If they don't want to listen don't argue, don't get mad, just keep on truckin. But always in love.

It’s late and I’m tired (although insomnia rules the night) but I just had a conversation that has left me somewhat hurt, perturbed, anxious and honestly, a bit angry.

Lord, give me strength.

It is not incumbent upon me as a Christian, to make anyone believe in anything. God does not need my help revealing his truth; that’s between that person and God. Where I may scatter the seeds, others may water–so on and so forth, vice versa. I’ve never been that way (bible thumping people) and neither was Jesus. Where you stand with God is between you and God and it doesn’t involve anyone else. Being the light and the salt does not constitute me being anyone being an annoying jerk. Following this rule I have come to truly understand that some people want to have their cake and eat it to when it comes go God. I know this because I have been there before.

And it doesn’t work like that.

It’s one thing to say you are a Christian but it’s another thing to mean it. You can not be a Christian and not read your bible, let alone not even having one in your house. You can not say you are a Christian, and then in the next breath you tell me that you are going to do what you want to do…live your own life. That everything will be “cool” because you’re a good person. That God knows your heart. It isn’t about you being a good person: no one is so good that they don’t sin. That is why we need the atoning blood of Christ–innocent blood mind you–to pay for our sins. You can talk about how good you are until the cows come home but when you stand in front of the white throne seat of judgment, he’s not going to be looking at how much you tithed and went to church, he will be looking at you…who you really are, what your real motivations were.

We are free to live our lives the way we choose, God does not want us to be automatons. In doing so, we welcome judgment upon ourselves. God is the final judge and jury, with us being the executioner because we do it to ourselves. One of the biggest lies around is that God sends people to hell. Stop blaming God and look at yourself. Many people won’t like that and many will reject it, but your problem isn’t with me, it’s with God. Gird up your loins and take it up with him if you don’t like it, don’t shoot the messenger.

As long as I am treating you with love, compassion and mercy (as our Heavenly Father does) than any other issues one may have are between them and the Lord. If you are someone who proclaims faith in the Christ but decide to do it your own way, then there’s nothing I can tell you. Why bother asking if you don’t want to know the answer…the truth? God doesn’t approve of that, just living how you want. There are rules to this, and if you’re sincere then you will gain Godly knowledge that leads to wisdom, that ultimately leads to understanding. One then takes that understanding (the “finished product”) and applies it to their life. You will sacrifice, you will lose much, but what you gain, those eternal blessings, FAR outstrip whatever temporary satisfaction we may have here during this Earthly existence.

The real problem is with God and his word–not those who deliver it. I want to wipe the dust off of my sandals and keep on stepping but I know that I am needed. To what degree the Lord hasn’t shown me, but I know that His word never comes back void. Everything you need to know about being a Christian, is in the bible. Notice I didn’t say this denomination or that denomination; those are constructs of man, one of the very reasons Christ had to come (or we’d all be screwed) in the first place. If you honestly want to know what God thinks about “it,” pray first, read his word and then you’ll know. It often takes more time than we want, and the answer may not be what you were thinking but comparing what you know–or think you know–against that of a sovereign God? Who do you think has a better view of what’s going on and what needs to happen? There wasn’t a single point this person made that couldn’t be found in scripture. Therefore, what you are telling me is despite what you know is the truth, you’re going to do it your way because, well…you want to.

Ask Job, Moses, David, and a host of others how that turned out.

You can pretend to be as hard as you want to be. You can put up the front that it’s cool, God “gets you” and that he wouldn’t trip about what you’re doing. That being a Christian is something that you can do on your own terms and God can take a back seat. If you want to live life the way you want with no divine strings attached then do so, no one is stopping you. But don’t claim a faith and then pervert it to suit your own Earthly needs. God isn’t in the business of satisfying what needs you think you have, the ones you think are important. This is about eternity and where you’ll spend it. Don’t get it twisted; I don’t tell people that they’re going to hell–I don’t know that, I don’t know what you will decide to do and neither does anyone else. But we know as Christians what does keep us from his eternal presence and if you are a believer who thinks that you can have it on your own terms, you are both ignorant and a fool. God is a jealous God, who will not be mocked. Once you proclaim having faith in Jesus, you don’t get to arbitrarily decide what you will and will not do: that’s not in the contract with Christ. There are rules, stipulations to all of this. It is true that salvation is a gift freely given, but that does not give us card blanch to do as we see fit. Being saved isn’t a license to sin, and if you think of it that way then I would suggest you seriously test your understanding of God and his word.

When all is said and done, I don’t really care what you do in your personal life; that’s not my business. What I do know–and God as my witness this is from experience–is if you don’t even have a bible, you don’t have any type of fellowship with other believers and you feel that God is down with you pulling a Burger King–having it your way–then you are not a Christian. At the very least if you are a believer, you have a seriously corrupt understanding of your faith.

Like I said in my last posting: it isn’t deeds you are saved by. Nor is it by simply following what someone else says. The Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth are available to nearly everyone on this planet so if you want to know what the bible says about this or that, freaking read it! It doesn’t matter what I say or anyone else says. Blaming God for people’s missteps doesn’t cut it. Especially when those people have been given power–by you–to make you believe what they want you to believe. That does not mean that you don’t listen to other believers. To the contrary, what I am saying is that if you don’t know, if you don’t check for yourself, then you have effectively become the mental slave of said person. A fellow human being who is sinful themselves can only guide you in the ways that you should go thru the Holy Spirit, not of their own understanding. And if they try to do so, check it against scripture so you know for yourself what is truth and what is a lie from the bowls of hell itself.