Daily Dying

Following Christ is about daily dying to ones personal desires and living in His. This is not easy. Each of us have our own little eccentricities that we may have a hard time putting to one side in order to allow Christ to take over our lives. These eccentricities may just be bad habits that are in themselves not sins but can lead to sinful behavior or they may be sins that we have never fully given over to God thru Christ. I understand a little more each day the dilemma that John Calvin and John Wesley had in understanding each others dogma. I have said it before and I say it again, I think John Wesley said it best when he said words to the effect of, " We are closer than we think in our understanding of the doctrine of Christ."
I want to challenge the reader, no matter what your religious persuasion, to die daily to yourself and seek Gods will for your life, try to live a life pleasing to God, and above all rely totally on Him for your direction in all things. WWJD

Following Christ is a daily task and in that task we look at the world round about us and see a fallen society. As we look at this fallen society we see a group of people who need what we have. Jesus Christ! The trouble is all too often when we try to tell others about Christ and try to live like Christ we hear the all-too-often-used excuses of why those around us (sometimes loved ones, sometimes just those around us) don't follow Christ or even want anything to do with Him.
Now think of society norms about what is considered "Christian". A few come to mind and I won't even mention them here since I don't want to sound judgmental. But what do non-believers think that Christians ought to do as Christians? A lot of this depends on their upbringing as well as ours. Society defines Christianity as a list of dos and don'ts. Isn't this the very thing that we as Christians steer away from? But, when we live a life that doesn't reflect the way they think are we doing a dis-service to God? Now I don't think that we should necessarilly follow what the worlds idea of a Christian is. We should however ask God in all sincerity if we need to change.
Having said this there does need to be a standard to live by and there is. It's the Bible. The Word of God tells us "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do doesn't do it, sins." James 4:17 How do we know? "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." II Tim. 2:15 
Even God's Word tells us to preach. "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in  him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? Ro. 10:14 Further checking would tell us preaching is foolish. I Cr 1:21
In truth each of us  as Christians need to seek salvation with all sincerity of heart. Phil. 2:12 shows us that even though Salvation is a free gift from God, it is not to be taken lightly.
Christians cannot let society dictate to us what is right or what is wrong. As Christians we need to be ever aware that those round about us watch us and are drawn to Christ through us or possibly driven from Christ by our actions

Daily Walking

Following a long busy summer I am ready to write again but will probably not try to write as much or as regularly as my original intent was. Following Christ requires a little bit of work on our parts. I would like to just say that in following Christ we are to have the world mimic us and we should not mimic the world. In the book of Daniel there is a story about a teenager (or young man) who decided to live as close to God as possible even in the midst of bad circumstances. It states in Daniel 1:8a "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank..." You see Daniel purposed in his heart, he decided that he would not defile himself. How often do we decide in our hearts? We have struggles each day, we go through trials, we are tempted, we're often tried to our wits end. There is an old saying that goes something like this, " If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything". Purpose in your heart today and everyday that you will not defile yourself before God. Resolve today not to become addicted to the diet of our culture. As it says in 1Peter 2:11 & 12, "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles (read here, non-believers), that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation." Following Christ is a daily decision, but when we purpose in our hearts to follow Christ, He gives us the strength to do just that.
 As I have continued in my personal Bible reading and study this summer I have come across all sorts of material for this blog and my other blog, "Holiness, Necessary or Not?" As Christians we tend to sit as close to the fence or even on the fence just to see how close we can live to our old lives and still be a Christian. This thought is actually taken up in my other blog and I will not elaborate on it here.

God's Purpose

Following Jesus involves seeking Gods will and trying to understand his purposes for our lives. Many times you hear something to the effect of “I believe there is a purpose for everything” or “God has a purpose for everything that happens.” As good as the intention or thought is of the person who says this or believes this, I think that scripturally this is only close to the truth and a close truth is just a small lie from Satan.

Where in scripture does this idea that “God has a purpose for everything that happens” come from? Let’s first see what the word purpose means. Websters says, 1 To propose as an aim to oneself, to intend, resolve. 2 That which one sets before himself as an object to be attained. 3 resolution; determination.

Now let’s examine 5 scriptures that this idea could have come from.

Ec 3:1 ¶ To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Ec 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

Ec 8:6 ¶ Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

I’m no English major so I won’t even try to dissect the verses properly but follow along and see the reasoning I have for what I have to say. The first verse is the first verse of a very well known set of verses that has been put to song by the Byrds. The Biblical text posits there being a time and place for all things: laughter and sorrow, healing and killing, war and peace, and so on. The second and third verses say basically the same thing and when taken out of context and twisted just a little bit we could get that God has a purpose in all these things.

The verse from Ephesians actually talks of Gods purpose. If you read the 4^th and the 5^th verse, they go together to explain that we (God’s people, Christians) have obtained an inheritance because it was predetermined by God that his people should. This is explained in John 3:16.

Romans 8:28 is probably the verse most often used to express the idea of God having a purpose for everything. Now I’m going to turn things around on you. Suppose instead of thinking that God has a purpose for everything you think that God can use all things for His purpose. Doesn’t sound much different but it is. Instead of trying to find Gods’ reasoning in everything that happens or blaming God for things that happen we can now see that in spite of our errors and goof-ups and, yes, even sins, God can use our lives for His glory. You see, God has a plan for each one of us if we will seek Him and follow His will. All too often we don’t seek His will in everything that we do. We don’t pray about our lives like we should. Education, jobs, marriage, you name it and we probably seek our own way. Yes, we pray about it but all too often we do our own bidding because of love, lust, hunger, selfishness or even things unknown to ourselves at the time. We want to think that we have our best interests at heart but only God really does. As I look back at my life I see that I made decisions that looked good at the time but in retrospect I see that I made wrong decisions. I really have no idea what Gods plan for me was and I even veered off of my own plans. I wanted to be an architech but I’m a toolmaker. Since I have no idea what God wanted from me and God is really the only one who does, the big question is “If according to the idea that God has a purpose for everything what was His purpose for me not even fulfilling my own plans, much less the original plans He had for my life?"

The real question here is “If I have messed up my own life, or if something happens that I don’t like or understand can God still use it for His purpose?” When we know what God’s purpose is we realize that God can use anything for His purpose. There is a big difference between the two thoughts in that with the first you end up blaming God since you think whatever happens, God has a purpose for and the second is that we end up realizing that God can use what we have to offer up Him, good, bad, first, last, best or worse and it can be used for His glory. That goes for us too. God can use what we have to offer to Him. He is the Potter and we are the clay.

Following Christ Daily

Following Christ is life changing. When we become Christians we turn away from our former lives and begin a new life in Christ. It is pretty simple. What’s not so simple is figuring out what, if anything is required of us as followers. Ask any follower and you will get different answers. One will tell you the does and don’ts of living a Christian life and the next will tell you there is nothing you can do (or have to do). How can we know what to do? Where to turn? Who to talk to? Myself, I prefer the Holy Bible, Gods direction manual for us. His GPS if you will. I like to read my Bible daily and all too often I get behind in my reading. I do not set a standard of reading for myself. If I get to read a chapter a day, that’s okay. If I get to read several, then all the better. If I don't get to read any then I am the one who is poorer for it.

Recently I was reading in I Peter and noticed right after he told us that we have an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in Heaven for you by the power of God, having been kept through faith to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (vs 4 & 5) He then tells us in verses 13 -16, “Therefore girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, perfectly hope for the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, but according to the Holy One who has called you, you also become holy in all conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'"

He calls us to be obedient children. And apparently we are to leave the former lusts of our ignorance. The only problem here is, if I get saved as a child, say 5 to 18 years of age and have always been basically good, then what former lusts are there? As mature adults and even immature adult Christians that question is probably easily answered. But for a young person who has never lived in open, rebellious sin the question is not so easily answered.

I would challenge you, no matter what category of Christian or lifestyle you fall into, to read the book right before I Peter. Read James and read it several times through and meditate upon its words and pray about what it says to you. There is a lot of direction in it for those who are confused about what to do now that I am on the path to follow Christ.

Merry Christmas

One week before Christmas. I hope that Christmas this year brings new joys in each reader’s life. Christmas is the time, of course, where we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. May you follow Him according to your hearts dictates and continue to grow closer to Him through a daily walk with Him.

This is the time of year when each Christian has the chance to become better witnesses to those around them. It doesn’t matter if it’s at the gas station, the mall, office, shop, school or even church. We can show an attitude that would be pleasing to God and Jesus as we live our daily lives. The beauty of that is if we start better habits early in the season maybe they will become permanent habits of ours, a kinder heart, more patient spirit, better listener, etc.

What do you change about yourself at Christmastime that is for the better? What do you change about yourself at Christmas time that is for the worse? We may be mild mannered all year long but when it come to shopping for that special gift we become something that most people would not recognize in us, be it good or bad. The extra money, stress, family and such can put such a strain on us that we’ve lost our unique witness to those around us. Above all things Christmas ought to bring out the true joy that is ours as children of God.

May you reflect on your life this joyous season and let Christ be the true and only reason for the season in your life. Gifts are good but if they make us lose sight of Christ then we need to reflect on how and why we do them. Don’t quit giving gifts but give them with a new heart and a mind for Christs birth.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Day One

What does it mean to follow Christ? Listen to a tele-evangelist and it sounds pretty easy. In truth, that's not necessarily so. Accepting Christ as your Savior is easy enough but living for Him can be another story.
I was prompted to start this because of some people near and dear to me who seem to think that living on the edge is okay. Throughout this blog I will try to get back to the basics of living a life pleasing to God, what it means, what the Bible says about it and how that translates into todays world and our lives personally. I will try to stay true to the Word of God and use it as my final authority.
I am not tied to one translation of the Holy Bible and do not believe that the KJV is the only text that should be allowed. However, I also feel that some translations stray from the original too much in many of the sacred text. It is with that idea in mind that although I will use several translations in this blog, I may at one time or another refrain from one translation or another. Be sure that this does not mean that we can pick and choose what we think is right but we are to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2Ti 2:15 (KJV) It is with this mindset that I start this blog and hope to see people living a fuller and free-er life in and for Christ.
I will post a blog around the first of each month and hope to cover topics of  Salvation, Once in Grace Always in Grace, Backsliding, Holiness, Freedom in Christ.
I am no expert or theologian. I am simply a man on a mission to share what I think Following Christ should mean to His followers.