What does it take...?
Luke 11:39-42
Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people!. Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor and everything will be clean for you. Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
Mark 10:24-25
Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Was just lamenting how many "Christians" today go about looking for a church that doesn't press them to spread the gospel, doesn't eat up their time and money, doesn't challenge them to make sacrifices... Basically, just going church on Sunday is all that is needed. Kinda like renewing your passport to heaven every Sunday while totally living your own life from Monday to Saturday. These i call "Sunday Christians".
Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
How many "Sunday Christians" use this verse as their talisman? Treating Baptism as gaining a citizenship in heaven. But is saying you believe enough? How true is your belief if nothing from the Bible finds its way into your life? What difference is there in your life pre and post becoming a Christian? Note the 2nd part of the verse... whoever does not believe will be condemned. Baptism isn't in it! Being baptised is part of salvation, but its not part of condemnation. Do you see it? It simply means that even if you're baptised, you can still be condemned if you're found to be lacking in your belief!
So what is believing?
Christianity is about living a life that God would approve of. Jesus emphasizes countless times in his teachings that what is inside is much more important than what is outside. When you are good within, naturally your actions (your outside) would be good as well, it would flow naturally out of you. But if you're only acting, but really am unclean within, one day it will show, your "goodness" will not last. You can fake everyone, but God?
Believing is living God's teachings. Living it out. Obeying His commands. Putting yourself totally in His hands. Sounds like you've got no freedom? Not really actually. All He's ever asked of me is to kick those bad habits of mine. Everything He had asked of me was to make me a better person and to have a better life. In fact, He's only asked me to do things for MY own good, not His. Afterall, what does God NEED from me?
So are you a true Christian?
Lets say one day you suddenly come into an inheritance of a million dollars, courtesy of some long distance relative you didn't even knew you had.
Happy? Diliriously so i bet.
What happens if God suddenly speaks into your heart. Hey, if you gave this money to the Church, it would be able to do ALOT with it. All of it? Yup, all of it.
What would you do? Remember that this money is a bonus of sorts, dropped into your lap. Will you listen to God and give it all away? Or would you try to bargain? Give excuses?
Mark 10:17-22
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must i do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandmants: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"
"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said, "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
If you had even wanted to keep a cent from that million dollars, you would have failed. The lesson here isn't about the money. God doesn't NEED your money. Its about your heart. Would you keep anything from Him? Its not easy. But its possible. Go read the passage in the Bible. Jesus said something later with regards to it.
Think about it. Its already so difficult to give God money that fell out of the sky. How much more difficult for other things that we hold dear in our lives! Yet that is the standard that God has set. That is His challenge!
When i received my year end bonus, i had contemplated giving it all to Church. But i held back. Oh i gave a million reasons. But the truth was, i wasn't willing to let go of it. Money. Heh... Its too late to do so now, hesitation is kinda like failing as well. Or it could be another reason not to do so now haha... But i WILL give it all to Him in other ways. And one day I will just keep what i need for myself and give everything else to Him. Yes i will...
So am i a true Christian? I'm ALMOST there... still working on it heh... Give up my games! My gadgets! Arghhhhhhhh... ^^
Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people!. Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor and everything will be clean for you. Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
Mark 10:24-25
Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Was just lamenting how many "Christians" today go about looking for a church that doesn't press them to spread the gospel, doesn't eat up their time and money, doesn't challenge them to make sacrifices... Basically, just going church on Sunday is all that is needed. Kinda like renewing your passport to heaven every Sunday while totally living your own life from Monday to Saturday. These i call "Sunday Christians".
Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
How many "Sunday Christians" use this verse as their talisman? Treating Baptism as gaining a citizenship in heaven. But is saying you believe enough? How true is your belief if nothing from the Bible finds its way into your life? What difference is there in your life pre and post becoming a Christian? Note the 2nd part of the verse... whoever does not believe will be condemned. Baptism isn't in it! Being baptised is part of salvation, but its not part of condemnation. Do you see it? It simply means that even if you're baptised, you can still be condemned if you're found to be lacking in your belief!
So what is believing?
Christianity is about living a life that God would approve of. Jesus emphasizes countless times in his teachings that what is inside is much more important than what is outside. When you are good within, naturally your actions (your outside) would be good as well, it would flow naturally out of you. But if you're only acting, but really am unclean within, one day it will show, your "goodness" will not last. You can fake everyone, but God?
Believing is living God's teachings. Living it out. Obeying His commands. Putting yourself totally in His hands. Sounds like you've got no freedom? Not really actually. All He's ever asked of me is to kick those bad habits of mine. Everything He had asked of me was to make me a better person and to have a better life. In fact, He's only asked me to do things for MY own good, not His. Afterall, what does God NEED from me?
So are you a true Christian?
Lets say one day you suddenly come into an inheritance of a million dollars, courtesy of some long distance relative you didn't even knew you had.
Happy? Diliriously so i bet.
What happens if God suddenly speaks into your heart. Hey, if you gave this money to the Church, it would be able to do ALOT with it. All of it? Yup, all of it.
What would you do? Remember that this money is a bonus of sorts, dropped into your lap. Will you listen to God and give it all away? Or would you try to bargain? Give excuses?
Mark 10:17-22
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must i do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandmants: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"
"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said, "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
If you had even wanted to keep a cent from that million dollars, you would have failed. The lesson here isn't about the money. God doesn't NEED your money. Its about your heart. Would you keep anything from Him? Its not easy. But its possible. Go read the passage in the Bible. Jesus said something later with regards to it.
Think about it. Its already so difficult to give God money that fell out of the sky. How much more difficult for other things that we hold dear in our lives! Yet that is the standard that God has set. That is His challenge!
When i received my year end bonus, i had contemplated giving it all to Church. But i held back. Oh i gave a million reasons. But the truth was, i wasn't willing to let go of it. Money. Heh... Its too late to do so now, hesitation is kinda like failing as well. Or it could be another reason not to do so now haha... But i WILL give it all to Him in other ways. And one day I will just keep what i need for myself and give everything else to Him. Yes i will...
So am i a true Christian? I'm ALMOST there... still working on it heh... Give up my games! My gadgets! Arghhhhhhhh... ^^
posted by Justus at 11:06 PM
1 Comments:
sermon? more like talking to yourself... haha, good try though...
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