A CALL TO CHRISTIANS

I have had the misfortune recently of running into a lot of Christians lately who have made me remember why I stayed an Agnostic for so long. I remember as an Agnostic looking at the Christians that I knew and thinking to myself, "If that is what those Christians are like, I want nothing to do with them!" What I saw was complete hypocrisy. I was sickened by the conduct I saw. I was sickened by my own conduct, too. But at least I knew that I was living an amoral life, I just didn't care! They thought that how they were living was fine, and justified it with Christ's forgiveness. All I knew wa that I was the same as most of the Christians that I knew.

In my past I saw people who were doing exactly what I was doing, but there was a difference. I knew that I was not a good person. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a drunk, a convict, a drug addict, a drug dealer, a thug, a whore, a thief! I could go on, but you get my point. I knew what I was. The Christians I knew had no clue what they were. They thought that they were doing great, that they were saved because they were baptized, they went to Church once or twice a week and they spoke in "tongues" once in a while. Therefore, it was okay for them to sleep around, do drugs, get drunk and pick fights, cuss every other word and look down on other people who were not Christians "like them." They were only fooling themselves. The Bible tells us differently.

We are told to be a light shining bright to the world. As it says in Matthew 5, you cannot hide a city on a hill or a candle on a stand.  We should shine our light before men that they may see our good works and then they too will glorify God! I want you to ask yourself one question right now, "Am I a light shining brightly?" The song by the Newsboys, "Shine," come to mind here. It says that we should shine to make those around us wonder what we got and make them wish that they were not on the outside looking in! How can we cause that to happen when our lives and their lives are carbon copies of each other. The only difference is that we have given ourselves a different title. We don't need to a different title. What we is a different package. We need to live our lives differently. How is that done????

It is not done by taking communion, attending church, raising your hands in worship, tithing or by speaking in tongues. It is not accomplished through baptism nor by small group attendance. Those are good habits, don't get me wrong. But more is needed. It is also not done by ignoring the sin of those around us and lessening the differences between us and those of this world. We need to stop dividing the secular and the spiritual. There are not two standards for us to live by, one at work and another at church! Our entire life should represent Christ, not just on Sundays and when among other Christians.

If our light shines, we will not conform to the urges and temptations of this world. Our actions should generally be in contrast to those in the world around us. If they are gossiping at the lunch table, do not join in. Leave the table, or change the subject. If they are cussing and carrying on, do not join in. The apostles and early Christians did not have people becoming Christian by the thousands around them because they were like everyone around them. They never wavered, even when faced with death. Be a steady and bright light, not one that is tossed about in the wind and constantly flickers.

We must not exhibit self-indulgence, but instead display self-denial. There is a moral darkness all around us. We must be a steady and pure light for those around us so they can find their way out of the darkness. This occurs when we focus on heavenly desires, not earthly ones. How can we show those who know us what a radical change occurs when we are reborn if there is no change. I can call a circle a triangle, but that does  not make it so.

How is it that we fear losing our popularity more than we fear the wrath of God. Instead of letting people know what the Bible says and what we are commanded to do, we will remain silent so as not to offend people. Inaction and silence when action and edification are warranted is wrong. It is just as much a sin to do nothing as it is to commit sin! We would not stand by and watch a women get raped but we will watch people condemn themselves and say nothing! What is wrong with us????

For starters, we believe false doctrine. Once saved always saved is a joke the way it is preached by most pastors!!! The Bible says that faith without works is dead. 2 Timothy 2:12 it states, "if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us." How can we be disowned if we are always saved? By not living our lives to be like Christ. When I see atheists and agnostics who have better principles, morals and manners than the Christians surrounding them I get a righteous anger that consumes me. It sickens me that Christians have the reputation that they do. Even worse, the reputation is warranted!

Next doctrine I am done with is that all we have to do is believe that Christ is the son of God and that He died to forgive our sins and we will go to heaven. Are you kidding me? I guarantee you that the Devil knows who Christ is and what His sacrifice meant. So, do you think that you will see Satan in heaven? Not a chance! We are dead to sin and reborn. That means that we are different from head to toe. Does that show? Do people see Christ in how we conduct our lives? I bet for most of us the answer is no!

Ghandi's quote said it all, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." We need to take this excuse away from the masses! We do this by shining the brightest when we are among non-believers. It is hard for me to see the light of a candle when the sun is radiating down. This is when we are in small groups and in church, when the light around us shines brightest. Our conviction and faith is seen best when we are in the secular world. That is when our actions should contrast the most from those around us. It is easy to praise Jesus in the midst of fellow believers, it is not so easy when we are surrounded by those who do not believe. COME ON PEOPLE, REPRESENT!!!

As much as we do not want to admit it, we are all called by Christ to have different roles that still are used in the same service to Him and to our fellow man. Ultimately, there is no difference between a pastor and a maid or a missionary and an electrician. We are all called to go out into the world and bring others to Christ. This is not a part-time job, but full-time employment. What we need to do is ask ourselves several questions: 

1. Do I live Monday - Sunday all day every day as a witness to what being a Christian means?  
2. Do I believe that how I act and what I do while I conduct myself throughout the week are as important to God as how I act and what I say on Sunday and in small groups?
3. Do I know that the job I have is just as important to Christ and advancing His Kingdom as the job that my pastor or a missionary have?

You see, what we do every minute of every day is important. Most of us are not called to the pulpit at church to preach the sermon on Sunday, nor are we called to move and evangelize in foreign countries. Instead, we are called to the “pulpit” at work and to live the sermon every day instead of just preaching it on Sunday! To steal a slogan from the military, "Be all that you can be."

There is no one who is almost saved, you either are or aren't. There is no one who is almost a Christian, you either are or are not. You decide what and who you are. But I will tell you this, Matthew 7:21-23 tells us that many will call on the name of Christ and tell of the miracles they performed in His name and yet He will tell them to get away from Him. The only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is to do the will of the Father. His will is not to sin and make excuses to continue, but to sin and then figure out why it happened and work to insure that we do not do it again.  We were not called to be perfect, but to try our best. Instead of giving ourselves excuses to sin we should have a long list of reasons not to.

So I call you to do a few things from now on in your life. First and foremost, pray and meditate so that you can hear the voice of God and follow that instruction. Next, don’t be the reason someone has for saying Christians are hypocrites. Lastly, when it comes to being a Christian, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE....................and SHINE!!!!!!!!!

Losing Too Fast/Setting Christians Up for Failure

So I just completed my third week of Weight Watcher's for Men. I have lost 8.6 pounds in the 3 weeks that I have been following what they call the "Lifestyle Change." For those unfamiliar with Weight Watcher's, they do not suggest using it as a temporary diet, but instead as a new way of eating for life. You permanently change the way that you eat. For the unschooled let me explain how Weight Watchers works.

Weight Watcher's has a point system that you follow. You are given a set number of points to use each day that is based on your sex, age, weight and height. You are then given 49 cheat points a week for splurges. If you exercise then you are also given extra points daily for the completion of your physical activity. As you lose weight each week (if you weigh a lot over your ideal weight like I do you have a lot of points daily to begin with), you have points taken away based on how much weight you have lost.

This week, there was a warning given to me that I am losing weight too fast. It stated that losing 1-2 pounds a week is safe, but that losing more than 2 pounds a week consistently is considered to be unhealthy. I thought that was a fair warning. I need to be aware of not losing weight too fast as it may be unhealthy. I can live with that warning. Then I went to my points for the day to log in what I had eaten for breakfast and I had lost a point each day due to losing the weight that I did. So I was told that I was losing weight too fast, then the amount of food that I can intake daily was reduced???? How do you lose weight slower by eating less food?

Those sound like completely contradictory things, or what I call mutually exclusive goals. They are not congruent to accomplishing the same thing. That does not make sense to me. I have been set-up to fail. Why would you tell me that something is dangerous for me then insure that I do the exact thing that you are warning me about? As I thought on this, modern day Christianity came to mind. Some of the authors whose books I have read recently came to mind. We shall review those books by name in later blogs.

The things that are confusing are the commandments and requirements for Christians to live by that are found in the Bible. They are being subverted by people claiming to follow God. It is actually sad to see how sick some of the churches here in America have gotten. It may be that way every where, but I have only been to churches in the United States. I see the way that people take parts of the Bible and use them out of context so that it makes Christianity more user friendly, instead of taking the Bible in its entirety and following what it truly says. Following are 2 prime examples of what I mean:

1. Once Saved, Always Saved - This is repeatedly tossed around. It says that once you are saved, there is really no reason to live a sanctified life. To do so is a form of trying to earn salvation. They say that if someone subverts, than they were never truly in a relationship with God. Yet the Bible warns against this numerous times, and even says that we can fall out of relationship with God. In 2 Timothy 2:12 it states, "if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us." You have to be in a relationship with someone in order to disown them. Or how about Matthew 7:21-23 that says that there will be those who have given prophesy and who have healed and driven out demons in Christ's name. Sounds like someone who operates with God's authority. Yet Jesus states that He will tell to get away from Him. Driving out demons and healing would seem sure ways to tell if someone is in relationship with God, yet they will not be in His heavenly kingdom.

2. Grace - Next is the grace card that so many pastors and authors speak about. They mislead millions by saying that since God is a God of grace, it should reason that it is okay to sin. Often Romans 5 is used, where Paul said that if sin is abundant, then God's grace is surely big enough to cover it all. Some use that as saying we have a license to sin, a "get out of jail free" card. But if you continue to read, Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" 


Paul in essence says, "Do we continue to sin since grace covers sin. Ummmm, Hello! Have you not been listening to me? We have died to sin and been born again!" In John 8:11, Jesus instruction to the woman caught committing adultery was to, "go and sin no more." He did not tell her to go and try not to sin like many churches preach. He told her not to sin at all. 


Does this mean that we will never sin. No, Romans tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What I am saying is that we should not get stuck in the sin cycle. I used to set aside days to sin because I knew that I would be forgiven. "I am going to get drunk tonight, I shall ask forgiveness tomorrow" or "She looks cute, let me see if I can have sex with her. If I do, I can just go to God in prayer in the morning. He expects me to sin, so it is okay." 


I wanted what was promised to me at church; I was attracted by the music, to fit in with the crowd, the promise of wealth and happiness. But did I truly want what God had to offer? I think that we often do not take advantage of the true gifts of God, because He wants to give us more than we really want. I want to believe in God, but not follow all of those rules and commandments. The real question is, why do I want to believe in God?


It is not enough to simply desire to be saved. We must also desire to be more Christ-like. If I am truly "born again" or have had a "conversion," then the Holy Spirit lives in me. Are you going to tell me that the Holy Spirit wants us to sin? Is the Holy Spirit okay with us sinning? Let me give an example:


When my son lies, do I forgive him and still love him? Of course, but do I want more for him? Do I want to be able to trust all that he says and does? Should I settle for anything less than full honesty when he grows up? Of course not, the older he gets the more he will understand the difference between right and wrong. 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 


As we learn what is right and wrong, we should begin to live differently. But how do matured Christians live their lives? How do we know what we should or should not do? What is the ultimate guide? I would say that our choices in life should be guided by several things:

1. Prayer is the first thing that we should use as part of our guide. 1 Thessalonians 5:13 tells us that we should, "pray without ceasing." That sounds like a vitally important thing to do.

2. Apply the Biblical principles to our lives. It will allow us to live our lives and be successful in becoming more like Christ. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 

3. Obey God's commands in all that we do. The commandments are not multiple choice. This is a pass or fail test. John 14:21 says, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

4. Seek Godly counsel. Use those around us as mentors and advisers. Proverbs 15:22 states, " Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed."

5. Follow the leading of God through the Holy Spirit. John 16:13,14 says, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

If we can apply these 5 steps to our lives, we will begin to make huge steps in becoming more Christ-like. Do not accept the road that is so often traveled in watered down, or what Francis Chan calls "luke warm" Christianity. We need to take the road less traveled. In Robert Frost's poem entitled, "The Road Not Taken" the last stanza tells us all that we need to know about going against the mainstream and how it will benefit us:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.