As a follow up to the last post, I heard a message tonight that inspired me to be a better Christian and person of God. Therefore I am going to pass it on to anyone who is willing to read this with open ears and open hearts.
1 John 1:5-ff.
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts...
According to the Bible, you cannot live in light AND in darkness. It's either one or the other. They have nothing to do with each other. We are to be the light in a dark world, the salt of the earth.
We are to be different.
I know a lot of people often say and encourage that "all you have to do is accept Jesus into your heart" which is kind of on the right path...but it make salvation more of an intellectual experience rather than a lifestyle. However, nowhere in the Bible does it say to "accept Jesus into your heart". I mean think about it, your heart is a blood-pumping organ, seriously.
Being a Christian can't just be about Christ being "in your heart". Let Him out for the world to see! Give Him some breathing room! Be a follower of Christ and live it everyday! People will see [Him] and want [Him].
People judge us by our actions, by the fruits that we grow, and the light [or darkness] that we show, right? But if our fruit is rotten, then what? I mean if you drink, smoke and cuss around people who drink, smoke and cuss, what makes you any different? They see no difference in you as a Christian, than if you weren't one. To refuse a drink means more a lot and shows others more about your integrity and the passion you have to live for God rather than sipping a beer with your buddies to get down to their level. A Christian shouldn't look like the world or talk like the world, or act like the world...why? because we aren't the world. If we are the same and do the same things as unbelievers, then what do we have to offer them? or those who might be up to us or wanting answers from us. nothing. you have nothing to offer them but a smoke and an empty soul...and a wide path leading in the opposite direction.
I want to show God's light to someone. At least one person. I want them to see it, so I won't have to say it.
It's not just a faith that you can choose to believe, it's a complete lifestyle change. God changes you, if you are really a TRUE follower of God and have a true faith and belief in Him and His will for your life. Saying it means NOTHING if you aren't living it.
boy I sense some redundancy =D.
Following Christ. It's about knowing that God is enough and saying "God your all I want and all I need" in the midst of a crisis or an awful situation that you never thought would happen to you...
be a true follower of Christ, not just a Christian.
I'll end with a wonderful few verses from the book of Matthew[7:21-23]:
"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven.
On judgment day many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.'
But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized.
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