Christianity 101

[BLU 10]

Sometimes one can find themselves thinking that they are further down the road than they truly are. He will look down his spiritual nose at others in a prideful, condescending way, thinking that they are so immature. His problem stems from pride and a critical spirit.

 

He may have more information than the other person, but knowing and being are not one and the same thing. Information or knowledge puffs up (1 Cor. 8:1) but love

builds up. God has invested much in us and we must continually be applying it to

every relationship and circumstance in or for it to benefit the Kingdom and bring

glory to Jesus.

 

 

 

1. LOVE JESUS AND SPEND TIME WITH HIM EACH DAY. Matt 28:22 Mark 1:35

 

Don't rush off each morning without getting alone with him. You will find

yourself missing sweet communion then and all though the day. This is the motor

of everything in which we are involved. If Jesus needed to depart to a solitary place

to pray, how much more do we? It is more than a routine of reading out of a

devotional book: it is meeting with God himself. The acrostic ACTS is the

guideline for having time alone with the Lord. Adoration and praise, Confession

of personal sin. Thanksgiving and Supplication. Read from God's Word and apply

it to your life and circumstances. This is a time of opening our hearts up to him,

seeking His face, and giving Him time to speak. Time spent with our Master sets the

tone for the day, preparing us to allow Him to live out His life and power though us.

 

 

 

2. SEEK TO SERVE OTHERS. Colossians 3:23-24, Ephesians 6:7-8

 

Someone said, "I love the ministry, but people are such a chore." My friend,

people are the ministry. Begin with your family, closest friends and co-workers

and serve them knowing that it is the Lord Christ you are serving. Ask the Lord to

show you opportunities to serve others. Matthew 20:28 says that Jesus did not

come to be served but to serve and we need to be serving in order to imitate.

Our service is actually not for the one we are serving but for the Lord. Too often

the higher we get in leadership the less we serve which is a direct contradiction

of the Christian life.

 

 

 

3. LIVE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. 1 Corinthians 10:31, Revelation 4:11-12, John 12:43

 

Many times we fell like no one recognizes and appreciates us for the exemplary

way we act and the good things we do. Humility is not thinking lowly of yourself,

It is not thinking of yourself at all. We are not to live for personal recognition.

We're not even to bring attention to our church, denomination, or any individual.

Our goal is to point to Jesus because He alone is due all honor, praise and glory.

The Bible tells us, "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

Be careful to live your life in such a way that brings all glory to God.

 

 

 

4. IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS. 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Ephesians 5:20

 

Have an attitude of gratitude. Situations occur which, humanly speaking,

call for fear, complaining or self pity. There will be instances in which you will

scratch your head and wonder how you can give thanks for a particular situation.

Christ in us, the hope and glory (Col 1:27) will enable us to look beyond

The present and temporal to seeing that God has a hand in ALL THINGS making us

more like Him. God will be glorified and praised as you thank Him without

understanding.

 

 

 

5. PRAISE THE LORD! Philippians 4:4:, 11-14

 

Paul wrote the book of Philippians from prison. He says that we must learn the

secret of being content in every situation. God has me right where we are and we

need to resist the temptation of "greener pastures". Always remember that the

grass may seem greener on the other side but you do not know their water bill.

When we praise the Lord it take the attention off of ourselves and our abilities,

and transfer it to the One who can see what we cannot and knows what we do not.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine,

according to his power that is at work throughout all generations, forever and ever." Ephesians 3:20

[Hacker 82]

Amen. You have nailed it. Being a Christian is not about putting on an outward show. If we have the inward walk, we do not have to put on a show.

 

Keep walking the walk.

[mv91 259]

Amen also. I agree that what shines form within is what counts. People that are not even christians can tell if someone is truly walking the walk or just being a hypocrite.

[Scott 10]

BLU,

 

Can I use your notes for my Sunday School Class. It's a young adult class (which at our church could be anywhere from 18 to 45). Let me know.

[BLU 10]

10-4 good buddy !!

[tom 10]

and what if you're agnostic, such as myself?? wife and daughter are christians, but i just cant bring myself to accept that a loving caring god would allow so much suffering for 'his children'?? and before you bash me, my neighbor and good friend is the associate pastor at my wifes church and he and i have had many a friendly debate on this topic so you cant say anything to me that he already has'nt..he respects my stance and i respect his so lets keep it that way here a well!..thanks

[KINGPIN 10]

wow tom.. Thanks!

[tom 10]

anytime king! lol

[RichlandsAlum 678]

[ QUOTE ]

and what if you're agnostic, such as myself??

 

[/ QUOTE ]

 

Then this thread doesn't particularly apply to you.

[KINGPIN 10]

Thats right, but we have to have people like this in the world. Need conflict at all times.

[tom 10]

dont hate! i got my opinion, you got yours, its a free world and if im wrong, iLL be the one to pay for it, not you so ill deal with it..thanks

[trublue 939]

Tom, nothing we will say will change your mind....but I'm going to keep "ole" Tom in my prayers.....and ONE higher can. Take no offense. That what fellow board members do....we can "duke" it out with "worldly" words over sports....but there's also a unifying current of knowing people, on some level, by our posts...though most of us have never met. Take care.

[tom 10]

i actually appreciate that TRU. i got nothin against what others wish to beleive b/c to be honest, people such as myself are envious b/c you all have your faith and this belief to fall back on and we have NOTHING! You're lucky in that way so thanks for not hatin!

[BLU 10]

The way I see it. You should not post an opion, an expect everyone has the same.. as for me and you we disagree, but thats our right as human beings! GO BEAVERS!!

[WaveFan09 50]

I myself am a dedicated Christian, I have no problems with what Tom is saying on his beliefs..thats his right as a human, think about it..God gave everyone a choice..he didnt force it down anyone's throat..unlike some people do that makes me upset more than anything..I just hope tho you do find your way..and i mean that with no offense..

[rahvamil 10]

Tom, I would echo what the other guys said here. The bible clearly states that we all have a choice to make, as to whether to follow Christ, or not. My choice was to follow Christ. I don't try to impose my choice on others. As far as the suffering in this world, I can tell you that I recently lost my son, and without Christ I would have given up. But, with Christ, I am able to stand up, keep going, and I know that one day I will see him again. Again, not trying to start an argument, but I will pray for you as well.

[JamesL_CcLB34 10]

the bible also says that the punishment will be greater for those who reject Him i'm not sure where but i could ask my dad since he's a pastor... now i too wonder sometimes why God lets bad things happen and finally i decided its to wake us up God gives us freewill so if we go somewhere we shouldnt and we get hurt or something then i think he was tellin me that i shouldnt of been there.... just things like that but that was just some of my thinkin

[tom 10]

but James, what freewill has children born with disease, or molested and killed by soem pedaphile or any host of other horrible things..what free choice has hose kids made?? I guess what really frustrates me is that during my time in Germany i visited a cpl of the Holocaust camps and if ever god was going to step in and help 'his people' mind you, it would've been at that time considering how over 6 million of them died and most died horrendous, tortured deaths. i just dont see how a loving , caring god would let people, especially kids go thru such horrible things..just my thinking.

[rahvamil 10]

Tom, one thing I will point out is that God gave his son, to die, for us. Again, having recently lost a child, I can tell you that there is no way I could give my child for someone else. God did. Obviously you are pretty set in your ways, but the fact that you're posting to a Christianity 101 thread says to me that there is a part of you that wants some answers.

[JamesL_CcLB34 10]

[ QUOTE ]

but James, what freewill has children born with disease, or molested and killed by soem pedaphile or any host of other horrible things..what free choice has hose kids made?? I guess what really frustrates me is that during my time in Germany i visited a cpl of the Holocaust camps and if ever god was going to step in and help 'his people' mind you, it would've been at that time considering how over 6 million of them died and most died horrendous, tortured deaths. i just dont see how a loving , caring god would let people, especially kids go thru such horrible things..just my thinking.

 

[/ QUOTE ] I totally respect what your saying because sometimes i don't understand why some things happen either, i've been to the holocaust museum and i know how horrible that was and really i don't have any answers to why that happened or why things do happen....

[RichlandsAlum 678]

Ultimately, I think the issue of physical suffering comes down to the very heart of the matter of faith.

 

If this life were all that there is, then the type of examples of suffering cited in this thread would certainly be overwhelming. However, the promise of Christ is eternal life of a type that apparently transcends the physical life that we comprehend. And the good news is that this life is available to everyone.

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to make light of the troubles that we face in this life at all. Suffering is a very real thing. But my experience has been that God has endured suffering along with mankind (to the point of giving up his only son) rather than acted as the source of it.

 

That's probably not a very good (or at least a very satisfying) response to tom's initial inquiry. But it is what I believe and I feel obligated to testify to that fact.

[tom 10]

i would like to have answers, i just havent met anyone that could ever give them to me and im a thinker. pleae dont confuse agnostic with atheist, an atheist i am not! look up the definition of agnostic and you'll understand more ot my thinking and RAHV, my condolences to you, if i lost my daughter, my life would be over, i couldnt go on and thats exactly my point, you have your faith and beliefs to keep you going, people like me have nothing. i respect your strength b/c i couldnt do it.

[RichlandsAlum 678]

BTW, tom. I owe you an apology for my post earlier in this thread. Certainly didn't mean to be flippant about a topic that is very serious.

 

I appreciate your point of view and I sincerely hope that you do find the answers that you are seeking.

[mv91 259]

Tom, I will just give my personal testimony.

 

I was 18 yrs old and about to graduate high school and not living for Him. Anyway, I was driving home too late one night and dozed off and wrecked my truck. That accident left me paralyzed from the chest down. Needless to say, this was a life changing experience.

 

I was just like most humans are. I asked why would he allow this to happen to me. But now, I still am unsure why it did happen but I do know that I could have been alot worse off and without God in my life I would hAve went into a deep depression. I am just thankful to still be here and living as full of a life as I am.

 

I said all of that to say this.......Faith in God will get a person through so much more trials and tribulations then a person could ever imagine. He will comfort you through those trying times. GOD gives you peace that passes ALL understanding. If and when you ever feel the spirit of God in your life, you will know what peace and comfort I am talking about.

 

God Bless

[89Tornado 10]

I have lost a son as well. After trying to father a second child with no luck, the Dr's told us that we were lucky to have had our first son. They told us we would never be able to have children. Hearing that, I went on a anger crusade against God....in my heart. Well, after a couple of years of this anger towards God, everything around me was starting to crumble. I got to the point of surrender, I got on my knees and asked God to take all of my anger away, and I put all of my circumstances in his hands. About a month after that night, my wife and I found out we were pregnant with our second son, fast forward a little bit, we've also had a 3rd. My faith in God increased a million times. I understand God has a perfect will for all of us, he has perfect timing. I believe that God may allow us to go through tragedy so we'll turn our hearts back to him. THAT'S MY BELIEFS......not trying to say, it's correct or anything. I just wanted to share this story. Thanks