Post by jlr1701 on Oct 7, 2017 22:53:50 GMT -6
I just shared these thoughts on Facebook... 
You know... I've been gently bringing up the subject of God with my Dad. I naturally want to share the LIFE and JOY and REDEMPTION I have found in Jesus Christ! But my father has not had an easy or really a very happy life. He has been through a lot, and now he is dying of a terminal illness. He has always viewed religious belief with disdain, and with a lot of hostility. I think that has a lot to do with the way he was raised, and with the hypocrisy and judgment he has seen and heard coming from Christians over his lifetime. And yes, I cringe with him and find myself just as revolted as he is when people who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ use their faith as an excuse to judge and condemn and hate others. Or they use it as a way to get the riches this world offers, i.e. the televangelists who only care about the $$$ they can get from gullible Christians. I've been there too. I once sent a millionaire $20/month, which I really didn't have to spare at the time.
What my father has unfortunately experienced from people who claim to be Christians is NOT Christianity! Christianity is NOT about judging, condemning, or hating others! Christianity is about following Jesus Christ as LORD and SAVIOR! Christianity is about allowing God to take us as we are so that He can change us into the people HE wants us to be! Christianity is about God taking our worst and Him giving us HIS BEST! He takes our sins and casts them as far as the east is from the west and He imparts HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS to us! Christianity is about God changing our hearts and renewing our minds! We lay our lives down at the foot of the cross and submit ourselves totally to Him, and in return He gives us a new life -- a spiritual rebirth, a new heart, a right spirit -- and He gives us a life filled with PEACE and JOY and purpose and fulfillment! Christianity is about sharing the incredible, everlasting, unending, LOVE of Jesus Christ with the world! If you really love JESUS, you will not be shy about your faith in Him! You will want to SHARE the LIFE and the JOY and the PEACE you have found in Him! You will want to share with others the amazing and incredible gift of eternal life that you have been given! Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves, go the extra mile, if someone asks for your coat give them your shirt too, pray for your enemies, bless those who persecute you, and so on... If you really love the Lord Jesus Christ, you will NOT be the same person you were before you believed in Him! You will be CHANGED! You will WANT to share the LOVE and the MERCY and the FORGIVENESS you have found in Christ! And you will WANT to share the ETERNAL LIFE... the RIVERS OF LIVING WATER you have found in HIM!! If you really know and love Jesus Christ, you will WANT to share His amazing, incredible, life-changing, destiny-changing LOVE with boldness and without shame! My LORD and my GOD can take a life that is in shambles and make it something BEAUTIFUL!! What in the world is there to be ashamed of in that? I am NOT ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the POWER OF GOD in my life! JESUS CHRIST is my LIFE and He is my SALVATION! If you know and love the Lord, you have an incredible gift to share with the world! PLEASE don't keep it bottled up inside! THE WORLD NEEDS YOU TO SHARE YOUR FAITH! THE WORLD NEEDS YOU TO SHINE THE LIGHT OF GOD AND THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST! Yes, you WILL be hated and you WILL be persecuted. But so what? God has given us OVERWHELMING VICTORY in Jesus Christ! He has overcome the world and overcome death! If God is for us, who can be against us?
I will say it again! Christianity is NOT about holding a set of religious beliefs. It is NOT about judging or condemning or hating others. And it isn't about raking in $$$. It is about NEW LIFE in Jesus Christ, and it is about sharing HIS LOVE with the world! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most amazing and the most AWESOME news this world has ever received! And we Christians have the awesome privilege of sharing it with others. Praise God!!
You know... I've been gently bringing up the subject of God with my Dad. I naturally want to share the LIFE and JOY and REDEMPTION I have found in Jesus Christ! But my father has not had an easy or really a very happy life. He has been through a lot, and now he is dying of a terminal illness. He has always viewed religious belief with disdain, and with a lot of hostility. I think that has a lot to do with the way he was raised, and with the hypocrisy and judgment he has seen and heard coming from Christians over his lifetime. And yes, I cringe with him and find myself just as revolted as he is when people who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ use their faith as an excuse to judge and condemn and hate others. Or they use it as a way to get the riches this world offers, i.e. the televangelists who only care about the $$$ they can get from gullible Christians. I've been there too. I once sent a millionaire $20/month, which I really didn't have to spare at the time.
What my father has unfortunately experienced from people who claim to be Christians is NOT Christianity! Christianity is NOT about judging, condemning, or hating others! Christianity is about following Jesus Christ as LORD and SAVIOR! Christianity is about allowing God to take us as we are so that He can change us into the people HE wants us to be! Christianity is about God taking our worst and Him giving us HIS BEST! He takes our sins and casts them as far as the east is from the west and He imparts HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS to us! Christianity is about God changing our hearts and renewing our minds! We lay our lives down at the foot of the cross and submit ourselves totally to Him, and in return He gives us a new life -- a spiritual rebirth, a new heart, a right spirit -- and He gives us a life filled with PEACE and JOY and purpose and fulfillment! Christianity is about sharing the incredible, everlasting, unending, LOVE of Jesus Christ with the world! If you really love JESUS, you will not be shy about your faith in Him! You will want to SHARE the LIFE and the JOY and the PEACE you have found in Him! You will want to share with others the amazing and incredible gift of eternal life that you have been given! Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves, go the extra mile, if someone asks for your coat give them your shirt too, pray for your enemies, bless those who persecute you, and so on... If you really love the Lord Jesus Christ, you will NOT be the same person you were before you believed in Him! You will be CHANGED! You will WANT to share the LOVE and the MERCY and the FORGIVENESS you have found in Christ! And you will WANT to share the ETERNAL LIFE... the RIVERS OF LIVING WATER you have found in HIM!! If you really know and love Jesus Christ, you will WANT to share His amazing, incredible, life-changing, destiny-changing LOVE with boldness and without shame! My LORD and my GOD can take a life that is in shambles and make it something BEAUTIFUL!! What in the world is there to be ashamed of in that? I am NOT ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the POWER OF GOD in my life! JESUS CHRIST is my LIFE and He is my SALVATION! If you know and love the Lord, you have an incredible gift to share with the world! PLEASE don't keep it bottled up inside! THE WORLD NEEDS YOU TO SHARE YOUR FAITH! THE WORLD NEEDS YOU TO SHINE THE LIGHT OF GOD AND THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST! Yes, you WILL be hated and you WILL be persecuted. But so what? God has given us OVERWHELMING VICTORY in Jesus Christ! He has overcome the world and overcome death! If God is for us, who can be against us?
I will say it again! Christianity is NOT about holding a set of religious beliefs. It is NOT about judging or condemning or hating others. And it isn't about raking in $$$. It is about NEW LIFE in Jesus Christ, and it is about sharing HIS LOVE with the world! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most amazing and the most AWESOME news this world has ever received! And we Christians have the awesome privilege of sharing it with others. Praise God!!
