Yvonne and I live in a situation where one is tested on a constant basis but the word “hate” is only applied to what one does, not the person themselves. I still maintain that it is impossible for a truly saved individual to hate another human being. I may dislike them vehemently just as Jesus disliked the Pharisees and many other people but the word hate appears nowhere in relation to any of them. Basically I have to ask myself if I want to see a bad person go to heaven or hell? As it is said of God, that he would rather all should be saved and enter the Kingdom of Heaven and so I do believe it should be with myself. When Jesus sent his disciples to go throughout the land to preach he said if the people of the town do not believe then go to the edge of the town and shake the dust from your feet. He didn’t say to hate everyone and burn the town down. Indeed, are we not instructed to love our enemies and pray for them? My question is; How could we do anything less if we have any kind of relationship with God?
My experience with other Christians has been similar to my own process, with a few exceptions as I'll explain. Although I became a saved believer as a child, I treated my Christian faith as a private, subtle, part time concern of life. Yes, I read the Bible, prayed every day, went to church at times, and built my character upon Christian values, but my career, trips, recreational activities, and other self interests competed with time and attention devoted to God. And for 50 years, I realize now that I obviously didn't make my faith the core of my life, nor progress with my Christian walk as a person should. I was a believing Christian who had the principle Bible doctrines down right and a daily relationship with God, but was merely dabbling in the things that should have been a priority in my life. In this sense, I was like all of my other Christian friends - sharing beliefs but not showing much evidence of it. During my life, I've only met a couple of Christians that weren't private and quiet with their faith. They would speak outwardly and boldly about Godly things and I, like others, would walk away feeling uncomfortable, wondering why some people felt the need to always talk about faith issues. It's called wearing your religion on your cuff and is considered an insult by today's cultural standards. Now though, I understand that these few Christians had a passion and value for their faith that I, and virtually all of my friends, didn't have. My perspective of being a Christian changed drastically 6 years ago when I retired, losing the extraordinary career and other passions of my life. I had to find a new purpose and use for my time and quickly found that God should and could be the center focus instead of a mere periphery part. Since then, I have spent considerably more time each day studying Christian apologetics, watching YouTube sermons, praying, memorizing scriptures, and reaching out with witnessing efforts. In effect, I have become passionately interested and outwardly bold with Christian beliefs and values. And, I'm amazed at how much there is to know and learn about God, the Bible, and cultural values that never crossed my mind before. Now that I'm attuned to the real Christian walk, I'm dismayed by the misguided beliefs and passiveness of most Christians I know - ones who'd profess their faith and salvation through Christ, but reject the inspired authority of the Bible, accept secular moral values, and never risk conflict by speaking out boldly for Biblical truths. This is all apparent from the grim reality that a nation of supposed Christians has adopted leaders and judges who reject God from the public arena and support abortion and homosexuality. I believe Christians today are mostly a silent majority with a luke warm faith that would not please God, and certainly does not exemplify the mature walk that Paul describes for us in the New Testament. I'd encourage all Christians to become more bold with their faith and start acting like Christ followers that openly proclaim God's truth rather than being meek with silent acceptance of the degrading cultural beliefs and values we see taking over the world. If you're a Christian who's pleasing everyone around you by not speaking out for Christian beliefs and virtue, then you're probably not representing the faith or truth as Jesus instructs us to do.
We could assume rightly or wrongly that anyone wearing clerical garb is a Christian. Nuns, priests. How about those wearing large crosses and crucifixes? If someone saw me standing in the aisle of a Southern Baptist church they might assume that I was a Christian, but they would be wrong.
Well spoken Joseph, and I agree with your assessment. In fact, all the responders have given honest assessments. I did read from a couple of posters who somewhat puzzled me. And thanks, Babs, for beginning this discussion, as I certainly admire your faith. Its been a pleasure to read these posts. Christians have every reason to live a life of joy and exuberance, and it should show. Just think, because of the rebellion in the Garden of Eve by Adam and Eve, our DNA, as it were, was changed so that from that time on, death became the penalty for every human since then, and our soul could not be sold because it was in a state of demise. But we can gain back our original state of purity! Jesus’ offer of salvation is by virtue of His subtitutionary death for all of us. Jesus said to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. Believest thou this?” This promise from God should give us a “spring in our step” and a cause for celebration and joy.! Unfortunately, I, like most, succumb to human weakness and fall short many times. I, like Paul said, do not always do what I want to do. " Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Paul went on to say: “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? He answered his own question “God delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!“ Christianity is the celebration of Jesus' atonement. For now we can have a new DNA, where death is no longer our destiny (of course we die physically), because as Jesus said, we have passed from death to life, and we now have our our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life, which means we have eternal life with Him. The sting of death has been removed! Rejoice and sing praises!
I learned long ago that just because someone shows up in a church doesn’t mean they are Christians. On the other hand, I know that nearly everyone shows up because they need something that they can’t get anywhere else. The main function of a church isn’t to help heal the well but to help those who are weak, in question and in need of something they can’t describe. If you were standing in a Baptist church it would undoubtedly be because you saw something in someone or heard something from someone that made you question your own lack of belief. Prouder men than you have walked through the doors of a church. It takes a lot of strength for some people to admit that they need help and can’t get it by looking at their bank accounts.
Crucifixes and large crosses are sometimes worn as fashion accessories, so their presence may or may not indicate anything at all. The presence of someone inside of a place of worship generally indicates, at least, an interest in whatever religion that church teaches, although that's not necessarily the case. Increasingly, this is no longer the case but, at one time, someone pretty much had to be a member of a church in order to be accepted in society in many places. Today, it might even be considered a liability.
Here's an interesting story I read this morning about a poor Christian woman coming into some unexpected money. I'd say her find first seemed like an amazing blessing from the Lord, but wonder how long it took before her conscience kicked in and she pondered the tough question. I like seeing exceptional integrity in action. https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/202...craigslist-but-her-reaction-is-the-real-story
Whether large or small, I think we have all had things happen in our lives that are intentionally placed there to test us whilst others might just be happenstance. Either way, the temptation to be selfish instead of selfless is ever present especially when we think no one else will know. If the Spirit of God is indeed within us, we know what the correct action should be. (ref. Eph. 4:30) Good Find Carl !
When I was a kid (perhaps 5 years old), I was at a gas station with my father. He gave me money--a nickel or a dime--for the Lance cookie machine. This was one of those mechanical machines where you put in your money, you pull the long rod under your selection all the way out, let it go, and your pak of cookies dispenses to the tray at the bottom. So I put in my coin, made my choice, pull the rod, let it go, and every single one of that flavor dumped to the bottom! I was in Vegas, baby, and the slot machine lost!!! You can imagine how a little kid would feel about something like that happening. My father had other ideas. He let me keep the one I paid for, then had me gather up the rest, take them inside, and hand them over to the manager. It's a stupid little thing that happened over 60 years ago, and I still remember. As Bobby said, we all have things like that put in our lives. I'm sure a few stories come to mind for each of us. This woman's story is extraordinary due to the amount of money and the "only she and God would know" aspect. For many folks, the higher the value would just mean the greater the discomfort in hanging on to it. And we can't imagine feeling pleasure at keeping that which did not rightly belong to us. But the value doesn't really matter...for most of us, not doing the right thing would still gnaw at us no matter how great or how [seemingly] minuscule.
I know a guy who went to a coin show at the local community center, and bought some gold & silver coins from various dealers. There was a woman and her father selling some stuff, and the guy bought some gold coins from them. Her father was manning the cash drawer, and did all his calculations with pencil & paper. When the guy got home and entered his purchases in a spreadsheet where he kept track of his inventory, he realized that the father had undercharged him by $100. The guy rushed back to the venue (it was the final afternoon of the show), pulled the daughter aside, explained what happened, and gave her the $100. This stuff goes on all the time.
Maybe it is the one(s) reading or quoting , and not the Bible that gets in your way, so to speak. A lot of people in many nations refused to believe when deceivers, false christs, came to them quoting Scripture or religion, but when someone true and faithful, abiding in Christ Alive , actually being a new creation in Christ, came and spoke to them, they say they saw they spoke the truth AND lived it, and they believed then; but not when they heard anything from the false ones= the listeners had/have a conscience that alerted them when someone was trying to deceive them, even with a FALSE GOSPEL, a false life/religion.