May 16, 2009
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Has the Christian religion failed you ?
Have you ever thought if god is real why does he not every just make it simple and do something to let me know he is there?
Just now I ask you to open your mind and heart to the following words and thoughts . I know as well as you should that no one is argued into the Christian Faith or faith at all but faith wells up from with in someone as they are given evidence that they search it for truth and apply that truth to build on the faith to check a little deeper. My hope is the truth I will share here may stick to your faith muscle that everyone of us has and that it may grow stronger even if not used for a long time and possible atrophied. If conditioned it can hold on to Holy Spirit allowing Holy Spirit to carry you into a relationship with Jesus , God’s Christ!
The first place I would like you to visit starts with a question asked of Jesus made by someone trying to test Him.
Matthew 22
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
In His answer Jesus shows that all have fallen short as masters of their own lives when compared to God’s law and we on our own are living outside of His command for us. This means we are guilty of SIN by our nature and the fruit of our lives when we try to leave Jesus outside of our life.
So what are the things and people we place before God to keep us locked in this sin ? An idol is created when a person takes their own ideas and puts them into the work of their hands or actions and begins to worship that. In doing so they are really worshiping is themselves. Even religion can become a god that takes us away form the true God. In Exodus 20:3 God tells us “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Other gods can include your family, friends, lovers, your sports, computer games and relationships, school and even your own thoughts or fears and doubts . Religion as such falls short of a personal knowledge through Christ of Father God. True worship of God can not happen by the flesh ! Jesus tells us there is one true way to worship God ! John 4:24
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
So how does a person of flesh and bone with no way to see, touch, smell, taste, or hear this Spirit worship Him in Spirit and Truth? Our spirit is born dead to God and must be quicken through Christ who Jesus claimed in Himself to be the Truth and the Way. He is witnessed by Holy Spirit to be this truth. How hard do people try to drink from the dry wells that they dig with the gods of their lives but there is only one who can give the drink of everlasting life with God!
John 4
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly
Jesus knows us and nothing is hidden and he still wants to offer this gift of life to us.
Luke 12
8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.
You may be thinking “what of the things and people in my life I may have to give up when Jesus moves in to my life?” . He tells us in His Bible our needs will be met and directs us in our thinking.
Luke 12
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
John 5
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
The greatest of all questions was the one asked by Jesus and how you seek a decision to answer in your own soul will decide your eternal condition of your life.
Mark 8
29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
Even if you choose not to answer that in itself is an answer to deny Christ and Holy Spirit that bares witness to Him and His words and the one who sent Him.
May God bless all who read so they may have faith to believe !
Barry
Comments (6)
As someone who feels Christianity has failed me, I have to say that quoting a few well-known verses isn’t a terribly convincing way to help me fall back into the fold. I just wanted to let you know about the efficiency of your evangelizing technique from the perspective of someone who it seems this post is directed towards.
@GodlessLiberal - -” As someone who feels Christianity has failed me” Religion no matter what form it is fails everyone . If you remember those most religious were the very ones who did not know who Jesus was and plot to kill Him to prevent Rome from becoming intrested in their religious unrest. When Jesus spoke in a harsh manner it was often to those who put religion ahead of true worship and the works of people over the Love Relationship with the Father. I hope you read this again with these thoughts in mind . Each person must receive the gift of love themselves of their own free will and no one can impose their faith on anyone else , I just pray that His Holy Spirit will continue to call many even if only few are chosen by Him who knows who wwill be able to Love Him more than self. Only you and Him will know if you are one or not .
Barry
One of the problems I have is when I tell people that I did try to approach that whole relationship aspect and heard nothing but an echo of my own thoughts, is that they always have a tendency to say some strange things. Things that would be otherwise offensive in any other context, especially if uttered to someone who deeply believes. Things like “you weren’t Christian enough I guess”, “you didn’t try hard enough”, “maybe you never actually was saved”, “people do things when they are young to appease adults”, or even “maybe you weren’t truly repentive enough”. I have talked to ministers of different denominations, even the so-called non-denominational ministers. I have talked to very devoted individuals. Basically all sorts of people, they always say the same thing, everyone except for the people who don’t take the whole “relationship” thing seriously or as if it has value. The crazy thing was, I was very sorry for my sins, back then, and I was really tortured by them and would beg forgiveness, it never made me feel any better except for that first time. I would try to walk in the spirit as they say, and I would hear nothing. I remember studying that program on my own time. I did everything I was supposed to do, at least what I was told was necessary. I had faith because it was “the right thing to do”, not to appease anyone but this Jesus figure. The only thing I got for my efforts was great emotional strife and the only thing I heard was the echo of my own thoughts. I left the faith thinking I had failed it actually, not the other way around. For a long time I had this notion that I was unworthy of anything, and deserved any pain or suffering I got because I could never find a place that I belonged. It wasn’t until I read Ayn Rand’s philosophy and novels that I realized how damaging the whole thing was. When I read the Virtue of Selfishness, the people that Nathanial Branden and Ayn Rand described, almost every description matched me at one point or another in my life, and I began to understand a connection between all of these descriptions. When I began to see the general pattern, I was able to logically deconstruct my whole world view and my past world views as well, and thus dispatch them more easily. I remember talking about how free I felt when I was a kid. For the first time since then, I felt free again. This was a pivotal moment for me, it allowed me to redefine myself and reconsider all of the things I had taken for granted as “true”.
I’m so sorry for all your past pain and I feel crushed for you that you can think yourself free while in greater danger than ever. While there is life in the body there is hope for the soul. You said you once had faith ”I had faith because it was “the right thing to do”, not to appease anyone but this Jesus figure. ” but did you have understanding that comes from the Spirit living within one who receives Christ as Lord? If you are His all your sins were forgiven ( your past , sins of today and even sins you have not even done yet ) . Faith is not based on feelings but on the trust in His word and promise and on the name of Jesus. Feeling sorry is natural but if this does not led you to repent or come into agreement with God and His word then turn from love of the evil or the lust . He wants your love and respect not your begging . When you walk in His righteousness you will begin to gain greater understanding of His nature and sense Him being with you. Even better you can tell the evil one and his lies and tricks as he tries to tell you you are not worthy or of no value as he points to your past failures and accuses you and your God. God alone is Holy (set apart by His righteousness) and He calls us to be Holy but not by our own works but in trusting on Him and His works in and through us. You made things way to hard and no person could be the things satan told you that you had to be or do to be worthy of God and His love. No one is , It is He that seeks us in His love. It is He that pursues us with His Grace . It is He that captures our hearts by His mercy in Jesus . It was His intention from the dawn of creation to be in a relationship us. Why would this loving Lord seek us? He seeks and we try to hide. We hold back . He pours Himself out on our behalf. We are weak, broken and unresponsive. Yet He is relentless in His pursuit of us. He is determined to make us holy and blameless in His site by His works. We can never fully comprehend the depth of His love or the great riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. (Read Micah 7:18)! He never wanted you to beat yourself up over your weakness but wanted to be your strength . He said he would bear your burden so you can use the strength He gives to love Him more each day! ( see Galatians4:6-7 ) When you made a son you were no longer a slave but a prince of His kingdom . As a prince you are expected to mature as you leave the milk bottle to take of the meat of the life in Christ. (see Romans 12:1-2) See this is where you were lied to by the world and by the father of lies .
It is God who makes you holy not us . Exodus 31:13….you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Leviticus 20:8 …. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.Leviticus 22:32…. I am the LORD, who makes you holy . Anyone who is saved should never take pride in a self righteousness that was the something that makes God bless them with salvation . Titus 3:3-5 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
It does not take a PhD to find and hold on to Christ just a child like faith will cause Him to hold on to you ! I pray His blessing will capture you as you give your heart in trust to His safe keeping ! In all love and hope from me to you.
@DarthPatriot - I did not use the reply button for my reply to your comment above .
This is a great and inspirational post. You have aptly used the scriptures aptly to convey the Gospel message, good flow.
God bless you