What will history say about today's Christians?

There once were Christians that people may not have understood and did not follow, but they were interested in what these Christians had to say. They were inspired by these strange people called Christians. People would stop and listen to what they had to say instead of running away as they do today.

People were astonished at the courage of these early Christians. Just two months after Jesus’ crucifixion they were willing to preach the gospel to anyone that would listen knowing they could be executed for doing so.

Peter and John were arrested for spreading the words of Jesus. They were jailed and brought before the religious leaders. They stood strong and refused to back down. Fearing a riot the religious leaders let them go with a warning to stop speaking of Jesus. They refused to accept the religious leaders terms.

They leave and immediately meet with a group of followers of “The Way” Christians. The first prayer meeting ever recorded was held on that day. They prayed for God to give them the strength to continue to speak of Jesus with great boldness, fearlessness and confidence in spite of facing all kinds of percussion. They prayed big prayers unlike us that tend to pray small prayers.

Will history say we faced difficult times, but did not fear?  Will history say we remained confident, engaged, not divisive, not judgmental, loving and kind? Will history say the worse things got the better we got and the world was a better place because we were among them? 

Christians today need to remember we do not just go to church we are the church. We may be the only contact nonbelievers will ever have with Christ. We have to let them know we are Christians by the way we live our lives. Will history say people wanted to listen to us or that people wanted to avoid us because we were prejudice, judgmental, selfish, prideful and condemning.  Are we giving people a reason to want to be a Christian or not?  

Was Judas a traitor or revolutionists?

There are two ways to bring about change – revolution or evolution. Revolution is characterized by speed and violence, divide and rule, hierarchies and centralized power. Evolution is characterized by its slow pace. It does not rush change. It empowers instead of dictates.

The Jewish people were looking for a Messiah that would come and take control and restore the Jews to power.  They were looking for a political and military Messiah. The change would be quick.

Read John 13:18-30.

1.      Jesus tells us He must be betrayed in order to fulfill the scriptures.

2.      Jesus knew He would be betrayed and He knew who would betray Him. 

We cannot lose sight of the fact that Judas did have freewill. He could have chosen a different path, but I believe Judas thought the path he chose was the right one at first. He was not an enemy of Jesus Christ he was an impatient friend of Jesus.

4.      We are told Satan entered Judas as soon as he took the bread from Jesus. This indicates to me that Judas gave in to Satan’s temptation as we have all done at one time or another.

5.      Judas controlled the money. Jesus selected Judas to be a disciple and to be the treasurer. I do not believe Judas was a thief. When Judas left the meal the disciples thought Judas had gone to buy provisions for the feast or give money to the poor.

6.      It is true Jesus like to give gifts and Judas did not like wasting money and thought some of Jesus’ gifts were a waste of money, but that in no way means he was a thief or a betrayer.

7.      Jesus’ approach to change was evolution and Judas’ approach to change was revolution.

8.      Judas was the only one from Judea. The rest were from Galilee. People from Judea were thought to be smarter than those from Galilee. Being the treasurer indicates he might have been the most intelligent or best educated.  I believe Judas was the only one that really understood Christ words that night. I think he knew Christ was about to go peacefully and not fight.

9.      Judas most likely thought Christ had the people behind him after he entered Jerusalem successfully. He may have thought now is the time for the revolution and to take power from Rome. He certainly did not want Christ to surrender peacefully. 

Judas was not looking for a servant Messiah and the fact that Christ washed the feet of the others may have offended him or worried him.

11.  The words of Jesus, “…whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” This would have challenged what Judas believed in. Judas did not want the power of the priest done away with. He wanted top/down management to prevent chaos. Judas was not the only one wanting Christ to take a political role. 

I think Judas thought he could force Christ into taking the political role he wanted for Christ.

13.  I do not think Judas took the action he did out of hate, betrayal or wanting Christ dead. Judas took the action he did out of frustration/inpatients. Christ was not playing the role Judas wanted Him to play.

14.  Judas was guilty of naivete thinking he could outsmart the priest.

15.  I think the symbolism of the broken bread and shared wine consolidated Judas’ fears. Judas understood Christ was about to give His life freely without a fight. This would go against Judas’ political desires and the Jews once again being a ruling nation.

16.  I think Judas thought the crowd that was following the soldiers to take Jesus would riot as soon as the soldiers attempted to take Jesus. Christ would surely take up the revolution then.

17.  Initially it looked like Judas’ plan was going as he may have planned there were swords drawn. But, then Christ put an end to Judas’ plan and ordered everyone to stop fighting. He made it clear He did not want a rebellion.

18.  Judas was overcome with remorse and tried to return the money, but the religious leaders refused to take it back and Judas threw the money on the ground in front of them and left. The money must not have been the key issue of the betrayal.

19.  Judas then took his own life.

Most Christians refuse to look for a bit of Judas in ourselves. We find it easier to see Judas as filth, cast him away as the betrayer and not learn from his mistakes. I believe his remorse and grief were sincere. I believe God forgave him. 

The disciples may have been more forgiving than us for in Acts 1, Judas is described by the disciple as simply the “guide for those who arrested Jesus.” They found someone to replace Judas. That indicates to me Judas had a vital role in Christ ministry and was productive. I think the disciples realized that there was a part of Judas in them and I think there is a part of Judas in us.

When we try to get Christ to do what we want a part of Judas comes forth. When we try to control who can and cannot have access to Christ a part of Judas comes forth. When we insist that everyone must come to Christ as we believe they should a part of Judas comes forth.

God will no longer be held captive to rules of men and women who preach to enrich themselves or become powerful and especially men who try to dictate who can and cannot take part in the sacraments that Christ instituted. 

We all freely have access to God! I want to learn from the religious leaders, but I do not need them to represent me before God. I will represent myself.

Sorry I do not have to accept rude an obnoxious people the way they are

Why do politicians, people in authority and celebrity think everyone should accept them the way they are if they are rude, obnoxious and immoral.  It is not for us to accept anyone the way they are it is for them to CHANGE so we can accept them!

You would not choose for a friend a nasty, rude and arrogant person so why should you accept it in a politician or authority figure.

I am sorry it seems that some people think they are more important than they really are. You earn respect.  You do not demand it. Freedom of speech should have some self-imposed limits.

This years election in the U.S. and the Philippines are both strange.  The two candidates that I would support if I could, who I consider the most honest, both have loose tongues. They speak before they engage their brain. Campaigning is a  rough business, but if you do not act Presidential now why should anyone believe you will after you are elected.

I realize somethings are said in campaigns to attract attention and get free press, but that could backfire. Donald Trump could win the battle, but lose the war!

We should not let the Church die

If Christianity is to remain a part of modern day society we must come to understand change.  Organisms that do not respond to their environment become extinct. The Church is no different from any other organization it adapts or loses members and become irrelevant.

How many of you remember the Woodmen of the World or Woodmen of America? If you have visited old cemeteries, you’ve probably noticed the tree stone monuments, especially in the West, Midwest and South. Two organizations are given credit for their proliferation, Woodmen of America and Woodmen of the World. They were one of the largest fraternal organizations in the world, but not anymore. They still exist and offer excellent insurance policies, but membership in the organization has dwindled. Many fraternal organizations died off because they did not adapt to their environment.

When people and organizations stop changing they regress. When businesses stop changing they close. When non-profit organizations stop changing they disappear. Societies needs change therefore the things society use must change and adapt.

I submit to you that many churches are dying because they have become boring, unchanging and irrelevant. They have become totally disconnected to the lives of modern men and women.

If today’s Church was a political party if would be an unelectable party. The people in the pews desperately try to discuss what they need to function as a Christian in the 21^st century and the Church leaders point fingers. Perhaps the reason so many Church leaders become overly active in politics today is because they can relate to how it works. Those at the top of politics and the Church have lost sight of what the people really need. They would rather stay the course than admit they could have been wrong. The Church is not dying because the people are less holy. The Church is dying because the leaders have become more focused on the organization and their power than the people.

It is clear the power struggle going on in the worldwide Church today has served to do damage to the Church.  It has left some people in the Church feeling like criminals for example the gays, divorced, etc. It has left people feeling unloved, guilty and excluded. This is not what Christ intended for the Church to do or be. The leaders of the Church must be faithful to God’s truth not their truth and be less interested in their personal power.

For the Church to stand still and stop evolving is eventually to be left behind and face extinction. Many Christians like me have begun to critique the beliefs, teachings and practices of the leadership as God intended us to do.  Jesus Christ questioned the leadership of the Jewish religion and encouraged others to do so. Many in the Church become discussed with the dictatorial power of the leadership and leave the Church.

The Gandhi’s, Mother Teresa’s, Martin Luther Kinds and Thomas Merton’s of the world understood change must occur in to order to survive. They realized they were not perfect and did not have all the answers and were willing to listen to others. Church leaders have taken ordained authority too seriously.

I believe we have a unique opportunity to show how an institution that is widely acknowledged to be out of touch and is being ignored by many of its members can face its fears and explore new ways of being and serving.  Even if change is painful it is vital if the Church is to not only survive, but to grow.

Just read comments on Mayor of Davao becoming President of the Philippines. I found it amusing at how much Catholics do not know about our religion. Making the sign of the cross did not begin with Christ it was instituted by MAN around 200 A.D. The Church should teach morals and those lessons should influence the flocks vote, but they should not tell the flock how to vote. God did not intend for Church leaders to make our decisions that is why God gave us a BRAIN! I am a retired priest and believe me I have made lots of mistakes, I sin, I have personal opinions and so do all other priest, bishops, cardinals and popes that have nothing to do with GOD. Please show me where it says in the Bible we are to make the sign of the cross - I do, but that is not something Christ told us to do - SORRY!  I do not think Christ told us to rub cloths on statues either - SUPERSTITION OF MAN! The election should be about who is most qualified to run the country and represent ALL the people not just Catholics.

The Church must change or die!

Before you say God will never allow the Church as we know it today to die think about the 400 years between Malachi to Matthew when God remained silent to give mankind time to think before He began something new with the coming of Jesus Christ. God will accomplish what He wants with or without our help.  God’s ways or not our ways and I do not think God is happy with how our religious leaders have been introducing their own personal agendas and ignoring what God wants.

What happen with the Temple leaders in the Old Testament has been happening with our Church leaders and change must come. 

For thirty years I have not believed God of the Old Testaments was a God who desired to plunder the land and slaughter people. He was then and now a God of love, inclusion, grace, compassion and mercy.

Old Testament religious leaders used their own immaturity and tribal insecurities to define God. They interpreted and translated God’s words and added their own personal agenda and often what God wanted was not what the religious leaders of the time presented to the people. The same is happening today.

I have come to believe God knew that communicating through the ranks of priests and scribes and judges was not working. It led to his words being distorted. The only way God could communicate His character truthfully and without distortion was to bypass the intermediaries and speak directly to the people through Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ came and defined God as He really was and is.  Jesus Christ came without a personal agenda.  His only agenda was to accomplish what the Father sent Him to do. But, our religious leaders down through the years took up their swords to do battle with the scientists, thinkers, creative minds, innovators and to a certain extent continue to do so today. They have put on the old masks of the Old Testament Temple leaders and presented us with a violent and intolerant God that wants nothing to do with people THEY disapprove of unless they conform to THEIR values. It is time we get pass those immature views and contemplate what has been revealed to us by God. If we did that we would see that God has been evolving and adapting since the beginning of time. Many of our Church leaders today prefer the wicked God that strikes down the unrighteous and raises up the righteous and refuse to free their minds and keep the old out. God is doing a new thing and they are unable to perceive it.

The Church today is once again portrayed as a place of bigotry, narrow mindedness, leaders in love with power, leaders more interested in buildings and entertainment programs than meeting the real needs of the people, leaders over occupied with sex, eager to support unjust wars and leaders that do not want change.

A revolution will not bring about the change needed.  Only a dedication to change by evolution will accomplish the ongoing change that must happen in the Church. We were told the only way to save a village in Vietnam was to destroy it and now we say the only way to protect ourselves from violence is to wage a war of shock and awe on terror and we expect God to support us in these wars. The majority of us Christians cannot accept that secular Israel is not always right because of what our religious leaders have taught us.  Only evolution changes the spirit of man.

Our Church leaders continue to kill off new ideas and inspirations before they can even take root.  They have learned nothing from Christ parable of the sower. New growth exposed too quickly to the sun and burns up.  I have seen this over and over in the church today. Leaders put too many ritual demands, traditional demands and religious demands on the people; especially new people and they feel the heat and wither away.  

Pope Francis is trying to bring about an evolution in the Church and many religious leaders and lay people (like my housekeeper) are misguided in opposing him.  It takes no courage to sit at the comfortable tables of the priests/cardinals/bishops and no courage to do surveys and censuses then ignore them. But, Pope Francis is standing up bravely speaking of the change that he believes and I believe God wants in the Church. He has chastised the religious leaders for focusing too much on sex, divorce and family planning while neglecting what the people need to survive in the 21st century.

There are people sitting in the back pews who have the courage to imagine that newness (change) within the Church is not only possible it is inevitable. It is growing in the bellies of those that the religious leaders have deemed immoral and have made to feel unwelcome in the Church community. An evolution is coming and religious leaders will not stop it.

Evolution (change) in the Church will take time, but the people are growing impatient because religious leaders have done nothing in the past to address the problems. The people want change and want it now.  They are tired of waiting, but wait they must for real change to take hold. There is no one program that can solve the Churches problems overnight. The people must realize that if we are to see real, long lasting change then we must be willing to give it the time it needs to grow and we must see to it that our religious leaders never stop evolving again.

Religious leaders once again have come to believe we serve them.  God called them to a vocation that requires them to serve us.  We must return power to the people. The Church is no longer connected to culture and society, it is not where God wants it to be, and therefore it is not where God is. Our religious leaders have become custodians of empty historical buildings (museums).  We are left clinging to the past until we are willing to embrace the newness God wants to give us.

I have grown tired of sermons and songs that want us to believe that everything is okay in the Church when it is not.  We the people have allowed our culture and the Church to drift apart. Denial and cover up have permeated our Church. Denial comes when we fear the future. We should be finding truth every Sunday; instead we go for doses of fiction, enough to cloud our perception for the week ahead that everything is okay. The Jeremiahs of today are those that are powerless, who have no vested interest in keeping the present system propped up. I do not believe God is in what we are doing anymore. The denial and cover ups must stop once and for all.

God will not be forced in to some temple, place, church, box, agenda, theological position He does not want to be in. God can leave where He does not want to be. The journey of faith is not stagnant, but an evolution of the Spirit.

What is stopping the changes needed in the Church – who is saying no – who is saying impossible- only those whose interest lies in keeping things as they are now – those with power and interest invested in staying the same. Dare to dream where God may want to be today – among the poor, disenfranchised, the ordinary, the real, the people deemed immoral by the Church leaders and the places where Church leaders never thought were possible. – Yes, even among the Gay, divorce and those using artificial birth control.  

Marriage Annulment is not even scriptural!

 Some of my Filipino friends are having problems dealing with what they perceive as unnecessary changes in the Catholic Church of course I think changes are way over due and not even enough changes have been proposed yet.

The issue that seems to be bothering them the most at the moment is divorced and remarried people taking Communion. This change is long overdue and it was never a Biblical teaching in the first place.

I am sure most Christians know the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. The woman had been divorced five times and was living with her boyfriend when Jesus met her. I have heard Christians say she was a terrible woman because she was divorced five times, but keep in mind she did not divorce anyone five of her previous husbands divorced her.

Women at the time could not divorce their husbands, but men could divorce their wife’s and send them back to their families or out on the street for little or no cause. Also keep in mind there was no division of property or alimony. Most divorced women that could not return to their families became prostitutes for few could find men that would marry them. The fact she found four more men willing to marry her tells me that there was something special about her.

Jesus forgave her and restored her into full relationship with God – Jesus did not send her to the Temple Marriage Tribunal for them to decide her case and then restore her to full relationship with God. Jesus simply showed mercy, forgave and she moved forward with her life and relationship with God. I believe from that moment on she had a powerful testimony that allowed her to be a witness for Christ and she probably brought many to Christ.

There were no man made loops to jump through just grace given!

Communion does not belong to the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church did not institute Communion Christ did. Who are they to say who can or cannot participate in CHRIST’S Communion? 

How many have left the Church and lost faith in God because of a stupid man made rule. A rule instituted to demonstrate hierarchical power over the people. 

How many people do the Church allow to take Communion at every Mass that have far greater sins than a failed marriages and remarriages – lets see child molesting priest – men fathering several families (not uncommon in the Philippines) – rapist – priest with children -  plundering politicians and the list goes on.

I do not know about you, but the way Christ dealt with the Samaritan woman at the well tells me Marriage Tribunals and Marriage Annulments are not of God!

  

You can and do face fear and faith at the same time

How many times has a brother or sister in Christ or a misguided preacher told you that if you are a Christian you cannot fear and have faith because they are total opposites? The problem with foolish statements like that is we are human and humans have emotion and fear is an emotion. You do not have to choose to live in fear that takes control of your life because you can trust God to be with you in all circumstances, but the emotions of fear, love, jealousy, greed are natural emotions which God allows into our lives.  

For practical purposes fear is the enemy of hope and IS the opposite of faith, but we have to deal with reality. There will be times in life when we will all side with one or the other fear/faith. Fear can be good. One of the first things I was told when arriving in Vietnam was fear those that claim they do not fear for they will get you killed. Faith can be misplaced at times for instance taking literally we can move mountains with our words of faith. If you have FAITH you do not need to live in fear that paralyzes you from moving forward or taking a chance you know you should take. The faith I want and I want you to have is the God-given strength to face down uncertainty and doubt and move forward down the path He is leading us.

Fear will keep you from living the life God created you for. It will keep you up at night with thoughts of facing the new day without the courage to change and fear will rob you of opportunities. We were not meant to live in fear, but fear can be so paralyzing it can be hard to imagine rising up from beneath it. We know as Christians we shouldn’t feel the way we do and can be determine to overcome it, only to find ourselves frozen over and over again in fear.

Faith is the answer for common fear. Faith is an action word, a verb. Faith is so much more than a simple belief. We read in James 2:20,” …faith without action is useless.” The more active our faith becomes the less confining our fear will be.  Little steps of faith each day snowball into a dynamic and rich faith that helps us face fear when it comes and it will come.  

Before you start lecturing Christians on fear and faith think about this. A Christian man was crucified by a jihadist group which took control of Yemen’s southerly province of Abyan. The man was crucified on an electric pylon. His bloated corpse showed that the body had been there for several days in the hot middle-eastern sun. A sign above his head stated that those ‘who wage war’ against Allah and the Prophet Mohammed ‘shall be killed or crucified.’ Are you as brave and faithful as you thought you were?

Faith says you may be able to kill me but God can give me eternal life. Faith says I may have to live alone, or walk alone, but I am not lonely because God is my security, God is my companion, and when I am alone, I can commune with God because He surrounds me. Faith says you can take the house, the car, and the job, but God provided them in the first place and, just as He provided them before, He can provide them again. Faith can win over fear, but you must remain focused on God at all times and I am not saying it will always be easy. God did not promise easy He only promise to be with us at all times.

I recently was reminded while dealing daily with health issues, 5 hour brown outs and 12 plus hours of no running water in Davao, Philippines that despite all the suffering that Paul endured, he understood that there was a bigger picture. Looking at that big picture and not focusing on our problems can allow us to feel peaceful even though the waves are crashing around us. What seem to be major daily problems to me did not seem to bother my Filipino neighbors. I discovered that I had begun to walk by sight and not by faith and was allowing the problems I saw rob me of God’s peace.  I was focusing on things (inconveniences) and not God.

It is easy to live in fear today with all the uncertainties we face – fear of economic collapses, fear of terrorist attack, fear of drive by shootings, fear of losing our jobs, fear of having costly medical bills, fear of running out of money before we die, etc. We have gotten so used to living with anxiety and fear that we sometimes forget that there is an answer.  I’ve discovered as my faith increases my fears and anxiety decreases. My faith increases when I focus on God!

I would like to throw in a little non-theological thought to cause us that were born and raised in First World Western Countries to possibly think about another cause of our fear. I have witness the differences first hand in the Third World Countries I have live in among the people. If Western people had something more to live for than materialism and entertainment then we could overcome the fear of hard economic times easier. But, for most Westerners, “building a life” means buying a home, building up a bank account and accumulating as big a pile of possessions as possible. When the good times are gone, very large percentages of Westerner totally lose it and think that life is not worth living anymore.

What about you? Are you going to give in to fear or are you going to have something to live for when and if that day arrives?

I can promise you every individual living today will have to decide how they will respond to the fears we face in our world today. I hope all Christians reading this will remember our Savior Jesus was not a coward he walked boldly into Jerusalem knowing He was about to be crucified. The strength of the Father gave Jesus His strength and He will give us our strength in difficult times. God did not promise us easy He only promised to be us in good and bad times.

I know it is easy to say do not fear and often hard to accomplish it, but faith can ease fear. If you can trust God in good times you can trust God in bad times. We will live in uncertainty in this world, but we do not have to live in constant fear. The degree of fear we have is a choice we make and depends on the amount of faith we have.

Is your Christianity worth you dying for – thousands are dying around the world for Christianity – for their faith. I would imagine the Christians in Kenya, Iraq and Syria are wondering what Christians in First World Countries really have to fear.  

Obama persecutes Christians with his rhetoric and actions!

Obama persecutes Christians with his rhetoric and actions

If you do not think Obama persecutes Christians then consider the following items. In a legal argument formally presented in federal court in the case of Hobby Lobby v. Kathleen Sebelius, the Obama administration claimed that the First Amendment—which expressly denies the government the authority to prohibit the “free exercise” of religion—nonetheless allows it to force Christians to directly violate their religious beliefs even on a matter that involves the life and death of innocent human beings. President Barack Obama commented at the Easter Prayer Breakfast that some Christians are acting "less-than-loving". He cannot say the words “Islamic Terrorist”, but he has no problem being critical of Christianity. Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast compared Islamic terrorism to the Christian Crusades, but fail to mention that Muslims had their own crusades in history. Obama has failed to bring attention to Christian persecution at the hands of the Islamic State. Last year, 2015, was the worse year in modern history for the persecution of Christians. In 2015 over 7000 Christians were murdered simply because they were Christians at the hands of terrorist who share the same Islamic faith. In 2015 over 2400 churches were destroyed simply because they were Christian Churches at the hands of terrorist who share the same Islamic faith.

It is obvious that Obama has been more critical of Christians than Muslims. Why is Obama afraid of Christianity? Is Obama Muslim, Christian or neither? His actions and words lead me to think he is definitely more Muslim than Christian. If he was truly Christian he could accept people who follow the Islamic faith, pray for them, love them, help them, but like me decry in a loud voice those within the Islamic faith that practice horrible, horrendous deeds in the name of God and Islam.  He could call them for what they really are “Islamic Terrorist”.

Obama has a very strange definition of freedom of religion. His definition is not only strange to me it is foreign to me. He believes in freedom of religion as long as you agree with him, but if you disagree with him then he wants to bring all the powers of government against you. Persecution of Christians in the Middle East has gotten worse and spread within America because Obama is sympathetic to Islamic terrorist.

Obama’s views in my opinion are the results of having spent time in Indonesia growing up under the influence of his father and stepfather, both of whom were Muslim. His Christian belief came only because it made it easier for him to advance in the American society and the arena of American politics. His frame of reference is shaped by Islam not Christianity because of his youth. I must be honest and state I personally do not believe Obama believes in anything, but himself.

What do you call it when 12 Christian men are drowned at sea by Muslim men for praying to Jesus? I call it religious persecution, but Obama and Renzi (Italy) say it was not a problem or a clash between religious people of different religion it was just a onetime event that happen among angry men." While the prime minister of Italy and Obama plunged their heads into the sand the Italian authorities arrested and charged the Muslim migrants with "multiple aggravated murders motivated by religious hate.” Obama stood next to Reni and did not appear to be outraged at all by the incident. Obama’s mumblings about the atrocities visited upon Christians (usually following a public outcry) are few and far between.

You still believe Obama bears no responsibility for Christian persecution around the world - a week and a half after Obama's National Prayer Breakfast speech, 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded for being "people of the cross." They died with dignity as they called out to their God, while the cowardly murderers masked their faces.

Freedom of religion to Muslim Terrorist means - the Christian community convert to Islam or pay a tax for being Christian. Obama needs to talk more about the “Crusades”, but include the modern day “Crusades” of the Muslim Terrorist who all share the same Islamic faith and supposedly follow the same leader “Mohammad”. 

*POLITICAL NOTE: The pendulum of history swings both ways - with Obama it swung to the far left and with President Ted Cruz it will swing to the far right - we need for the pendulum to stay in the middle.

Who controls you?

Whoever you allow to shape and control your conscience ultimately controls you!

Religion can be harmful!

Religion can be harmful!

Religion can be dangerous because it is usually run by men. Religion usually ends up in the hands of a few men that determine the interpretation of God’s words for us; they make all the rules and traditions that we are to follow. Religion is often fueled by fear and it is anchored in our conscious. Our conscious can be right or wrong. Our conscious has generally been shaped by some type of religion, a religion that we have been taught by men. We tend to listen more to men of the church than the Holy Spirit. Religious followers tend to turn to men of the church rather than God when in doubt.

There are usually a group of dedicated followers that are dependent on a group of men to understand where they stand with God. These men determine who will go to hell and heaven by how they interpret God’s words.

Jesus did not come to improve or extend the legalistic temple model of religion.  Jesus came to start something new. I have only recently realized this during a serious bout of bad health that kept me in bed for approximately six weeks. I once believe Jesus did not come to establish a new religion (Christianity), but to improve the Jewish religion. I no longer believe that.

I now believe Jesus came to establish something entirely new. Something without thousands of rules and traditions made by man, but one simple commandment LOVE! One simple law LOVE! One simple rule LOVE! This one law is what all our decisions should be based on.  When we are not sure what we are to do we should ask ourselves what love requires of us?

Jesus did not come to establish a place (a House of the Lord).  Jesus came to establish a new movement of people. Jesus came to establish a movement that was for all people for all times. It was a movement that was to be focused on people (one another) not the temple or a church building.

Jesus did not want the old mixed with the new, but unfortunately man has mixed the old temple ways with the new Jesus movement and they have ruined what Jesus came to establish. The only thing that counts is faith expressed through love, love expressed for other people. Too many are trying to express love through a denomination (a church building) a denomination or building created by man not Christ.

Our bodies are TEMPLES, our bodies are sacred, and no building or denomination is more sacred than we are. Our bodies are holy and contain the Spirit of God.

The early Christians had only one thing and that was an extraordinary love for one another. They had no Bible not even the Old Testament.  They followed one law LOVE ONE ANOTHER! They put the person next to them ahead of themselves.

Constantine, an emperor, built the first churches.  He passed a law churches did not have to pay taxes so all the rich people started turning their property into churches to avoid taxes.  They would take in orphans and overnight Christianity became inseparable from the empire.  Christianity became more empire than Christianity. Men then began to determine how God’s word would be interpreted by all.

The Nicene Creed was the results of a political issue. Some believed Christ received his Divinity as a reward for what He accomplished on earth and other believed He was born with his Divinity. Constantine did not want the debate to continue. Constantine who was not a theologian put out an edict all material relating to Jesus not being born Devine should be destroyed and if not destroyed the person holding it will be put to death. Thereafter believing the wrong thing was a crime. Christians arrested Christians for believing the wrong thing. Man became the gate keeper to heaven and hell and in many instances it remains that way in 2016.

We Christians talk about the Crusaders killing pagans, but few know we also killed Jewish men, women and children for crucifying Christ and taking all their possessions. Hitler was not the first to take revenge on the Jews. This all followed the Council of Trent. It was all done in the name of God.

1517 Martin Luther wanted to reform the Church not destroy it. Scripture not the Church became the authority and the Protestant movement began. We began to move back to the command to love, but we have never really returned to the original movement Christ came to establish among people. In my opinion denomination is still more important to many than love and we see this in the denominations anti-gay movement just as the church was pro-slavery and segregation. The Church denominations still use the Bible as weapon instead of an instrument of love. Protestants and Catholics continue to beat people over the head with their interpretations of the Bible today.

What we see as sin has been shaped by man. Some feel guiltier about missing Mass or church services than mistreating others. Some fear over the eternal life of their child who dies and was not baptized because of the interpretation of men and not God. Putting water on the head of anyone does not determine if they go to heaven or not.  Does other people’s failure make you feel superior instead of making you sad if it does you do not love as Christ commanded us to?

If everyone got up thinking God is fine with me and now I must make myself fine with others the world would be what Jesus Christ wanted it to be filled with LOVE? If you truly love others you are in line with the Gospel. If you love like Christ commanded you will love God. Love will be the basis for your interpretation of God’s word.

When we begin to live by God’s command and not man the people of the world will know we are Christians by our love.

STUDY-PRAY-READ-LISTEN TO ALL SIDES-TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHAT IS BEST FOR OTHERS- THEN THINK FOR YOURSELF.

Coincidence - God - Life - Fate - Death - Who really controls it?

I have written before about a friend that gives coincidence credit for all the blessing in his life instead of God.  I guess he gives credit to coincidence rather than God because he is not totally convinced God is involved in our daily lives.

"What if coincidence is just God's way of remaining anonymous?" Donna Tartt

My faith has never allowed me to believe in coincidence. I credit all blessings ultimately to God and the ability He gave me to think and make right choices. That does not mean I have to give credit to all problems in my life to God because as I said I have free will to make choices.

I can choose to allow frustration, impatiens, doubt, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness and greed in my life and I can choose to turn to God when it creeps in and kick it out. I can choose to surround myself with negative thinking or positive thinking people. I can choose to waste time with gossipers and liars or not. I can choose to be loyal, helpful, charitable, truthful or not. SO CAN YOU!

Life is short. Fate can be cruel, but it is not random. You can wallow in it or pick yourself up and move forward. Death will always win, but that does not mean the in between birth and death cannot be exciting and rewarding and if you are a believer in God's promises eternal life is fantastic!