"Why Do You Believe?" 1-22-09

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5

Today I am going to ask you a very serious and personal question. I want you to be able to take this question, and examine your life with it.

So Get Ready.

A lot of people go through their lives and say they believe in God, go to Church, etc., but do they only do it for the sake of tradition, and for tradition alone?

I was born and raised in a Christian home. I went to church every Sunday, sang in the choir, and contributed to the Church plays. I thank God every moment for having been raised that way--I was a lucky individual compared to many.

But while I was a Christian, and believed Jesus died for me, I didn't really know what it meant to be saved at the time. You see, I didn't understand that the personal relationship with God was not something you just get when you become a Child of God. It was more than just going through the motions.

So I asked myself the question I shall now be asking you. And it is between you and God to figure out your answer.

Why do you believe?

People tell us the rights and wrongs to life, and we believe them because we know they speak true. We know? How do we know? How do you know? Why do you know?

There are probably a million answers, and they are all probably right. I won't sit here and tell you what your answer is, because only you and God will know that. But I do want to tell you that someday we shall all pass from this earth, and be judged by God. That right here and now we need to set our lives right. No longer should it be because that's what we do, or that's the way we have always done it. No, we need to do it because it is right in our lives, our hearts, and our very souls.

If I were a perfect stranger, and I walked up to you on the street, and I asked you why you believed in God, what would you say to me? And if you asked me, what would I say? People have been faced with this question, even though most of us probably have not. Or if we have, we still lived to talk about it. But if we truly were put to that test, with our lives hanging in the balance, would our answer show who we are deep down inside? Would it truly be the truth of our relationship with our Father?

We can all show people that we live perfect lives, but, that's not the point. We go around and tell people that we do this, this and this, and never do we do that, and never even know why we do or don't. So the Bible says what to do and not to do. Okay, so then why was the Bible written? Did you ever stop to think that there is more to all those rules and letters and such than meets the eye? That's where we are going wrong. We get caught up in how we need to live our lives, and forget why we need to live it that way.

You see, it's not about the name, the label of being a Christian. People think that Christian is a higher title given to the 'better' people. Over time we have completely lost the true meaning of the word. We don't even know who we are anymore. We say we live by certain standards, but we don't know why we live by them. We try so hard to save the lost, but it seems that we are lost just as much as the rest of the world, and that in order to save the others, we need to first help right ourselves. Jesus spoke a lot on this topic with the Pharisees. He told them that they were so caught up in sticking to the Law, that no longer were they living the way they were originally meant to live--they had forgotten the true meaning of their existence.

In Luke chapter 18 verses 9-14 it says,

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Our relationship is sparked to be on a deeper level with God. If you were to die tomorrow, be sure you know that you die knowing what you are dying for--and why.*

Get it right, get it deep, get it real.

Whitney

Have You Forgotten? - 12/6/08

Christmas is coming.

Time to pull out the tinsel and the shiny red and silver balls. Time to put out the blinking Christmas lights, and to pick out the nicest tree. Time to put on the Christmas caroling songs, and drink Eggnog. Time to shop for presents, and for children to send in their lists to Santa Claus.

Christmas in our society is known and celebrated for its presents and singing, and of course the big man in red. Every year, this holiday comes and goes, as just another holiday.

We have forgotten.

How many times have you truly celebrated the birth of Christ as a baby? How many times did you take it past just reading the Christmas Story? How many times have you given thanks other than on Thanksgiving Day? Or celebrated Christ rising from the dead other than on Easter? Do we subject ourselves by simply going through the motions of things only at the appropriate moment?

We have forgotten.

So as the holidays approach, take care to remember why we even have all of our holidays in the first place. Don't let society's traditions take control; don't let fakery be the norm.

As Christians, this is especially important. Too often we take the label of 'Christian', and apply it with pride, believing it to give us a high position of honor over the rest of the world. But being a 'Christian' is much more than just a name.

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. 1 Peter 4:1-6

Christian has 'Christ' in it, so it only makes sense when in applying the full name to ourselves, to apply 'Christ' on its own as well. Or here is another way to look at it. Break it down. 'Christ-ian'. 'Christ- in'. 'Christ in me'. 'Christian'. When Christ is in you, you ought to reflect Him throughout your very being. And remember Christ is in you for a reason. It's not just traditional He is in you when you become a Christian. No, it is much more than that. But it's for us to discover, and to do that is to develop the personal relationship with Christ so that it becomes real within you. Then you too will wonder how society has become lost in its fakery. And once you know the real truth, will you take a stand to show the rest of the world their despair?

However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:16-17

If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus. 1 Peter 4:11b

Be strong. Find out for yourself what being a Christian really means. Keep it real.

...Do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear [the] name [of Christian].*

Whitney

The Cup of the Lord - 3/3/08

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. 1 Corinthians 10:21-23 ESV

This is very similar to when Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other..." (Matthew 6:24) Have you ever sat at the table of demons and partook of the cup of greed, or taken a sip from the chalice of lust? Have you sought satisfaction in any source other than the Lord? I am sure that we all have on some level. Thankfully, because of the great sacrifice of Christ, His blood purifies us from all unrighteousness and enables to us to live free from these stumbling blocks. This is why "All things are lawful," because there is no sin that the blood of the Lamb cannot cleanse from our souls - but as Paul said in Romans,

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1-2 ESV

So then, let us not provoke the Lord to jealousy, and seek only those things which build up. You can rest assured that if you have dined at the table of demons, should you cry out to Him, His blood will make you white as snow, but this is no reason to continue in our sins. As we draw close to Him and find satisfaction in Him through "drinking the cup of the Lord," dining at the table of demons, although still a temptation, will soon lose its hold on our lives. If we truly know Christ and allow Him to fill up our souls to the point of overflowing, the empty pleasures of this world lose their glamor as the deceptions of Satan are revealed for what they are by the Light of Christ. (And if they do not, the question may need to be raised,: Do we truly know Him?)

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 ESV

Cheers!
Andrew