Religion. One of the things that you’re told not to discuss in certain social settings. Over the past few months I have found myself in transition. I am still in transition. My conversion has been from somone that attended a Southern Baptist “church” to a member of a body of Christian believers, the Church.
I fellowship with a part of the Church in people’s homes. Some call where we meet House Church since we meet in houses instead of an expensive building. The difference is that we recognize, as supported by scripture, that the people are the Church and not a building.
It has nothing to do with a specific denomination. My attitude towards denominations is that they, as suggested in Scrpture, are not appropriate. The Church is ONE body. We should act like it.
I do not write this to cause further division among the believers, but to point out that the fact that the Church being divided weakens the body.
Over the past few years, and over the past few months, I have come to question what I really believe. I believe that Christ died for me, I believe that Christ rose from the dead for me, I believe that it s only through a RELATIONSHIP with Christ (God) that I have eternal life, I believe that it is not just saying a prayer, I believe that it is more than sitting in a building once or twice a week, I believe there is more in life for a true Christian than just reading the Bible and praying (These are a part of it, but they are just a part of the whole), and I believe that things need to change.
I am changing. This is a process but any process has to start somewhere. This is not a claim at perfection. I am too far from perfection to even grasp the concept of perfection. However, my goal s to take a second look at how I live life. I am going through a religious conversion. A conversion from pew sitter to Christian.
One of the things that I have a desire to do is to travel, sharing my experience with others, sharng about how a relationship with Christ has revealed so much to me. I know how easy it is to lie to yourself. I know how easy it is to hold onto to hate and other things that keep you from a relationship with God.
I must make a note here. Jesus Christ s the Living Son of God. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is part of the Trinity that consists of God (The Father), Christ Jesus (Son of God), and the Holy Spirit (The Helper Christ refers to in Scripture). I know that it’s confusing. I cannot claim that it is easy for me to understand.
My approach to the Scriptures and God is different now. Before my thinking was all about after death. It is great knowing that one day I will be in Heaven, but Christ said the Kingdom was near. The Kingdom is here. I know more religious talk. This is more for people that already claim to be Christians. Please do not judge Christianity based upon them. Do not judge it based upon me either.
The Holy Spirit is in us, if we have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our Helper. Now, I could write more about the Holy Spirit but I do not have the words to describe the Holy Spirit. guess I could call the Holy Spirt a guiding force but there’s more to the Holy Spirit.
I do not know everything but I do know that things have been drifting away from the Truth for so long that people do not really know the Truth. The Truth is Chirst Jesus. People, over the years, have relaced Christ with traditions. Traditions that are not only not supported by the Scriptures but they are in opposition to the Scripture.
We need to get back to the original meaning for the word Christian. If you look at history you will fnd many examples of people using the word Christian to support their ideals. There are people today that will use the word to condone many things. I have been one of those people. This must stop. This is not about being perfect but let’s stop hiding behind the never being perfect so why try mentality.
There are many sins that we ignore because it’s easy to ignore. How many people smoke cigarettes, how many people watch sports instead of fellowshippng with other believers. Think about how many people get drunk every weekend, how many people lie, how many people use and abuse other people, and how many people have hate for other people.
As Christians we’re suppose to be a light in a dark world. All I see when I see people claiming to be a christians are lies. It’s one thing to lie to others and yourself but you cannot le to God. I guess that is why I am thinking about what I believe. It’s less about what I need to do and more about what I need to give up.
I am also writing this because being a Christian is not about where you fellowship: it’s about the God you worship while you fellowship.