Being a Christian

It has been said that change is always good. And I agree, because when we look at change, it means that we are finishing one chapter of life and moving to the next. Through difficult times, we need to know how to respond to the change that is going on around us. Knowing the direction that we are going in for that change helps, but sometimes we may not know. And even then, we know that we have God to anchor us during the storms and trials of that change. One thing that we have to make sure of is that we do not compromise ourselves as Christians during this change so as not to become on the outside something that we on the inside are not meant to be. Our outside influence should not be what determines how people see us. The cracks in the vase, that is our life, should not be reminiscent of the hard times, but should be an opening for the light that is within us, so that others can see how to go through those times as well. We should be the example, and in doing so we become the change that is so greatly needed in the world today. And the world around us will be very enticing, but if we keep ourselves “studied up, and prayed up", it will be that much easier to stay in God's path and be able to discern those things to embrace and those from which to flee. This will exercise our mind, our heart, and our will, so that we will enter the continual process of changing or transforming our lives, and with it the lives of those whom we come into contact.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2 KJV

But what good is it to begin the process of change on the inside if it is not reflected on the outside. Sure, internal transformation is important, but what is seen on the outside is just as critical if not more, because we are to people what they perceive their experience with us to be. The things that we do and say must yell “Christian” from the rooftops- they must be a clear declaration and definition of what a Child of God is. Many times people learn from what they see and hear, so it is imperative that we not distort or misguide others to thinking that being saved is not "all it's cracked up to be."

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
James 1:26 KJV

Being a Christian means that we are in Christ- we have a new and better mindset, a new and better heart, a new and better direction in life that, even in the difficult times, gives us reason to smile and rejoice because no matter what, God is with us. We could not always smile and rejoice in the old way. And that is because nothing was certain, but with God we know that He is certain and will never change. His love, and grace, and mercy will always be the same;therefore, giving the firm stability that we seek in life. We leave the old, broken and uncertain life and become new, whole and confident.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV

Not only should we essentially dedicate our lives to God with our hearts and minds, but also in our bodies. They are given to us for a short time so as to do the work of God here on this Earth, and it is a gift to be used wisely. Before doing anything to “our bodies", we should consider that what we do with, in,  and to these vessels, will certainly show or reflect the level or lack of relationship with God. The Bible gives instruction on how to nurture and grow the body, what to eat, and more. So we have the instruction to develop a healthy body. Once again, what we do is the blueprint for someone to what a Christian is. So we should be mindful that our clothes, body language, what we consume and what we allow others to do to, and how we present our bodies should imitate what would be pleasing to God as we are always in his sight.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 KJV

No one is perfect, Christians included. But we have the charge to be better than we were to not only change and transform our own lives but also the lives of others. The Bible says go out into the world and teach. So we must go out from where we are and even who we are, and become more in order to save the souls of those who need a new life. It is God's mandate for us as it was for the Christian that helped us and brought us into the fold of God. And what joy has filled our hearts, so we should jump at the opportunity to share!

Songwriter William Gaither describes wonderfully why and what we should share with others.

Shackled by a heavy burden,
'Neath a load of guilt and shame.
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.
Since I met this blessed Savior,
Since He cleansed and made me whole,
I will never cease to praise Him,
I'll shout it while eternity rolls.
He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.
Songwriters: William J. Gaither
He Touched Me lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

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Victory pt2: Born Again

In our life time, it is promised that we will live and have tribulations. But being born again, we will overcome the world. Being “born again” may be a troublesome phrase, because as Nicodemus asked, “How can we be born of our mother's womb twice?” But this phrase actually means that we will be born from above in the context of our lives reflecting a new spirit. We will be new creatures, ready to learn and follow the ways of God. It is our faith that causes us to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus and its symbolism toward our salvation. This ensures a future life of victory over the Adversary, because Christ on our side (1 John 5:4).

With Jesus on our side we have access to not only power to overcome, but also an ambassador of sorts that understands what we have gone through. He speaks to us and confirms that we can have peace and be of good cheer. The Bible tells us that we, as “those who live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:12-13) With Christ, we have found our lifeline with which to get out of an endless spiral that is deceiving and being deceived. In other words, we have Truth in a world full of Deception. Light in Darkness. Victory amidst Defeat. Paul writes the following in Romans 8:37-39,

• Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

With Christ we are Victorious, now and forever. Against any foe we will be victorious, and can have peace and praise during the process, because we know the truth. And that truth is that God’s love sent Jesus and bought our redemption. And with this redemption and God on our side, we are stronger than any opposition thrown in our way. We are VICTORIOUS!!!

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Value (pt.4): Valuing Ourselves

For those of us who believe and know God we realize that God values us. And because He values us we should value ourselves. It is when we put value on other people around us first that we begin to make our mistakes. When we value them over ourselves and what they believe as right for us or good for us, we agree with it because they are the center of our universe. It has been said that because the universe is infinite the center of our individual universes are ourselves, because it is infinite from a starting point, which is dependent upon our own individual perspectives physically. I would like to take that further and say that the center of the universe is that which is within ourselves. Having God as the center of our lives makes him the center of our universe and just like an atom we can bring unto ourselves that Catalyst that will bring us the energy that will change potential and possibility into action and reality!

God says that He values us, and He proves it and shows it daily. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). Perhaps the greatest example of his showing his value for us, is when He sent his Son on a mission to free us from the debt of sin-to die as our sacrifice. His child, who was perfect and substituted for imperfect and severely flawed people, was sacrificed. But it was all a result of love. Romans 5:8 reminds us ,“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” How much does He value us and love us if He sent Jesus, though we did not deserve him! And because of this, we should obviously love him, and also love ourselves! We should Value ourselves!

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Judge Not

"Judge not, that ye be not judged." -Matthew 7:1

To judge someone is to form an opinion about them or to come to a firm conclusion. Judgement tends to be dangerous because it is not always based on factual information but “formed opinions” which could very well be wrong. And furthermore, others may translate the opinions as fact. The truth is that we should not judge anyone. Our human minds are flawed and incapable of fair discernment. Only God can and will judge perfectly.

In the gospels, Jesus clearly says that whatever criteria you use to judge someone, you will be judged  in the same way. Opinions about people are translations of temporary encounters, and unless we know all the events and thoughts of a person, there is no acceptable criteria for judgement. Therefore, instead of addressing questionable situations with judgement, let us use the well-known “Golden Rule”and treat all people as we would like to be treated [Luke 6:31].

In addition, we should treat others as our brothers and sisters, and seek not to put a stumbling block [that the limitations from judgement cause] in their way. Instead, we as Christians should realize that we all will have our day of judgement with the only True and Fair Judge. And on that day we all will have to give account to God for our actions and thoughts, good or bad [Romans14:12-13].

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Product of God

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2

A recent conversation caused me think about my position on the assumption that a person's environment influences their thoughts and in turn their actions, and little by little changing the environment for the better or worse. While there is some truth to the aforementioned claim, as my father said before, “Ultimately, it is your choice.” What we decide, we decide and no one else. Therefore, we are not so much a product of our environment, as much as we are a product of our own mentalities. Furthermore, our lives become a composite reflection of our hearts.

The disciples gave accounts of Jesus speaking to the fact that “where your treasure is, therein also will be your heart” (Matthew 6:21, Luke 12:34) . Many times the world wins out in the realm of influence toward our hearts because there is physical evidence complying with the claims of the world all around us. In regards to a more spiritual influence coming from a desire to please God, we must rely on faith which requires more self-discipline. Be that as it may, it is a process that can most certainly be achieved. A mindset to make decisions based on what God will have us do is not only attainable, but to the Christian it is mandated. The very essence of what it means to be a Christian requires that we accept Jesus Christ and follow his example. Therefore, when faced with temptations that may cause us to pause, we should either “flee the temptation” or “recite Scripture” as He did. This will help us to keep our focus where it belongs-on God's way. When we are focused, we can then guide ourselves back to God, and in doing so use a spiritual discernment when faced with decisions that have heavy consequences.

Our lives are a sum total of our experiences and decisions. The situations that are out of our control are not always ideal, but it is what we do with our decisions that make a lifelong impact. Allowing the enticements outside ourselves to dictate our thoughts, and hence our actions, is a very deadly game to play. God's way will not steer us wrong and will ultimately lead us to the true intent of our lives.

We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life. It's up to us to make it good or bad. Who and what we encompass around ourselves will either make life easier or harder. Life is already destined for some difficulties, but who or what we find ourselves depending on will be the deciding factor between bending and breaking or bending and moving on. God does not desire for us to go through “ unnecessary foolishness." If we simply adhere to the ways set before us, we will see that God wants to protect us, keep us, and hold us.1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Bottom line, if we look to God, we will find what is of true value and be able to make decisions that God, through Jesus has already shown us the answers to. Then no longer will we fall to the cliche of being a product of our environment, but we will rise rise to the honor of being a product of our God! God bless! Be blessed and be a blessing!

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Jesus' Words from His Heart

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. They are the results of decisions made. We make decisions based on how we think. And finally our thoughts are directly tied to what we allow to saturate our hearts.
Jesus had a heart full of love for us. He always thought about and did what was in the Will of God so His actions spoke volumes for Him. As a teacher, He taught many things, and spoke of the wonders of God the Father Who sent Him. He directed 12 men, healed those who were broken and did so with words. There was a reputation that preceded Him due to the actions He would be known for. This is an ultimate proof that we will be remembered for the things that we do more so than what we say. 

Many say that talk is cheap. This means that to simply speak about something means little in comparison to actually do something about it. Another phrase is, "Don't talk about it , be about it!" All these phrases ultimately mean the same thing. Talking about change is easy and meaningless in comparison to making or even being the change that you seek in the world as stated by the philosopher Ghandi himself. Jesus spoke of the Will of God and intricately became the Will and the Way of God by living the example that we are to follow! Henceforth becoming the Way, the Truth, and the Life! [John 14:6] Jesus the Christ, the God-man, lived to die for us. His heart was so intent on saving us that He literally became a physical sacrifice for us. His actions were a result of what He was thinking, and His thoughts were in direct correlation to what was in His heart. We were His original intent. He loved, and is still loving us and He needs to know that we live mostly to die for him as well. We must die to the flesh in order to be raised in the Spirit! Glory be to God, because we were the reason He came...to save us. By words were we created and by the Word were we saved! God bless!!!

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