I see things on social media expressing views about God, Jesus, and Christianity that I'm sure the posters believe with all their hearts to be true. A lot of the posts relate to their interpretations of Jesus' instruction as to how we, the believers, should strive to live our lives.
The problem is, I'm certain that they're skewed.
If you know me, you know I wouldn't press if I didn't feel it was important. I hope that gives you pause and you rethink any impulse to click out. If you're here, I imagine God planned it.
Ultimately, what you decide is what you decide though.
I'll respect that. So does God. Free will means free will, yeah?
If you don't know me and you oppose what I'm saying, I'm asking that you push through any urge to bail out now and keep reading too.
It's usually when I see posts from believers putting a politically correct spin on scripture that I feel compelled to express my viewpoint. I'll confess that to date the poster has ever so politely put me in my archaic place and listed why my beliefs aren't aligned with those of Jesus.
Sometimes, people that I don't even know chime in—and, they haven't always tried to express what they think of my response in a kind manner.
Just sayin' 😉
I determined years ago that social media isn't the best place to try and change someone's mind outright. In short, when everyone in the "discussion" becomes focused on making sure everyone else realizes THEY are RIGHT, things can go downhill pretty quickly—even when you're topic is God and the Bible.
So, I'll be honest and tell you that I voice my thoughts if I am moved to do so—and if I don't, rest assured I'm asking God to put someone right in front of that person who can help them with their thought process. After that, I just throw a "Lord use my words to stir their hearts if it be Your will" prayer at it and move on. Planting seeds. As long as I get the information out there, God will use it when He sees fit.
That's served me well. Up until the last few months anyway.
Lately, things that I've seen on social media keep swirling around in my soul causing unrest. Perhaps, it's because I'm seeing it more frequently. Perhaps I'm growing closer in my relationship with Him and He wants that for you too.
I mean, let's face it, there's a lot of push from the world to get with its program. The pressure to conform is growing stronger. We hear things like "If your god is really all about love, he won't cast you into the pits of hell—Baha!—if there even is one. Come on! Live and let live!"
Sadly, even some religious leaders are putting a worldly spin on their teaching as well.
That's not good.
I've learned a lot about God and His Son these past few decades or so. One thing is that I know when there's a little more expected of me... the time to stand strong is here.
And I'm supposed to do more than pray this time.
So...
...here goes everything.
I'm putting it out there
I have a favor to ask first though.
Before you read any further, will you pause a moment, please, and ask God for discernment?
If you really want to know the truth about a situation, I believe with all my heart that God will show it to you if you ask sincerely.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
~Philippians 1:9-10
I've prayed, and still pray, for discernment a lot and it's worked every time.
God's awesome like that.
I get where you're coming from
I had a skewed view of God's word too.
I realize now that my views were misconstrued, but in the interest of time, I won't break it all down. I will say, though, that when I decided I wanted to know Him more and sought a one-on-one relationship with Him, God opened my mind and my heart to His truth. Light bulbs were happening so frequently in my brain, it's a wonder it didn't cause a short! 🤯
My toddling steps began to head somewhere when I made the decision that when I learned something new about how God would have us live our lives, I'd do my best to practice it. If it was something that didn't line up with my own personal "beliefs" at the moment, I pledged to acknowledge that wasn't what God said and that I was playing by His rules no matter what.
I tell you, it was—and still is—amazing to see Him fulfill the promises made to us in scripture over and over again.
Suffice it to say that I believed God and Jesus were real at a very young age, but for the first half of my life—back before I learned the need to pray for discernment 😉—I thought:
Once we had accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, we were supposed to try as hard as we could to be a good person and when we died, we'd go to heaven. This belief was formed during childhood. I never learned He wants to communicate with us one-on-one every single day.
Rules God gave the people during the days of the Old Testament did not always apply in the here and now. This belief was formed in my early teens. God seemed distant and if God didn't perform miracles, or work through us to heal others, or any of the other things that I'd questioned as a child and received a rather vague "Oh, well, He doesn't work like that anymore." or "Since Jesus came..." I trusted the people who gave me those answers because I knew they loved God, but it made me not trust HIM! I didn't realize that then, but that ol' devil sure did. sigh Still, I always knew in my heart of hearts that God was BIGGER... it just got squelched down for a couple of decades.
All religions point to God. He was just called different names. I remember sharing that "revelation" with my Mom in my twenties. She tried her best to gently set me straight but I just knowingly shook my head and smiled a little smile certain that I was right. I repented for that by the way. My audacity, I mean.
The devil could never infiltrate the church. This, too, was a core belief formed at a very young age. I assumed God would not allow it. Little did I know—literally! I rarely cracked open the book. 😞 The devil has made great inroads in the church through doctrine. We have to put it down and get back to using the Bible as our only source. As long as we stay focused on Jesus, all the differences will work themselves out. God will see to it. Promise.
I'll admit that it was my own audacity—it's surely a perfect adjective to represent my behavior—that led to my taking so long to discover that my beliefs weren't hitting the mark. If you can believe it, I honestly didn't think that I needed to study God's Word.
Seriously. I thought the Bible was just to teach people about how much God loved them and their need for Jesus so they'd make it into heaven one day.
Well, now—
I had known that my entire life. So, just close the book. I'm done, thanks.
*hanging my head*
See what I mean?
Audacious!
I did a pretty good job at "being a good person" though despite my ignorance. I believe I was born with a very strong sense of morals instilled in me. I don't recall there ever being any gray areas for me. I see everything as black or white. Right and wrong are very distinguishable in my book.
Still, because I hadn't taken the time to study the book, there was plenty of room for error in my life. I made a few doozies, as far as accepting the fact that it was okay to jump into the ways of the world with both feet but I, at least, knew enough about God to cry out to him for help when I'd find myself in a mess!
It was during those times that I felt a stirring in my soul. A longing of sorts. Something was missing... I know now it was my spirit calling out to know Him more.
Did I begin my quest to know Him more because of it though?
Eventually.
In the meantime
I kept up the "be as good as you can be" theory. I was certain that God knew how much I loved Him. I'd made that clear a long, long time ago. Teaching our children and the children in my childcare about God and Jesus was a natural part of the day. I loved helping with Vacation Bible School at church and I eventually began helping teach on Sundays too.
But, there was a lot more in the Bible that God wanted me to know about Him. Mostly the fact that He wants to be an integral part of each and every day. The Bible teaches us how to get to that point in our relationship with Him if we open our hearts and minds to its teachings.
Over the years, God did his level best to get through—more than once. I'm so glad he didn't give up.
It was my love for children—and the persistence of Ms. Faye who consistently asked me to help her with her preschool Sunday School class—that drew me to begin to answer God's true call on my life. I started helping her with the preschoolers at my church.
And...
Hello!
God used those basic Bible truths to awaken my spirit in ways you may find hard to believe. Week after week, the lessons acted as the catalysts that caused me to grow past the baby Christian phase and on into a mature believer who was eager to devour the "meat" of his Word.
Oftentimes, God would use a life experience to illustrate the truth of His Word. That was nothing short of amazing and totally blew me away every single time it happened! And is still just as amazing today.
I was eventually led to work with the teens in our church and together, we learned much.
They're in their 30's now. I remain in contact with a few but carry all of them in my heart. I'm not sure where many of them stand in their walk of faith. I don't even know where most of them are—but God does. I pray the seeds planted during that time were buried deep in their hearts and God uses them at the perfect moment to reach out and draw them ever closer wherever they are on their path.
He never changes.
I understand that it's hard to imagine that God, our Creator, could ever bear to condemn even one of us to eternity in hell. After all, God is love. He's quick to forgive us and set our path straight when we sincerely ask but at the same time, He's God, Almighty.
You got that, right? He doesn't change.
Ever.
There are at least 16 references in the Bible that attest to that fact. God is the same as He ever was. He doesn't change his mind. He will never deviate from His original plan.
No matter how we, mortals, choose to spin the Bible. We're duping ourselves. We're kissing the frog.
Jesus' coming didn't null and void the laws and commandments that God, the Father, established for His people in the Old Testament. Jesus adhered to them every single day that He walked the earth.
He expects us to do the same.
The difference is that we're going to fail from time to time. That's why God planned for Jesus to come and establish the new covenant from the beginning. That's why Jesus agreed—without hesitation, I'm sure—to become our sacrifice. This is what He said in John 15:12-17.
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
"You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. This is My command to you: Love one another." ~Jesus
The Old Testament is filled with story after story of God's chosen people turning away from Him. The lure of temptation presented by the Gentiles who surrounded them would grow too strong. Sometimes, the stories focus on the people as a whole and other stories tell of an individual's shortcomings. In both cases, God intended to establish the fact that we all fall short and that He planned to send a savior.
The scenario played out over and over.
Little by little, the people got farther and farther from God—eventually, He had his fill of them straddling the fence and living as pagans while still "worshipping" Him. He'd warn them through the prophets but they didn't want to hear. So, even though it broke His heart to do it, God would take a step back and leave them to their own devices entirely.
Tough love.
Of course, the people found themselves in a huge mess—oftentimes enslaved—because of their choices and they realized the error of their ways. They would wholeheartedly cry out to God for forgiveness—and, at times, just one person, alone, would intercede for the people. God, in his great mercy, would forgive and rescue them.
The people would praise and worship Him for His forgiveness, mighty strength, and loving nature for a time. But, before you know it, you're reading of the next time the lure of sin led them away from God.
There's Nothing New Under the Sun
God's rules for us didn't change when forgiveness for our sins was given once for all when Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus' command for us to love one another is a reiteration of the command given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6:5. It was followed by God's command to keep His word in our hearts and to teach it to our children.
Jesus' second command was to love your neighbor as yourself.
Not as a loophole giving everyone the right to live and let live from that point on though, you guys.
We're called to set an example, not hide behind the illusion that loving everyone means letting them do whatever they want because God is a loving God and won't hold it against them.
We are called to be set apart and set the right example. That's a serious responsibility.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. ~1 Peter 2:9
Our light can't cast a shadow
There are three things I need to tell you.
Just because Jesus didn't specifically call out the LGBTQ+ community, doesn't mean same-sex marriage is okay. If you click the link above, you will see the proof I have that backs that up. And, you will find that I do not condemn those who believe they are attracted to the same sex. It's a "don't shoot the messenger" type of moment because neither God nor Jesus condones that type of relationship. You're right when you tout a sin is a sin. God and Jesus don't condone our sins either... but they are at the ready to forgive us for it. We all walk the same street as far as that goes. Everyone struggles with something.
God's views on homosexuality didn't change between the time of the Old Testament and the new age that began when Jesus entered the world. Paul wrote on the topic in Romans, 1 Timothy, and 1 Corinthians. Jude 1:7 mentions sexual immorality and perversion as well citing Sodom and Gomorrah and surrounding towns as an example of "those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." Again, don't start sputtering at me. I'm not saying they're the only ones getting punished—we all need Jesus or we're suffering the same fate. But, God does say that this type of sin is especially abhorrent to him—which makes sense, yeah? It goes against his entire plan for creation—be fruitful and multiply. That's not possible in same-sex relationships. That's all there is to it.
Think hard on the verses listed above from John 15 before you call someone out with a "What Would Jesus Do?" (WWJD) slam. They may be telling you the truth about the matter after all. "...everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain...
This is a plea for some to rethink where they stand in relation to God's word and what they believe to be true. Don't let the world's view sway you.
God needs us to lead the charge against Satan's ever-increasing attempt to steal souls away from the Father for eternity. We need to be fighting for His Truth to be known rather than spreading false hope.
I'm praying, oh, so fervently that you discover things here that will strengthen—or cause you to seek—your own personal relationships with God, His Only Son, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.
I won't stop either. We need you fighting for our side! 👊😎
See you next time~
Love,
C