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Christian Living

June 3, 2014 at 11:07 AM · Filed under Life and tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


We have been having a series at church that really has had me thinking a lot. The main point of the whole series has been about asking if what you are about to do fits into the your Christian Life.

Do you actually live a Christian Life? Do you make time to read the Bible? Do you make time for Church? Do you make time to have a relationship with Him? Do you Tithe? Are you making choices that put you in Debt? Do you Gift others? Are you someone who knows they have issues to work on but Never does?

It can apply to anything in your life. Do you swear to much? Do you eat to much? Do you exercise to little? Are you moving in with someone and are not married? Are you having premarital sex? Are you having an affair? Are you using the gifts God has gifted you with? Are you really in need of the new car, shoes, boat, house? Are you living above your means? Are you saving money for later in life? Are you gossiping about others? Are you involved in activities at church? Are you pushing aside church for sports, sleep, fun?

How important is the Lord in your life? He sent His only Son to this world to save us!

John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God sacrificed His only Son for us! Do you make any sacrifices for Him?

God did not send Him to condemn us He sent Him to save us! Which then brings me to another verse that really has opened my eyes with how I view some things.

For a very long time I have read Matthew 18: 15-17 and seen it in a different way than the way I do currently.

Matthew 18:15-17
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

In the past when I read that verse my mind instantly goes back to the Old Testament. It is the only way I could explain it to myself. How was a pagan treated? You avoided them, you didn’t want them in your life, you didn’t want to be influenced by them and so you “killed” them. Of course now you would not literally kill them but you could remove them from you life and kill them and the relationship that way.

But now read that verse and see it from the eyes of the one who is speaking those words, Jesus. How did Jesus treat a pagan or a tax collector? He ate with them, He sought them out, He spoke to them, He was kind to them, He LOVED them; sins and all! He won them over with His actions and His grace and then told them they were forgiven and to go and sin no more. Did He really expect they would never sin again? I don’t think so because we do live in a fallen world, but to have the Savior say go and sin no more to you, to touch you, to care about you and what YOU did when no one else did?

We are not supposed to push these people away from us (there are situations when I do think it is important to remove them from our lives, like if they are influencing us to follow in their footsteps instead of you influencing them), we are supposed to love them and after a while confront them again.

There isn’t a single Christian around who does not sin. So are you open to others confronting you and you confronting others? That is also part of Christian Living! Are you defensive if someone points something out to you that goes against the Bible and God’s way for us?

I am not perfect and I certainly don’t claim to be. There are days I really am not the Christian I should be or could be. There are days I struggle more than others, just like anyone. But for me the really big thing is am I really trying to make it to church, tithe, have a relationship with Him, showing others I am a Christian by my actions, and not using excuses for not doing all of it?!

How is your Christian Life going? Are you loving everyone, no matter what their sin is? Are you judging instead of loving?

1 Kings 8:39
Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for You alone know every human heart),

You are allowed to bring to the forefront a sin, but we are not allowed to judge because God is the only one who know what is truly in our hearts!

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Christian Living

May 14, 2014 at 11:33 PM · Filed under Life and tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Do you know how to live the life of a Christian? Not do you know how to be a religious person. Not anything like that. Do you know what the Lord expects from you as someone who is a follower of Christ?

At church we have been talking about what it means. There are things that God does ask of us and if you have no clue where to start to find out a really good spot is here:

Ephesians 4:21-5:20
New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
21 I’m sure you heard of him. I’m sure you were taught by him. What you learned was the truth about Jesus.
22 You were taught not to live the way you used to. You must get rid of your old way of life. That’s because it is polluted by longing for things that lead you down the wrong path.
23 You were taught to be made new in your thinking. 24 You were taught to start living a new life. It is created to be truly good and holy, just as God is.
25 So each of you must get rid of your lying. Speak the truth to your neighbor. We are all parts of one body.
26 Scripture says, “When you are angry, do not sin.” (Psalm 4:4) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.27 Don’t give the devil a chance.
28 Those who have been stealing must never steal again. Instead, they must work. They must do something useful with their own hands. Then they will have something to give to people in need.
29 Don’t let any evil talk come out of your mouths. Say only what will help to build others up and meet their needs. Then what you say will help those who listen.
30 Do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad. He marked you with a seal for the day when God will set you completely free.
31 Get rid of all hard feelings, anger and rage. Stop all fighting and lying. Put away every form of hatred. 32 Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive each other, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done.
5 You are the children that God dearly loves. So be just like him. 2 Lead a life of love, just as Christ did. He loved us. He gave himself up for us. He was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.
3 There should not be even a hint of sexual sin among you. Don’t do anything unclean. And do not always want more and more. Things like that are not what God’s holy people should do.
4 There must not be any unclean speech or foolish talk or dirty jokes. All of them are out of place. Instead, you should give thanks.
5 Here is what you can be sure of. Those who give themselves over to sexual sins are lost. So are people whose lives are not pure. The same is true of those who always want more and more. People who do those things might as well worship statues of gods. No one who does them will receive a share in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Don’t let anyone fool you with words that don’t mean anything. Because of things like that, God is angry with those who don’t obey. 7 So don’t go along with people like that.
8 At one time you were in the dark. But now you are in the light because of what the Lord has done. Live like children of the light. 9 The light produces what is completely good, right and true. 10 Find out what pleases the Lord.
11 Have nothing to do with the acts of darkness. They don’t produce anything good. Show what they are really like. 12 It is shameful even to talk about what people who don’t obey do in secret.
13 But everything the light shines on can be seen. 14 Light makes everything clear. That is why it is said,

“Wake up, sleeper.
    Rise from the dead.
Then Christ will shine on you.”

15 So be very careful how you live. Do not live like people who aren’t wise. Live like people who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity. The days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish. Instead, understand what the Lord wants.
18 Don’t fill yourself up with wine. Getting drunk will lead to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
19 Speak to each other with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. 20 Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. Give thanks to him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 

I am not perfect, I sin. I really need to work on me and being able to live a Christian life. I want a relationship with Christ but as long as I am knowingly sinning I can’t have the relationship I want with Him.

This isn’t the only thing that needs to be looked at when I am trying to live this life. There is also looking at the ten commandments, but that is for another day.

If you have ever wondered where to start to know and understand what it means to be a Christian and living for Christ; this is the perfect place to start!

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