I am a born-again Christian. I believe the basics of Christianity.
I believe that the key to salvation is Jesus Christ plus nothing. The fundamental truth is that faith in Jesus Christ is all that is necessary for salvation. The byproducts of that faith are the fruits of Christianity.
I believe He is who He said He is. I believe that He lived, suffered, died, and rose from the dead for my sins and yours.
I believe I will one day have to look Him in the eye and account for how I lived my life after I accepted Him.
I believe that when He said to pick up my cross daily and follow Him, that's what he meant. I believe that picking up my cross is more than spreading the Gospel; more than being kind; more than going to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. I believe it is much more, and I am endlessly amazed that the more I do those things, the more it is revealed to me what exactly picking up that cross entails.
Whether to wear a hat to church, observe the Sabbath on Saturday, Sunday, or whenever, or bring a covered dish...all of this is superfluous. I don't think it does any harm, but I know it has nothing to do with salvation.
I believe that "liberation theology" is the theology that Christ has liberated those who are open to receiving His truth.
I believe that the peace I am headed for is not in this world. We have been assured that there will be none. That does not excuse us from trying to attain it, but I'm not holding my breath.
Read more!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Building churches
For quite some time now, I have been without a church.
In December of 2005, my husband and I had to move about 80 miles south of our home in order to find work. After 7 months or so, we ended up moving to another state 1,000 miles south of our home so that we could find work.
That is all another story for another day.
For today, I want to talk about the fact that I have attended scores of churches in the past couple of years.
The majority of the churches I have attended are in some stage of remodeling, annexing, or building a new building. That in itself is amazing to me.
More amazing, though, are the fact that not one of the buildings in which I sat was falling down or even very old. And in each of those churches, a preacher stood behind a pulpit and addressed the progress of the building -- whether it was still in the planning stages, or almost finished -- and asked the congregation for money for the project.
Maybe it's just me, but I really want nothing to do with a church that thinks that's okay.
I have no problem with a pastor asking for money from the pulpit, but not for such things. Outreach? Absolutely! Food for people in need? Sure thing! Bus trip for the youth group? Fine with me!
But it just seems to me to be self-indulgent to be building bigger buildings when there is so much that needs to be done in the world and so little time to do it in.
I recently attended a Pentecostal church in order to see a nationally-known speaker. The church was beautiful! From the outside, it was shaped like a huge crown, and it had a coffee shop and a school on the property. I don't mean it was extravagant, but it was nice enough that one of my first thoughts about the congregation was that they must be pretty well off.
I got there early enough for bible study, and was struck by the size of the auditorium-like interior. I'm not good at estimating that kind of stuff, but it seemed to me that it had room for several thousand people.
The bible study was nice. It was about Moses and Jethro, and was done with a projector and complete with maps. I like that kind of study. Knowing the geography and the culture always makes me see better in my mind's eye how things happened.
Then it came time for the service, and at the end, the speaker was going to be there. I am assuming that because the speaker was going to be there, many guests were in the pews. Even so, the place was not even half full.
The preacher dedicated a baby, led a prayer or two, and then started talking about how they needed more money for "the building project."
As I said before, I really don't like that much from any church, but the fact that this church was in such nice condition and was not filled to capacity made me feel so even more.
The national speaker was great. Well worth the trip. And when he was done, I wanted to tell the preacher what I felt about his requests for money for the building. Fortunately, I'm sure, the line of people waiting to talk to him and the speaker was far too long for me to want to stand in.
I figured that, like the Pharasees, he already knows that the point of church is to feed the flock so that they can do God's work, not to fleece them. That being the case, I don't suppose my telling him about it was going to change his heart. Read more!
In December of 2005, my husband and I had to move about 80 miles south of our home in order to find work. After 7 months or so, we ended up moving to another state 1,000 miles south of our home so that we could find work.
That is all another story for another day.
For today, I want to talk about the fact that I have attended scores of churches in the past couple of years.
The majority of the churches I have attended are in some stage of remodeling, annexing, or building a new building. That in itself is amazing to me.
More amazing, though, are the fact that not one of the buildings in which I sat was falling down or even very old. And in each of those churches, a preacher stood behind a pulpit and addressed the progress of the building -- whether it was still in the planning stages, or almost finished -- and asked the congregation for money for the project.
Maybe it's just me, but I really want nothing to do with a church that thinks that's okay.
I have no problem with a pastor asking for money from the pulpit, but not for such things. Outreach? Absolutely! Food for people in need? Sure thing! Bus trip for the youth group? Fine with me!
But it just seems to me to be self-indulgent to be building bigger buildings when there is so much that needs to be done in the world and so little time to do it in.
I recently attended a Pentecostal church in order to see a nationally-known speaker. The church was beautiful! From the outside, it was shaped like a huge crown, and it had a coffee shop and a school on the property. I don't mean it was extravagant, but it was nice enough that one of my first thoughts about the congregation was that they must be pretty well off.
I got there early enough for bible study, and was struck by the size of the auditorium-like interior. I'm not good at estimating that kind of stuff, but it seemed to me that it had room for several thousand people.
The bible study was nice. It was about Moses and Jethro, and was done with a projector and complete with maps. I like that kind of study. Knowing the geography and the culture always makes me see better in my mind's eye how things happened.
Then it came time for the service, and at the end, the speaker was going to be there. I am assuming that because the speaker was going to be there, many guests were in the pews. Even so, the place was not even half full.
The preacher dedicated a baby, led a prayer or two, and then started talking about how they needed more money for "the building project."
As I said before, I really don't like that much from any church, but the fact that this church was in such nice condition and was not filled to capacity made me feel so even more.
The national speaker was great. Well worth the trip. And when he was done, I wanted to tell the preacher what I felt about his requests for money for the building. Fortunately, I'm sure, the line of people waiting to talk to him and the speaker was far too long for me to want to stand in.
I figured that, like the Pharasees, he already knows that the point of church is to feed the flock so that they can do God's work, not to fleece them. That being the case, I don't suppose my telling him about it was going to change his heart. Read more!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
God's unending supply of oil and my little jars
I have to say that often I feel guilty about my involvement in the ministry.
While I know that I am spreading the Word and love of Jesus Christ when I go into the jail, I am entirely unable to give more than I get from doing so!
Of course, there is the serenity that I get from doing what I know God wants me to do, and there is the fact that doing something to make others feel better is a great feeling. But I feel like I am learning so much from the interaction with the women there.
Strange, isn't it? I mean, I didn't need to learn about what it's like to be imprisoned. Having been imprisoned by not just jails and prisons, but also by drugs and a refusal to believe in God for many years, I think that I am an expert on that topic.
Let me give you an example of just one way I feel like I am getting more from this than they are.
The women I deal with are in the county jail. For the most part, they have not been sentenced. They are waiting for court or for bail or for a transfer to some more "settled" place, perhaps state prison or a drug program. I have talked to women who say they "might leave Wednesday night," or "hope that the judge lets me walk when I go to court tomorrow."
In other words, they are not sure what tomorrow holds for them.
This makes me realize daily that none of us is sure what tomorrow holds for us. The ladies are just more aware of it. I thank God that I am reminded all the time that I am not sure what tomorrow holds for me.
Isn't this a blessed thing? Like the widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7, my small amount of oil continues to flow copiously as I fill all the empty ones. It is amazing enough that I end up with more oil, but I have to smile as I realize that if I weren't pouring it out, I would still have just that tiny amount of oil.
It is not until we pour out what we have that we find an unending supply! Read more!
While I know that I am spreading the Word and love of Jesus Christ when I go into the jail, I am entirely unable to give more than I get from doing so!
Of course, there is the serenity that I get from doing what I know God wants me to do, and there is the fact that doing something to make others feel better is a great feeling. But I feel like I am learning so much from the interaction with the women there.
Strange, isn't it? I mean, I didn't need to learn about what it's like to be imprisoned. Having been imprisoned by not just jails and prisons, but also by drugs and a refusal to believe in God for many years, I think that I am an expert on that topic.
Let me give you an example of just one way I feel like I am getting more from this than they are.
The women I deal with are in the county jail. For the most part, they have not been sentenced. They are waiting for court or for bail or for a transfer to some more "settled" place, perhaps state prison or a drug program. I have talked to women who say they "might leave Wednesday night," or "hope that the judge lets me walk when I go to court tomorrow."
In other words, they are not sure what tomorrow holds for them.
This makes me realize daily that none of us is sure what tomorrow holds for us. The ladies are just more aware of it. I thank God that I am reminded all the time that I am not sure what tomorrow holds for me.
Isn't this a blessed thing? Like the widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7, my small amount of oil continues to flow copiously as I fill all the empty ones. It is amazing enough that I end up with more oil, but I have to smile as I realize that if I weren't pouring it out, I would still have just that tiny amount of oil.
It is not until we pour out what we have that we find an unending supply! Read more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
