeds is dead.
This is a silly illustration but it may help:
When you have a favorite movie (this is your "faith") you tell people, post it on facebook, bring it up in conversations, etc(these are your deeds). But what good is it to have a favorite movie that you don't share it? Is it really your favorite> if it was you would be excited to share it, learn about it, get other people to watch it.
We should be like this with our faith. Share it. Spread it. Get excited about it! If you don't share it, get excited about it>do you really believe it?
Listening and Doing. Faith and Deeds.
When I spoke at the youth group some odd weeks ago I tried to emphasize this; you are saved through faith. Works aren't necessary, but when you truly believe and have Jesus in you heart there will be a change. "Good works will follow true faith." I am so glad I found a book with that clearly stated!
James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?
2:17 faith itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:18-19 But someone will say, "I have faith, I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
James 2:24 You see that a person alone is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
2:26 As the body without spirit is dead, so is faith without deeds is dead.
This is a silly illustration but it may help:
When you have a favorite movie (this is your "faith") you tell people, post it on facebook, bring it up in conversations, etc(these are your deeds). But what good is it to have a favorite movie that you don't share it? Is it really your favorite> if it was you would be excited to share it, learn about it, get other people to watch it.
We should be like this with our faith. Share it. Spread it. Get excited about it! If you don't share it, get excited about it>do you really believe it?
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Knowing What You Believe
I cannot stress how important it is to know what you believe. It's kinda like saying Blink 182 is your favorite band, yet you do not know the titles or words to their songs;you don't know they're names or past. When I say I have a favorite band I try to learn everything I can about them, why don't we do that with our religion? Is it more important to know the words to Adam's song than the words of a verse from the Bible? Your religion can define you as a person. It can make you a better person,, if you let it, or it can make you seem like a crazy. Well I went to church and they said it's okay to drink wine, so I believe what they believe. Really? You are willing to SAY you believe everything, even though you don't take the time to really read into it? What if that same church believed we should kill anyone who doesn't believe what we believe? Do you really believe?
It's become apparent to me that not everyone knows what they believe. Being a Christian the most important thing to believe in is that Jesus Christ died for our sins. You are saved by faith through grace alone. But any church can tell you that's what they believe. But if you believe in Jesus Christ you must believe that the Bible is the complete word of God. Everything in it is good and true. If you are saying you believe what this church says and they aren't telling you everything they believe things can get weird, fast. You would be shocked to find out what some religions hide, so they can seem "mainstream". They want numbers in their church and if they have to withhold some facts of their beliefs it's okay to them. It's not okay for me. I want to know if I'm joining a church/religion/cult, I want to know everything,. It's a big step joining a church. You are saying this is part of who I am. I believe what they teach, I believe what they believe. Wouldn't you want to know if you joined a church that said they believed this, but really they only believe it if it's written like this, or we kinda believe it, but this is really how we see it.
I read the Bible. I can't say I always read it daily, but I sure try to put as much time as my lazy self will allow me, I believe that what the Bible says is truth. I may not understand everything in it, but I look it up, ask questions, go to church, I dive into what I cannot comprehend, what I don't understand, so that I know when I say, "I believe in Christianity. I believe it all." That i really do believe it. I don't add or take away things to fit my life, to fit what I wish was or could be. If I believe in the WORD OF GOD> I BELIEVE IT COMPLETELY. Read up on what your religion teaches and what they believe, make sure you believe. Read around and ask questions.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:160
All your words are true;
all your laws are eternal
It's become apparent to me that not everyone knows what they believe. Being a Christian the most important thing to believe in is that Jesus Christ died for our sins. You are saved by faith through grace alone. But any church can tell you that's what they believe. But if you believe in Jesus Christ you must believe that the Bible is the complete word of God. Everything in it is good and true. If you are saying you believe what this church says and they aren't telling you everything they believe things can get weird, fast. You would be shocked to find out what some religions hide, so they can seem "mainstream". They want numbers in their church and if they have to withhold some facts of their beliefs it's okay to them. It's not okay for me. I want to know if I'm joining a church/religion/cult, I want to know everything,. It's a big step joining a church. You are saying this is part of who I am. I believe what they teach, I believe what they believe. Wouldn't you want to know if you joined a church that said they believed this, but really they only believe it if it's written like this, or we kinda believe it, but this is really how we see it.
I read the Bible. I can't say I always read it daily, but I sure try to put as much time as my lazy self will allow me, I believe that what the Bible says is truth. I may not understand everything in it, but I look it up, ask questions, go to church, I dive into what I cannot comprehend, what I don't understand, so that I know when I say, "I believe in Christianity. I believe it all." That i really do believe it. I don't add or take away things to fit my life, to fit what I wish was or could be. If I believe in the WORD OF GOD> I BELIEVE IT COMPLETELY. Read up on what your religion teaches and what they believe, make sure you believe. Read around and ask questions.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:160
All your words are true;
all your laws are eternal
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