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| Thursday, March 27, 2008 |
God.
Following God is hard. Did you hear me? It's hard. I'd say that, oh 34 times an hour or so, I feel like doing the wrong thing. The easy way out. The unethical thing. Cheating a customer on a product. Lying. Stealing. All of it. Granted, even if I wasn't a Christian, I probably wouldn't do these things. But the fact that I call myself a Christian, means that I strive every day and with every action, thought and word (I said TRY, ok people?) to emulate Jesus Christ. It's hard. But it's also freeing. I feel free from a LOT of the things the world tells people. Free from worries. Stress. Frustration. With MOST things.
The ONE thing I AM stressing about and frustrated with is my financial situation. Long complicated story short, (with a LOT of bitching and moaning involved) it sucks. I think some people think that once you become a Christian that God pours down an unlimited amount of blessings and prosperity, all for signing up. But that's not the case. In fact, most times when someone becomes a believer, things actually get harder. There are spiritual reasons for this that for the sake of time, I'll just say that SOMEONE gets very scared and upset when he finds out someone becomes a believer. In fact, this SOMEONE (rhymes with SATAN) does all he can to deter you from continuing down the road that you've decided to walk on. If you don't believe in any of this, you should. Because Satan believes in you.
Anyway, back to the ambiguous nature of this post. What I'm getting at, is that just because you know me as a Christian, doesn't mean I'm perfect, or that life is always grand. I have the same issues as everyone else. But thankfully I have the Lord to fall back on. I can give him my problems, hurts, hangups and everything else, and he's always there. He never turns his back, and he always answers. Even if it takes him FOREVER to answer, as it has for my finances.
Umm, I'm not really sure if this is making any sense whatsoever to anyone but me right now, but I needed to write about it. For me.
This was going to be a reply to a comment left about this post, but after I wrote it, I decided to add it to the post itself:
Believe it or not, I'm not a huge fan of organized religion either. People do horrible things in the name of "organized religion". People crash planes into buildings in the name of organized religion. People sit around and pray to Jesus and wait for their daughters diabetes to heal while refusing to take her to the doctors, resulting in her death, in the name of organized religion.
And I disagree that you don't believe in my idea of who God is. There is only one God. People have distorted his name. People. But the God I believe in is the God of the Bible. The God of love. The God of hope. The God of second, third and 15 millionth chances. Jesus Christ is God's son. It's a historical fact that Jesus Christ died, and rose from the dead 3 days later. That is my God. And I think that's the God you believe in and have been brought up to know. I don't believe in the God that people have made him out to be. People who call themselves Christians and picket in front of concerts damming everyone to hell. The Jesus I know wouldn't do that.
Religion is a personal experience. Very deeply personal. What's right for me, and what God has put on my heart, is not going to be the same for you. So who am I, or is anyone for that matter to call you out and say "You shouldn't be doing that."
If you truly have a personal relationship with Jesus (God) then the Holy Spirit will guide your heart, mind, and judgment. You don't and won't have to answer to anyone. Being a Christian isn't about following a bunch of rules and putting on a happy face. Being a Christian is a journey. A marathon. A daily devotion to the man that endured the worst kind of torture, and died humiliated on a cross. For you. For me. And whether you choose to believe this or not, doesn't matter because one day you will be held accountable for the choices you made on Earth. And the biggest thing you'll be given is the right to go to heaven or hell.
There is only one way to get to heaven. And that is to accept that Jesus Christ is God's son, believe that he died on the cross for your sins, and commit your life to him. You don't have to quit smoking, you don't have to volunteer at the homeless shelter. All you have to do is admit, believe, and commit. ABC. The other end of the stick is eternity in hell. And people often ask me, well if God loves everyone so much, why would he send me to hell for not believing in him? The answer is that God DOESN'T send you to hell. If you choose to live your life on Earth apart from him, then that's exactly what he rewards you with in the afterlife. Eternity without him. In a place unimaginable.
That alone is reason enough to at LEAST research and look into this thing called "Christianity" and a man named Jesus.
And let me say this, unrelated to my reply comment or the comment itself. If you do call yourself a Christian, and do believe in God, but continue to act in a manner that goes against everything Jesus stood for, and the Bible teaches, then now is as good a time as any to get yourself back on track with God. Jesus said that you can either love him or hate him, but if you're lukewarm he will spit you out. Speaking from experience, the toughest times in my life were the times that I turned my back on God and thought I could "handle things myself". I've lost jobs, hurt people, and delayed good things in my life because I thought I knew better than God did. Well guess what. I didn't. If you think you know better than the creator of the Universe where you should take your life, then you must be God himself. Seriously, what do you have to lose by getting back in a relationship with God? Everything on this Earth is temporary. None of it matters when you die anyway, so why do you care what people think about you or things of that nature. All you have to do is let God know you're ready to get things going again, and he'll do the rest.
LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.
The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you. |
| posted by
Ricky
@
4:25 PM
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| 4 Comments: |
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Yep. Life is hard, frustrating, disappointing at times. I feel your pain.
I can't say that I believe in your idea of who God is. I do believe that there is a higher power who is watching out and taking care of myself, my wife and son, and my friends. I thank him every night for what he has let me have in this life.
I think that what bothers most people about organized religion is that people go around preaching about what others should/should not do. They pass judgement. They make snide remarks. All the while they are ones in need of the most help. Remember that Jesus surrounded himself with liars, cheats, and thieves. He did not pass judgement. He did not criticize. He led by example.
I hope your financial situation improves.
"You must not only aim right, but draw the bow with all your might" - Henry David Thoreau
Just the randomness that came to mind when reading your post.
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Smith - aren't you 'passing judgement' on followers of organized religion?
Good call about Jesus - a Google search of Matthew 5-7, John 8:1-11, and Matthew 23 might help flesh out his position on judgement and telling people how to act.
Other than the money how's Sacramento treating you Ricky?
Jesse
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thanks a lot Smith..........
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Ricky:
You follow the words of the Bible. That is where the "your idea of God" comment came from. It's hard in my heart and mind to believe in a book full of second hand accounts. Just like the game of telephone, things get mixed up in the telling of a story.
Yes, I grew up Christian. I went to church, to AWAN, Vacation Bible School, and was baptized. Now I'm fucked. I'm brain washed. Slowly my mind has become my own. I want to believe and WILL believe that regardless if you "except Jesus as your savior", that if you live a good life, if in your heart are a "good" person, you will be taken care of.
Now, "taken care of", what does that mean to me. I'm not sure I believe in heaven or hell. I don't know what the fuck happens when you die. Nobody does but, the brain-washed side of my brain tells me to be scared of going to hell. I don't believe religion should be about scaring people into believing. They should want to believe.
I guess you could call me an Agnostic in a way.
I think I got off base a little. I'm tired.
Anon:
I'm telling you that I disagree with the concept in most cases. There are some so called "Men of God" who have swindled thousands of dollars away from people who have very little and all the while they are smoking crack and bangin hookers.
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Yep. Life is hard, frustrating, disappointing at times. I feel your pain.
I can't say that I believe in your idea of who God is. I do believe that there is a higher power who is watching out and taking care of myself, my wife and son, and my friends. I thank him every night for what he has let me have in this life.
I think that what bothers most people about organized religion is that people go around preaching about what others should/should not do. They pass judgement. They make snide remarks. All the while they are ones in need of the most help. Remember that Jesus surrounded himself with liars, cheats, and thieves. He did not pass judgement. He did not criticize. He led by example.
I hope your financial situation improves.
"You must not only aim right, but draw the bow with all your might" - Henry David Thoreau
Just the randomness that came to mind when reading your post.