A Thought on to be Righteous and Moral

As you know, I don’t often write about myself, and if you’ve read me for awhile, you have at least an idea of why I don’t.  You know there’s never just one reason for why human beings do anything much as we’d like for that to be the case.  Now that I’m looking back on that last sentence, I can tell you I don’t like it, and maybe you don’t either. Still, I’m going to let it stand, but with this caveat, instead of saying “never” I’m going to say  “most of the time.”  Perhaps you have a better handle on your motivations for why you do things than I do, and if so then I congratulate you.  You’re further along on the road to “maturity” than I am.  For myself, I can tell you that I often see “self” lying somewhere in the mire of the complicated emotions and thoughts that trigger my actions and reactions toward my life, the world, and the people I encounter in it.

I don’t like seeing it, the “self-interest, the self-absorption, the self-love, the self-hate . . .” but more than these, the one I hate the most among all my many selves, is the one that keeps trying to draw a line; deep, dark, and wide between me and others; it’s the “self-righteous” one that I so often fight major battles with, and too often in my encounters with it I’m the one looking down on the one I’ve crushed underneath the weight of it.

The word “righteous” according to the American Heritage Dictionary means, “Morally upright; without guilt or sin.”  I wonder does this definition make you pause as it does me?  I guess whether it does or not depends on your definition on what moral is.  If you look in the same dictionary, you’ll see that “moral’ means: “Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character.”  Read a little further, and it says, “Conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior; virtuous.”  There’s two words in the previous definitions that make me think of another word, “loophole,” and it seems to me that’s what so many people in this world are doing.  Looking for loopholes.

“Loopholes” are created through the doorways of ‘judgment’ and ‘standards.’  Ever heard the phrase, “shifting morals?”  If you haven’t then you’re not old enough to have seen them shift, but ask someone who’s over 50, and I’ll make a small wager that they have.  I’d tell you to read back through history, but it’s being rewritten so fast I’m not so sure you’d actually see it unless you were really looking for it.

While you’re thinking about “shifting morals” I’ll lay another one on you.  How about “Shifting sand?”  Those of you who live by the ocean, a body of water, or are fairly familiar with their Bible no doubt have seen and know the term. Now there’s an obvious connection between the two terms, and one that perhaps isn’t quite so obvious, but no doubt you’ve made that one, too, and it’s in that they both have to do with foundations, and we all know what a foundation is, and what it’s for, and most of us have seen what happens when a foundation isn’t stable.

Without a solid foundation, few things will stand for long whether it be beliefs, buildings, or people. Eventually, everything is put to the test by something whether it be by tsunamis, tornadoes, or the trials, tribulations and temptations brought on by other people. We know people use all kinds of things as the foundation of their lives, but how many of those things can stand up to a fire? I have to tell you I don’t have anything materially that would survive if that were to happen to me, but spiritually I do.

It seems to me that more and more people in this world are choosing to build their own spiritual foundations based upon their own views of what it is to be righteous and moral and yet the judgments and standards used to assess those things are constantly changing. Perhaps that’s why we should look to the one who does not change, and to His word as presented in the “Holy Bible.”

Advertisement

A Thought on Missing One Now and Then…

Over the last month, I’ve been taking some time to recharge, but it’s been more than that.  Actually, it’s been more of a reset.  I’ve had to take some time away in order to reset my priorities, and to regain a proper perspective.  In what way, you may be asking, and the truth is in almost every way. Somehow I let my priorities get out of whack, and I didn’t even realize how out of whack they really were at first.  I hate admitting this but it is what it is.  Sometimes it’s not the “what” that gets you in trouble, but the “why.”

I don’t know about you, but if there’s a way I can get into trouble, I’m going to.  I can only imagine where I’d be if I was intentional about getting into trouble, and it’s only by the grace of God that I’ve never gotten what I fully deserve.  What’s so frustrating for me is that I have a rare talent in that even when I’m trying to do the right thing, I can still mess up.  I can’t remember where I saw it, or maybe I heard it….but it goes something like this, “It’s not enough to say or do the right thing, you’ve got to say and do it for the right reason.”  And, that’s even if you get the right result, or even a good result.

On a good day, I can maybe hit two out of three, or even three out of five, but as sure as I’m writing this, I’m going to miss something somewhere.  Now in case, you’re wondering where I’m going with this, it’s here, and I mean this in the kindest way: what I just said about me is equally true for you.  Nobody gets it right each and every time.  Even the highest, most professional of people, miss one every now and then.

And like them, when I miss as I sometimes do, grace is there to bridge the gap… No amount of human effort or skill can build a perfect bridge, can close every gap….I don’t know much, but I know that….and I also know the one who can.

A Thought on Peter

I don’t know about any of you, but I have a habit of looking at my past, and when I do, I admit that I often see my failures far more often than I see my successes.  Ask me how I’ve failed, about my short comings, my temptations, my lack of confidence, and I can tell you all of them.  Seeing myself and all the bad things about me has never been my problem, but seeing the good things about myself has been, and quite truthfully still is.

I don’t like admitting this, but it is what it is.  Tonight I was reading about the apostle Peter.  There are times when I see a lot of myself in Peter.  I can look at his life with Christ, and I can see many of his failures in myself.  Peter denied Christ three times.  He told Christ Jesus he would never deny Him.  He did.  I have too.

I don’t like admitting this either, but it’s true.  Like Peter, I didn’t and don’t intend to, but it’s happened, and happens.  Do I go around telling people I don’t believe in Jesus.  No.  Maybe not with my voice, but in so many ways.  There are as many ways to deny love as to accept it, and there are as many ways to express hate, prejudice, bigotry, selfishness, and disdain and intolerance as there are ways to express the opposite.

Peter knew these things, felt these things, showed them in his life-even as He walked with Jesus.  Peter knew his failures.  Jesus knew them, too, and forgave them.  Peter was transformed by the love of Jesus.  Peter in the beginning was as we all are…an enemy…and yet through the love of Jesus became a pillar of the early church, and was so steady and brave in his devotion and love of Christ that he helped to change the world he lived in for Christ.  He lived and died loving Christ Jesus because He had experienced grace in His presence.

In the beginning Peter knew failure…In the end He knew success…in the middle grace had its affect, and it’s effect, and it still does…

 

 

A Small Thought on Grace by Wayne Augden

Sometimes we forget what’s important, and sometimes we fail to realize the importance of what we know.  Sometimes, we know and yet we fail to live out what we know, and there are times when we fail to understand things we experience every day.  Such is the case with grace.  Grace is simply this, undeserved merit, being loved and forgiven when we aren’t deserving or worthy of either one.

Grace cannot be earned!  Being good, following rules, doesn’t get it.  The only thing that gets grace is the willingness to receive it.  For so many including myself that’s the hard part.  That’s the struggle.

I struggle with a lot of things, and I’ve often felt guilty over the fact that I struggle, and yet it’s often in the act of struggling that we learn the value of what it is we want and what we have.

It’s also how we learn to recognize what it is, and what it isn’t.

Grace is free for the taking, but it isn’t cheap…and when you have it, you have no choice but to give it away.

Thought for Friday Oct 12, 2012

It’s been a while since I last wrote a post.  I know it’s been awhile because I can’t remember the last one I wrote, so I know it’s been too long.  As for those of you who follow me, I want to say thank you for your patience, and I’m glad that you find something of value when you come here to read whatever it is I’ve published.  I know that there are a number of you who have expressed a desire to see me write more of my own things, and to publish the writings of others less, no matter how great or worthwhile their writings may be or have been in the past.

Those of you who have been with me for a long time know that I’m not that forth coming when it comes to talking or writing about myself.  There are a number of reasons for this, and while they’re all true, I don’t like any of them.  The first is because I don’t like myself very much, and find it very difficult to see much in myself that is very likable or worthwhile.  It’s not easy to write that, but to say anything less would be a lie, and as anyone who knows me knows I’m a terrible liar.  I suppose one has to like something or at least see the advantage in doing something before one can be very good at it, and since I absolutely hate being lied to, and lying in general, it stands to reason I can’t pull it off with any degree of skill.  For me lying is the equivalent to my being almost bald.  You can see it for what it is, so it’s just easier to admit and live with the fact than to try and deny it.

Some people would probably say I suffer from low self-esteem.  That’s what the world calls it, and that’s what I’ve had a number of people tell me is my problem.  To be honest, low self-esteem is a label just like “Hines Ketchup” and “Budweiser” are labels.  It’s descriptive of an attitude and a behavior, a thing, but labels  only describe what can be seen; they’re not really indicative of what’s within.  For that someone has to go further than just looking at the label.  You really want to know what “Hines Ketchup” or “Budweiser” tastes like you have to open them up and taste them to know for sure what they are.

I know what the world calls it when someone has a low opinion of oneself.  I have a hard time with seeing myself that way.  I don’t think I suffer so much from low self-esteem as I suffer from a lack of understanding of what it is to know grace.  For me, the way I feel about myself is a product of knowing who I am better than anyone else, except for God, and I can tell you from having lived with myself and having experienced the consequences of living with the things I’ve done that I have no right to feel good about myself.

In truth, all labels are misleading to a degree, and most of them are distortions, and are overly simplified explanations of things far more complicated than what they appear to be.  People are labeled all the time, if not by others, by themselves, and very, very seldom does justice, honesty, or truth enter very far into any of the labels we use to describe others or ourselves.  None of us have a truly accurate view of ourselves or others, and if there’s one great deception in this world, it’s in the fact that so many of us think that we do…

 

A Thought on The Whole Truth

I read a few statements tonight that said, “Sadly, many people who assume they are saved are lost.”  Here’s another one, “Verbally professing that Jesus is Lord is necessary, but it is meaningless apart from a faith commitment to follow Him.”  And let’s finish off with, “The only way to know Jesus personally is to yield our hearts to Him by faith, that is, to make Him Lord of our lives.  Anything less is just religious ritual and activity.”

These were just three of the statements I read again tonight, and taught in a Sunday School lesson just a while back.  By themselves they were enough to get my attention, and in truth just those three statements can provide me with more than enough to meditate on for a long time.  How about you?

Are these statements true?  Sadly, the truth is that the majority of people reading this probably don’t know for sure if you believe what the statistics say about people and their knowledge of God’s Word.  And, you see that’s the problem.  A lot of people say a lot of things, and they write a lot of things, too.  How do you know that any of them are true?

There’s only one real way to know, and that’s to search it out in not what others publish about God’s Word, but IN God’s Word.  Yet, even in this, we must be careful because people like to use what are called “proof texts” which are exactly what they’re called, text that can be used to make a particular point.  Many, many people quote Scripture in this way, and in and of itself there’s nothing wrong with quoting Scripture, but just remember that the devil can quote Scripture with the best of them, and like him, there are people in this world who use it to mislead others every bit as much and as well as he does.

Please remember that even the best, most well-intentioned, most literate, and most educated people on earth can be wrong, and that’s why we need to do more than just trust what someone tells us.  We need to make sure by doing the work to find out if we’re being told the truth.

And remember this, too, getting a part and parcel of truth is as much a blatant lie as a lie.  People teach God is a God of Love and so He is, but He is also a God of Justice, Holiness, and Perfection.  You’ve heard the phrase “The truth and the WHOLE truth,” and there’s only way to know the difference.

 

A Thought on Truth and Hypocrisy

Sometimes, we as Christians, and just people in general, have a hard time accepting the truth.  We can see it, even know it, and yet still refuse to live by and accept it.  We live in a world that likes to tell us that we can live according to our own truth, that we can make it up as we go along, or that we can just pick out the parts of it we like, and leave the rest of it.  All of these things are ways of rationalizing our behavior.  The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word rationalize as:To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for (one’s behavior).  That’s a fancy, intellectual way of saying, that we just plain flat-out lie to ourselves.  Some people become so good at it, they don’t even recognize that they’re doing it.  Imagine living in a whole world full of people who are all telling themselves lies so that they can feel self-satisfied with their behavior…

Christians aren’t above this kind of behavior either, sad to say, and it’s because they’re not, that we have had to live with the world’s accusation that the church, the body of Christ, is filled with hypocrisy, and that many of us are hypocrites.  In the ancient Greek theater, a hypocrite was one who wore a mask while playing a part on a stage in which he would imitate the walk, talk, and behavior typical of a character being played.  It’s where we get the modern term “actor” from.  In essence, he would be a religious fraud.  I won’t deny that there are hypocrites in the church, but then there are hypocrites in the world, too.

Truth and hypocrisy go about as well together as peanut butter and sauerkraut, a striped blouse and polka-dot skirt, white wine at a tailgate party…. you know what I mean.  Yet, so many people, both in and out of church, in the world, mix and match, and combine, all sorts of things, and come up with some of the most  comical, nonsensical,  and inane conclusions about their own lives and the lives of others, and the world we live in that well… just defy understanding.  Not only that, but it’s in the combining, the mixing and matching, of things that don’t go together that have given birth to some of the most perverted ideas and philosophies we see in the world around us.

Some people might roll their eyes, when I say that there’s such a thing as “spiritual blindness,” but I know there is.  I know this as well as I know that there is darkness and light, right and wrong, good and bad.  I know that some things can’t exist together side by side, and that there are some things you can’t bring together because by their very natures they are in direct opposition to each other.  The fact that people can believe that they can involve themselves with the filth of this world, and yet be a part of God’s Kingdom just goes to show that many people are indeed “spiritually blind.”

Hypocrisy is a form of “spiritual blindness” in that it allows people to look at other people through the eyes of  condemnation and judgment, often to the point of damnation, with no thought or ability to look at oneself, and is a complete denial of the truth of God’s Word which is the only real truth.  The fact is that we must make a choice between living for truth or living for ourselves.

Truth, real truth, destroys hypocrisy….

 

A Thought on Excuses

I want to tell you a story,

“There was a farmer who bought a new axe, and set it on his front porch. Before long his neighbor knocked on the door asking, “Can I borrow your axe?”
The farmer replied, “Nope. We’re having potatoes for supper.”
Puzzled, the neighbor asked, “What does borrowing your axe have to do with your having potatoes for supper?”
“Nothing,” replied the farmer, “but when you don’t want to loan your new axe, one excuse is as good as another.”

Now, the reason I’ve mentioned this story is because it’s a pretty good illustration of a truth that a lot of us live by in this world. When we don’t want to do something, we’re pretty good at making excuses for not doing things we don’t want to do.

Excuses are not anything new, people have been giving them for thousands of years, and other people have been dealing with those who give them for the same amount of time.

But nobody has dealt with excuses more than God. That’s right. God has heard more excuses than anyone else ever has or ever will, and chances are exceedingly good that He’s heard a few from you, too.

I’ve been reading in the book of Jeremiah, the first chapter, and there are three things I want to draw attention to, and they are: (1) God calls us. (2) God equips us; and (3) God affirms us.

I can just see you looking at these things and already starting to think of an excuse, and it’s true, that from the minute we’re called to do something for God, most of us start lining up our excuses one right after another.

For those of you who are familiar with your Bibles, I’m sure you can think of a number of people who were excuse givers right from the get go, and for those of you who aren’t well maybe you should dig into the “Word of God” a little more, and find out how God deals with those who have a tendency to offer excuses. But because I know some of you lack time (excuse) I’m going to help you out by showing you just one example so keep reading.

In Jeremiah 1:4-8, we learn a number of things. The first and most important thing is found in verse 5 which tells us that God formed us, knew us before we were even born, knew us in the womb, and had already sanctified and ordained us, which is a fancy way of saying He has given us all a purpose and made a plan for our lives.

To say or think anything different is to be expressly in defiance of God’s Holy Word, and to abort a “child” or “fetus” is “Murder.” This is a hard truth, but it’s God’s truth, not mine. I can tell you this, though, that if you find yourself in this most difficult of situations God can and will get you through this if you will allow Him to help you. God does not condone murder, but if ,sadly and tragically, you have had the life of your unborn child taken from you, I want you to know you are not beyond the love, mercy, and compassion of God. Don’t ever think you are, and don’t let anyone ever tell you aren’t. All God’s people have sinned, and Christ Jesus died for all sin, including yours.

There is great news and great encouragement in this verse for all people. First, it tells us we are all valuable, we are loved, and that each of us, and every life (yours) has meaning and purpose, and that you are not an accident. You have a plan to fulfill.

Verse 6 is where most of us insert our excuse whatever it may be. I’m too young, too old, too ill, too feeble, too busy, too uneducated, too something. Yet, you know and I know that we’re just being like the farmer who doesn’t want to loan his new axe (our life) and will say and do almost anything to get out of having to let our neighbor (God) use it.

The last couple of verses 7 & 8 are where God blows our excuses up in front of our faces, and tells us “Say not” and insert your carefully thought out and completely logical excuse here. God tells us in these two verses that He will send us, and that we will do whatever He asks of us, and that we’re not to be afraid of anything that may happen in carrying out what He’s asked of us for He will deliver us. Catch that? He will deliver us…Another way of saying this is that it’s not our ability we should rely on to do His will, but on His. And this leads us right into the next point that I want to address…

Nine out of ten times, when we offer an excuse it has something to do with us, our lack of some perceived ability we need in order to do something, and once again God takes our excuse, and lays it waste. As He does in verses 9 & 10 in which He makes it clear that it’s not our ability that will be used, but His. Like Jeremiah we like to pipe up and say I can’t, and God tells us the same thing He told Jeremiah I have given you the ability, and you can. I’m sorry but “I can’t” doesn’t have wings in the realm of God, and God will not let it fly. Try to offer “I can’t” and you’ll crash and burn, believe me.

There’s a quote by Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army that goes: “I am tired of hearing the words, “I can’t.” Jeremiah said ,”I am a child,” but the Lord didn’t pat him on the back and say, ”Jeremiah, that is very good; I like that in you. Your humility is beautiful.” Oh no! God didn’t want any such mock humility. He reproved and rebuked it. I do not like the humility that is too humble to do as it is bid. When my children are too humble to do as they are bid, I pretty soon find a way to make them. I say, “Go and do it!” The Lord wants us to “Go and do it.

I want you to know dear reader that I have experienced this, myself. True humility and humbleness isn’t about not having ability or recognizing the ability one has, but in the attitude and spirit in which one uses and acknowledges the ability one has been given by our great and gracious God. Humility and humbleness can’t be used as an excuse anymore than any other excuse can be used. I am not worthy does not work, for God has made us worthy to do all He asks of us.

And just as Jeremiah was called so we are called to do the same things as he. The Bible clearly teaches that we are to do the same kind of things in that we are to stand for truth, we are to root out sin, we are to pull down strongholds of false and inaccurate thinking, we are to destroy and to throw down evil institutions and practices, and we’re to build the faith of others, and plant the seed of God’s love and forgiveness everywhere we go.

To not do so is to go against the Great God who made us, and gave His son, Jesus Christ, for us. You have the ability to do as He asks
For He has given it to you, and for you to disown it, or make excuse for your failure to use it as He intends is to place yourself in the unenviable position of having to explain to your precious Lord and Savior why you offered excuses for failing to carry out the will of the Heavenly Father when He who could have did not do so.

In conclusion, let me bring to you verses 17-19 in which God tells us in no uncertain terms that we are to gird up (prepare, gain knowledge, equip ourselves); to arise (stand up) and speak (proclaim) unto everyone all that I command of you, and that we’re not to be afraid to do so. God tells us that we will be as a defensed City, and iron pillar, and brazen walls against all who come against us in the way of people and institutions, and though they fight against us they will not prevail for God tells us that He is with us and will deliver us.

Christian brother and sister is God calling you to do something? Has He made you aware of something you need to change?
Has He told you that you need to get involved?
Has He told you that it’s time for you to take a stand for His truth?
Has He told you it’s time to stand with your brothers and sisters In Christ?

I do not say…God says…You have no excuse!

A Thought on Old Age and Decisions

There are times when you have to make a decision. Times when you must decide what it is you will do with your life, and how will you spend it. For some of us that decision comes early. For others of us that decision comes way too late, or at least we think, and believe, that we have wasted too much time, and therefore it is too late to do what we now realize we would like to do. We live in a society now that worships the young, and the energetic, and the athletic. The go-getters, and the power brokers, and we celebrate the celebrities of our time. We with a few years on us, such as myself, have quietly stepped into the background, and though I still firmly believe and am committed to the things I know, I no longer try to stand amongst the young lions who roam the streets of our towns and cities. I, like so many others, have grown older, and with age, have come other things, such as lack of desire, a body worn and wrinkled, and that now experiences pain beyond what I ever imagined. Yes, in some ways, I’m old. Of course, I’m not so old to those who are of my age group. It seems that the older we get the less likely we are to think of old age as being the age we are. Sadly, of course, the young are under no such compunction, and look at those of us who are over the age of 50 as being dinosaurs. Sadly, too, many of our young people think that we have the minds of one, too! I don’t know about you, but it irritates me no end when a young person talks down to me as if my inability to walk well means that I can no longer think so well either… Of course, I understand well their thinking that. After all I was young once, too, and I’ve been where they are at. We all have been where our young people are at…

I believe there’s a difference though between the people of my generation, and of those who came before. There was a time when one generation passed down the values and traditions of the one before. I remember well, all the time I spent with my grandmother, and the many things she talked to me about. Oh, the conversations we had. When she was young she came across the prairies in a covered wagon. Hard to believe, but it was true. She talked to me of her 3 sisters and 4 brothers, and their lives. I was stunned with amazement the first time she told me that they had no TV and only a radio to listen to for a half an hour or so sometimes in the evening. What in the world did they do with their time back then? It was utterly fascinating the world she talked of then, and now it’s seems that was only a figment of my imagination so far away does it seem from the reality in which I now live.

It’s become common place to dismiss our history, and our living history – in the form of our senior citizens – in this country. We dismiss them, discard them, tolerate them, warehouse them, rant at them, and forget many of them. Though I’m not that old, at least to my mind, I’m beginning to see the subtle shift in how people younger than I am view me. I remember the first time a young lady behind a counter gave me my senior citizen’s discount. I liked to have gone into shock, and I’m not so sure had I a cane then that I wouldn’t have smacked her upside the head with it; especially, when you consider the fact that at the time I wasn’t even 50 yet! Thankfully, I took her well-intentioned offer gracefully, and made no reply. Not so much because I’m cheap, but rather because had I confessed, it would have been an admission that I look really old. I realize now of course it wasn’t that I look old, but rather that she just had very young eyes…

In case, you’re wondering where this is leading, it’s to this. I may be older than you, but that does not mean that I’m a dinosaur, and it doesn’t mean that my time is up, or that I can’t still accomplish great and wonderful things. It will probably come as a shock to the young people reading this, but every truly worthwhile invention, book, painting, scientific breakthrough, and anything of any real merit has been accomplished by people well advanced in years. It also means for you older folk reading this that your time has not passed until you’re dead and in the grave, and depending on a decision you’ve made at some point in either your young or old life, it may very well go right on into eternity.

It has always been and will always be the responsibility of the generation that came before to lead the way for those who come after. We, are the ones, who sit in the seat of experience, and who have garnered the wisdom of years spent in living and in the pursuit of truth. We have the benefit of seeing life in hindsight which as anyone will tell you is 20/20. Now, for another truth, If you’re a child of God; if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior; if you’ve ever read the Bible – God’s Holy Word – then you know that old age is not a viable excuse to sit on your butt and not do anything.

I’ve made my decision. I’m going to live all out from here on in. I’ve lived the biggest part of my life pretty much the way I wanted, and if you’ve read my blog from the very beginning you know how that worked out. The time has come to decide if I’m just going to live life waiting for my Savior, or if I’m going to live the rest of my life in the middle of the greatest adventure I’ll ever know…serving my Lord. Serving, as in laying down, and laying aside myself, and emptying myself, and allowing My Lord to take me from the inside out and use and spend me howsoever He desires…

In this world there’s a good chance that I may not ever amount to much, but in the Kingdom of God I have nothing but endless opportunity in front of me. Maybe the world says I’m fit for a shelf, but with my Lord and Savior living within me there’s no end to what can be accomplished through me. I know this to be true…and you do, too.

A Thought on Being a “Christian.”

I recently read an article about how one could be assured of their salvation, in other words, how one could be sure that he were a “Christian.”  You know it’s not uncommon to hear people say that they are a “Christian,” but saying does not make it so.  A. W. Tozer once said, “Tens of thousands, perhaps millions, have come into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.”  When you read that how does it make you feel?  Have you ever doubted whether you’re a “Christian” or not?  I confess that when I read that quote, it made me stop and consider.  I don’t think anyone who’s honest can say that they haven’t ever asked the question of themselves.  To be honest, I’d be worried about you if the thought had never gone through your mind.  If you really love Christ, I believe you’re going to be concerned about whether you know Him or not, and if your life is pleasing to Him.

We live in a country where many proclaim “Christianity” but, as we all know, just because someone says something doesn’t make it so.  Who of us hasn’t ever claimed to be something we weren’t?  A lot of people lay claim to families, wives, children, houses, cars, and  businesses, but just because we claim them doesn’t mean we own them, that they belong to us.  In fact, how do we know that what someone says is true, that what they claim actually belongs to them?

I know you’re thinking that’s a dumb question, but is it really?  How many of us have thought we knew someone, and what they were about only to find out that we didn’t know them at all?  We live in a world where “misrepresentation” is the norm, where “appearance” is everything.  From the President on down, we all know people who have made claims, made promises, that they had no right to make.  Now how do you and I know that?  Do we have a secret decoder ring?  Did we call 1-800-I can tell you?  Did we watch it on the news, or read it in the paper, or get it off the internet?  A lot of us get our sources of information from these places, and I submit to you that’s a part of the problem.

Truth is that most of us know when we’re being deceived, when we’re being lied to, and most of us know when somebody has made a false claim.  Most of the time the reason we know a false claim when we see one is because the evidence doesn’t support the claim.  There’s an old saying that goes, “The proof is in the pudding.”  You know what I’m saying.  Nobody in this world has to be a genius to figure out when they’re being lied to, misled, and manipulated.  All of  us have personal experience with having done all these things, and so recognizing the signs isn’t all that hard.  Perhaps you don’t like being lumped in with everyone else, but truth is truth, so if you’ve never heard this before it’s time you knew.

Now getting back to the question of being sure that you are indeed a “Christian.”  It’s not as hard as you may think.  First of all, the “Word Of God” gives us that assurance.  Did you know that?  If so, do you know where to find it?  If not, then perhaps that’s why you’re having some trouble.  You’re going to have to take my word for it when I tell you that I know where it is because I’m not going to tell you.  You want assurance look it up.  If you’re looking to anyone or anything other than “God’s Holy Word” the Bible to provide it then you’re looking to the wrong thing.  It’s just that simple.  This is an opportune time to ask yourself a few questions, “Do I have an interest in the Word of God?”  “Do I have a hunger for the Word of God?” “How often do I read and turn to God’s Word when I need guidance?”  I’ll let your answers stand for themselves.

You know I’ve often heard that the problem with “Christianity” is “Christians.”  Do you think that’s true?  If so, I’ve got news for you.  It’s not!    The problem with “Christianity” is people who claim to be “Christians.”  You have a misconception about “Christianity” if you think it’s about claiming Christ.  “Christianity” is about Christ claiming us.  That’s where too many of us have a problem, including yours truly,and that’s why so many “Christians” struggle.  It’s because we’re trying to maintain the claim, we’re trying to work the claim.  We want the power.  We want to claim “Christ,” and He is not ours to claim.

Too many “Christians” in this country and the world over live with the attitude that we’ve done “Christ” a favor by letting Him die for us.    What a privilege it must have been for you, God, to send your son to die for me.  Let me tell you something you will never experience the light and love of Christ and the grace He offers until you understand that “Christ” gave himself for you.  He willingly took your sin upon himself and died for you.  At the moment He died, He laid claim to your life, so stop living like He belongs to you, instead of the other way around.

Too many people go around living their lives like God is a little puppy following them around so thrilled to belong to them, and just wanting them to love Him.  You claim Christ?  Good for you.  A lot of people do and they feel wonderful about it, and they’re so happy.  They go around living their lives paying no attention to the pain and needs of others, building monuments to themselves, entertaining themselves, and thinking God loves me so whatever I do is okay.  Get This….it’s not!

You want to know if you’re a Christian.  Ask yourself not how much of a claim you have on Him, but how much He has a claim on you…