It’s time to wake,
To do and to be;
Property of my God –
Exclusively.
By His Grace
Tag Archives: Christianity
“Shut Up Already
Yes, yes, yes, I speak about Christianity almost exclusively. Shrug shrug, sorry, I can’t help it. And I really am sorry that it bugs a lot of people.
But as I was driving along, something fascinating caught my attention.
(I don’t know how to say this without offending anyone so I’ll just git er done, and let the chips fall where they do.)
The world is all upset because Christians like to share their faith. I don’t know what their problem is. Most people I’ve met, who call themselves Christians, don’t speak publicly of Christianity at all.
By His Grace
Abrasive Consistency
Some people think I think too highly of myself because of all the things I write concerning God. Not only do I not think too highly of myself, I’m hardly worthy to be called a Christian.
By speaking so much, they say I try to elevate myself. And their judgments are made to drag me back down. (I would think that if someone is trying to elevate themselves, they would not speak consistently of someone else.)
There seems to be a disparity here. What if I really am no one in Christ? What if I’m just an average man who sees something beautiful in God? What if, at best, I am only an average Christian? Wouldn’t that be what they are actually trying to say?
I do find it interesting, that those who try to drag me back down, do not step up to speak themselves. So if I am, at best, an average Christian, or even a hypocrite, as they say, who should step down and who should step up?
And with all the time that is spent trying to drag me back down to the place they think I belong, they would do better to assess the words I write and consider their own standing in Christ.
But isn’t this what every vocal Christian finds to be true? The moment we praise God with an open heart, the entire world gathers together to shut us down.
Its not that they offer anything better or different. They simply don’t like hearing about the Living God’s Holy Son. And they really can’t stand it, that one of their own, loves God more than Man.
If I’m wrong about these things, I do sincerely apologize. But I see nothing, in the fabric of Man, to say these things are not true.
By His Grace
Unworthy
A car with a bad engine is unworthy of your money, unless you have the means to fix it. And if your car behaves poorly, you begin to search for ways to repair it or to get another one.
If a road is closed because there is no bridge, only the true idiot continues undeterred. The tiniest modicum of wisdom forces people to find another route.
You can read the signs your car gives you, you can read the signs on the road. How is it that so many do not read the signs of warning in their dilapidated soul?
The philosopher Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Isn’t it true, the one who ignores signs of warning encourages a bad day.
Your life is broken. If you don’t know that, you haven’t examined it very closely. Even according to the man Plato, your life then is not worth living. What’s your response to all this?
If a mechanic pulls up to a stop sign next to you and tells you he is willing to fix your falling car for free, wouldn’t he get your interest? Well I’ve pulled up next to you in the body of this message. I know the one who can fix your broken life. His name is Jesus.
By His Grace
Chance and Possibilities
The universe exists as we find it. The world in which we live offers us accommodating elements. Perhaps it could have been otherwise. Being a man who believes that God has created all things, I don’t suggest that there was an alternative outcome. But, for the sake of those who believe in evolution, I offer the possibility.
The reasoning I just applied to the universe, can also be applied to righteousness. Why isn’t it okay to murder your neighbor? Why is lying considered an evil thing? Why does immorality know any bounds at all? And if there is nothing after death, why bother to live at all?
One might respond to me, “There are limitations for the sake of the profit of the specie”. But if life is truly futile, in that every man who dies becomes nothing, why should you care about the profit of this specie?
You will respond to me, “It is proper to show love your neighbor and give respect for what life they do have”. Who told you that love even exists? If there is no accountability after death, why should it matter whether we love or not? And if the only reason you live is that someone will remember your name, what value is it when those who remember you are dead?
Do you see how futile, and ridiculously ignorant, a life lived on the foundation of evolution is?
If life among men is no more than a glorified animal, then where does the knowledge of perfection come from? Where does the concept of love originate? Animals don’t think to provide some eternal testimony of their life. No, we are not just glorified animals. We are vastly more.
For the sake of Man’s lack of patience, I will end this writing by simply pointing to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There you will find these questions. There you will find the answers.
Every man knows these questions exist. But how many are willing to search out the answers? Instead of searching, I find men drawing opinions from their imagination. What will you do?
By His Grace
The Process of Christianity
There is a lot of confusion regarding Christianity. Granted, there is outright hatred for anything that belongs to God. But there are also many who simply don’t understand. I write this for the latter. The former will remain beyond my reach.
Christianity is not a religion in itself. Christianity spawns, or gives life to, true understanding. It is undeniable that there are many corrupt variations of Christianity. But the one with an honorable heart will divide lie and fiction from truth.
The process of becoming a Christian, for the most part, takes a rather predictable course. There are great variations in means, but the mile markers are not hard to to denote. Let us begin.
The man recognizes his lack of ability to conquer the onslaught against him. This world is full of chaos and unknown difficulties. Added to the physical violence he perceives, comes and almost subconscious awareness of perfection.
With an earnest chasing after wisdom, the man begins to perceive the vast nature of perfection. If anxiety was provoked by the chaos of this world, the nature of perfection compounds the man’s concerns. The man has reached a milestone of understanding. Now he is ready to encounter the next mile marker.
As his years slip by, death becomes more real. When he was young, death was only some imaginary trouble. But now, with the same chasing of wisdom, the man begins to examine his own end.
Futility looms heavily over the path he knows he must walk. How deep the chasm of his futile life becomes, especially while he has begun to examine the nature of perfection. One aspect of perfection rises very tall; “If there is life, why is there any death at all?”
At this mile marker the man is forced to make a choice. Will he resign himself to obvious oblivion, or will he seek that perfection he is coming to desire? Wisdom says, There really is no choice son”.
This is the very place where many fall away to pleasure; “Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”. But a few will press on, for they know there is something more to be had. Exactly how they know this, they cannot explain yet. But it is these few who will proceed to the next milestone.
Again, the man is faced with a choice; should he swallow his own observations and simply join the crowd, or does he dare to step away from others? Though his soul cannot agree with them, the temptation of his body is to remain included with humanity.
It is exceedingly difficult for anyone to say that God began a work in a man’s life at a certain place. But regardless when it happened, there is a marked difference which a man can perceive. Such a man does not think like the masses, and he knows it. This sliver of knowledge is found as the man approaches the next milestone. Metaphorically speaking, that awareness shoves the man through the door.
It is the diligent, honorable, and earnest heart that decides to encounter the obvious best solution. Nothing has changed regarding his futile life. His death still looms vibrantly before him. And the nature of perfection has more clarity than ever before. Whether others perceive these things or not, the brave will enter in. Welcome to isolation.
Now God moves to introduce perfection. The Holy law of God is introduced to the man. Here many perceive the height of expectation, and run back to the crowd for solace. But the man with an earnest and true heart will kneel before the Living God in prayer.
The standard of perfection is too much for him to bear. But so is the futility of his life. With no place to turn, he has dropped to his knees to seek mercy. “If God is real, he says to himself, “he will show himself to me now. I have encountered the absolute impasse.”
The man has examined his life and found fault. The man has examined the world and found the same. But with his earnest heart, he cannot find fault with the laws of God. Now the specter of his death is set ablaze with a Holy Fire. There are no more choices left for him to take.
The only possible choice, to avoid the inevitable, is to turn away from this search completely. But with all he has invested, that is no choice at all. Willingly, the man rises to his spiritual feet and walks into a firestorm of the unknown.
His faith has come alive, but not for no reason. The mutual work between the man and God has produced obvious conclusions. It is time for God to make an eternal choice; at this point it is righteous to introduce the man to the Holy Son of God, Jesus.
The man has reached the first milestone of heaven. he has become a Christian. After this, there are thousands markers more to attain.
But it is at this place where I will cease this writing. This sessation comes, because beyond this place, the predictability of the man’s encounters with spiritual milestones belongs to the invisible God. Where God will take this man is absolutely unknown. What service the man will supply for the Holy Son of the Living God, is up to God to decide.
Beyond this milestone, the choices of the man matter very little. It is the intent of the Living God that will drive the man from here on out.
I have written this for the sake of those who argue against Christianity by the use of the human experience alone. To some degree, the human experience begins the search. But our experience on this earth is not capable of grasping the fullness of God’s Grace, or will.
I know there will be arguments against these things I have written. But there will also be honest questions. I publish this, willing to receive either.
I have not written this to challenge secular mindsets. And I cannot say that what I have written is a blueprint for every man. But I have written this that it might be seen, there is a relatively logical progression to be taken between the mind of a worldly man and the mind of a Christian.
I will finish this writing with the following thought. True Christianity is not a product of any man’s personal choice. It is produced by a mutual willingness between God and his people. Christianity is a living experience in which the truth of eternity is revealed, to whatever extent the Living God is willing to reveal it.
With what relative innocence I can muster, I have written this without a desire to judge, chastise, pigeonhole, or destroy. There are battles to be had. But let this stand as an offer for peace. The Spirit of God within me is quite capable of waging wars of words and ideas. But such things will present themselves when they do.
May God grant understanding to anyone who reads these things. For without his help, no understanding will rise to the surface.
By His Grace
Words From There 