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Hoity-toity Christian?

2/18/2015

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:19–21

People have their reasons not to believe in the Lord and even more reasons to take issue with the faithful. I recently had some work done at my house. The gentleman who was doing the repair took notice of a cross we have prominently displayed on our wall.

We’ll call the repairman, Frank.

Frank started up a conversation about religion and felt a need to announce that he is an atheist. He went on to explain how he has a strong distaste for Christians because he has encountered too many who talked to him as if they were above him. Frank stated he was surprised by the fact that he was having a nice conversation with Christians who weren’t belittling to him for his choice.

Our first instinct was to explain that there is a difference between ‘religion’ and Christianity, but we wanted him to understand that Christians are human beings who are subject to the same faults every other person in the world has. And most importantly, not judge the perfect being of Christ by the actions of His imperfect children.

This short encounter served as a good reminder that we as Christ followers need to be mindful how we represent our faith and most importantly, how we represent the Lord. And yes, we represent the Lord because those who don’t believe in God, don’t read the Bible. They read the faithful. They read our words and our actions.

We can go to church multiple times a week. We can teach Sunday school every weekend and wrap ourselves in Christian symbols but none of that means we are Christian in our hearts and souls.

There are far too many people in the world that claim to be faithful servants of God but have appalling behavior and some actually encourage hate and violence.

These things help alienate people from the Lord. It gives non-believers further reason to despise us, to ridicule us and worst of all, we push people away from God. This can’t be, we as Christ followers have been commanded to go out and spread the good Word, to spread God’s love.

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after [each other] and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:26-27 NIV

So what do we do?

I believe we need to keep our ears open and allow others to share their opinions, their reasons for their disbelief. It is then we can respond, in love and kindness, sharing our beliefs and plant those seeds. It is then that the Lord can do His mighty work and change their hearts. When we don’t respond with that caring spirit, we accomplish the opposite. We encourage nonbelievers to keep their minds and hearts closed, scoring another one for the enemy.

The Lord has been amazing to me and I am fired up with passion and excitement. I want nothing more than to see more souls being won for the King of Kings but I remind myself that I have to do so with caring and understanding.

All too many times I’ve seen people fired up for the Lord but do all but sit on top of a person and beat he/she over the head with the Bible. That does not work.

Let me say it again, that does not work especially when we are confronting someone stinging from a loss of a loved one or holds some great anger against God. Badgering them with countless Bible verses won’t do anything other than alienate them.

Those are the times that others gain the impression that we believe we are above them, that we’re arrogant, and nothing more than bullies.

And as time grows closer to the end days, we see much of the Bible prophecies coming true.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 2:1-5NIV

So now more than ever, we as Christ followers need to stand together and reach out to as many people as we can sharing the grace of God but put those boxing gloves away. Always teach with caring and love.

Have you given your heart to God? Are you ready? Don’t worry, He doesn’t care where you’ve been, He only cares where you are going.

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So what is this repentance thing anyway?

10/26/2014

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" LORD, I bow before you on bended knee, in humble reverence
I give to you my broken spirit and contrite heart
I repent of all my worldly sins and surrender to your total will for my life
And for the glory of your Kingdom
By your sovereign gift of grace and mercy my sinful heart is washed clean."
TGarafola

Acts 2:38 NIV … "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
1 Corinthians 6:20 NIV…you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

If you’ve every heard a pastor or faithful follower of God speak, you might have heard them talk about repentance. It’s easy enough to Google, but what exactly do people mean when they tell you that you need to repent and most importantly, what does God ask of you?

Repentance is just the act of acknowledging our wrongs and asking for clemency. Whether it’s asking for forgiveness for hurting a family member or asking for tolerance for being late to work, everyone repents for something sometime throughout his or her life.

What’s different about repentance when it comes to God? The Lord laid down the law early in mankind’s existence. Because human beings are completely fallible and we tend to want to do things our own way, especially when it comes to the laws of God, we sin.

Even the most well versed, faithful believer needs to repent for his or her choices. It's especially so when we first come to the Lord because it’s all about acknowledging to God that we’ve sinned against Him. We're also asking for His forgiveness and love.

How do we know that God demands us to repent? It’s written in the scriptures, many times. The Lord commands us to acknowledge our sins, ask for His forgiveness and then sin no more. Remember, God has loved the human race since our first days and even now, he still loves us. God has never wanted any of us to perish, which is why He offers us His grace. It is by that grace, His forgiveness, that our eternal souls are saved.

Many of us fall away because we make the choice not to believe. We are thinking, feeling, free willed beings that ponder the reality of God and any ‘religion’ that demands you to believe without question, should make you question why you're following that ‘religion’. He made us this way because God doesn’t want puppets. He doesn't want blind submission, He wants us to learn and grow.

The past is just that, the past. What is important is that we do return to Him and accept His Son, the Christ Jesus. Understand, Christ was not a prophet or a mad man. He is the Son of God and He will return to cleanse this world of its wickedness.

Acts 17:30-31 NIV “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but
now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a
day when He will judge the world with justice…”

Quite frankly, I think the reason why the word repentance is such a turn off to so many people is because it forces us to admit and accept that we error and sin just as much as the next person. Honestly, it’s not easy to believe in a being that we don’t see with our own eyes and we can’t define by man-made science. It's simple to discard the fact that God is real because He forces us to defy our self-serving nature and beliefs.

There are a lot of bad people in this world and many bad things happen to the good people in it. There are many who do atrocities and call it out in Gods name but that is not the nature of our God. These days and the many to come will test our faith. As believers in God and Christ Jesus, we must continue spreading the word of God and helping others come to the truth.

We all must continue to repent for our sins and seek forgiveness everyday. We should all try to live a righteous life and continue to grow in our faith.

Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a respectful reply or comment.

If you haven’t accepted Christ as your Savior, today is a good day to do it. Pray your own prayer or pray …

“My God, thank you for loving me even though I am a sinner. Thank you for your Son, Jesus, who died on the cross for those sins. I can build a relationship with you because of His sacrifice. I repent for my sins; I seek your forgiveness and your everlasting love. I pray now that you accept me and take me into your loving arms. I am your child Lord, guide me and help me grow. I entrust my life in your capable hands and look forward to the day that I sit beside you in heaven. In your mighty name I pray, amen.”

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The joy in the faith

10/18/2014

4 Comments

“Jesus” Your very name brings joy to my heart
Giving my very existence purpose
You bless me with everything that is good and wonderful
with daily strength, and everlasting joys."
T. Garafola

Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord Rises upon you.”

If you don’t believe in the Lord, you may question how we can know for sure that God is real. There are far too many age-old arguments about the bible to go into but I will say this… we can feel it. Sounds crazy, right?

When you finally give your heart over to God you can feel it. The day I accepted Christ in my life I had this overwhelming peace and joy come over me. It is something hard to explain, but excitement does overcome you.

That excitement makes you hungry for more. It makes you hungry for knowledge. You become compelled to learn more, to understand more. And baptism, wow! When you come out of the water, most of the time, people just can’t stop smiling.

You feel strength in your spirit. It’s the security in knowing that Christ is behind you, He is in front of you, He is beside you, and He walks with you everyday. Remember, God promised we would never walk alone once we’ve chosen to follow him.

His blessings are everywhere around us, even in the little things. The glory of the Lord is everywhere, even in the worse times in life. No matter what the world will take from us, even when it’s our very lives, we will still have the truth. And many challenges will cross our paths, its inevitable. Those challenges will make us question our faith, they may even make us doubt the existence in God, but it is those times when Christ is the closest to us.

God is real, He loves us and He can heal our broken hearts if we fully surrender to Him. If you haven’t chosen yet, there’s no time like now. All you have to is ask Christ to come into your life. He’s waiting for you.

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

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Almost ready to give your heart to Christ?

9/28/2014

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“I have chosen. Jesus, into your righteous hands I place my soul. I have been saved by your sacrifice. My path is lavish in your grace. You’ve changed the course of my life forever.”
T. Garafola

You know, one of the things I love about Christianity is that you are not bullied into blind belief. Christ doesn’t want you to walk with Him with your eyes closed. He wants you to ask questions. He wants your trust and love. He wants you to see Him for what He is, a spectacular gift from God.

I’ve been asked, if Jesus were the Son of God why would He allow Christ to die in such a heinous way?

If you’re not sure, let me try to explain. We are all children of God. From the moment we come into this world kicking and screaming, to the very moment we exit it, we are the children of God.

It doesn’t matter where you come from, where you’ve been. It doesn’t matter the color of your skin, nor does it matter what sex you are. God does not discriminate. He doesn’t love you less because you don’t fit in societies mold of what you should look like. God does not care what man made religion you have chosen to follow. He certainly does not want you to be harmed, especially, in His name. To God and Christ, you and I are His beautiful children.

The Lord does not want us to suffer; He does not want to condemn us but as any parent would, He has commanded us to follow His rules, thus the 10 commandments and the Holy Bible.

Jesus is not a fictional character, He is not a prophet, He is the Son of God. Plain and simple, God told us that Jesus is the way to Him. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”

I’ll give you a super brief overview but as always, speak with a pastor and read from your Bible.

Just as what we see happening now, humanity fell away from God. They were deceived by Satan and began worshiping false idols. Hay, they don’t call him the great deceiver for nothing. The devil knows what tickles our fancy; he knows how to tempt us and does a good job to-boot! We first became separated from God back at the Garden of Eden. Later, as the world plummeted into chaos, God cleansed the earth and gave us another try. But then we did it again; the world turned it’s back on God, so… He sent us His Son.

Jesus taught His disciples and commanded them to share their knowledge so that others could be saved too. Those who feared the changes feared Him and accused Christ of blasphemy, demanding He be crucified.

God knew they would sacrifice His Son but as He always does, God never allows suffering to go without purpose. By the sacrifice of Jesus, we were given the amazing opportunity to be reunited with our Creator, God. Christ died on the cross for all of us; even those who deny Him and His father.

How do we know this? The Bible is not a fairy tale. It isn’t a collection of stories meant to frighten people into submission (as it’s often said). It is, in fact, a collection of books written by the prophets who witnessed the wonders and works of God Himself and His Son.

When you reach out to Him, the Lord is there. Why should you believe in God you may ask? I say to you, why not? You have everything to gain! Think of it this way, if I believe in God, and I’m wrong (He doesn’t exist) then I’ve lost nothing. I’ve lived a good life. I’ve respected others. I’ve loved others as I wish to be loved and lived believing whole-heartedly that there is something more to this existence than me. I had faith that comforted me through my darkest hours. But, if I chose not to believe and I was wrong... I have a whole lot to worry about when I stand before God in judgment. It will cost me everything.

Is the life of a Christian easier? Nope, it’s not easy at all but we have an amazing support system! Regardless of how society ridicules us, regardless of how foolish they say we are, God does exist; Christ is the way to heaven and the very best part of it all, They want us back. They don’t care about where we’ve been. They do care where you are going...

Are you ready to give your heart to Christ? Then do it right now, don’t let another moment go by. You can talk to the Lord right there from your chair, go ahead, He’s waiting for you.

There’s no need to fear or to be embarrassed. Speak what’s on your mind or if you need a little help…

“Dear Lord, I’m ready for you. My heart is open, and my spirit is willing to receive you as
my Lord and Savior. I’m here and ready to run into your open arms. Jesus, I know you gave
your life for me, and I thank you with all that I am. Please Lord, wash away my sins and
take control of my life. You are my God, and I am your child.”

Your next step is to pick a church that adheres the Bibles teachings and standards. It’s okay to shop around for the one that makes you feel at home. Talk with the pastors and the people. Then take bible studies to grow in your understanding of God’s word. When you are ready, becoming an active member of your church is a great way to continue your spiritual growth and become part of a great community.

Do you have more to say on the matter? Do you have questions or need to talk to someone? Comment below or send me an email. I always welcome and respond to respectful comments.

May the Lord bless you and keep you now and forever.

1 Timothy 1:13 NIV “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

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Hoity-toity Christian?

So what is this repentance thing anyway?

The joy in the faith

Almost ready to give your heart to Christ?

Victoria Garafola

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