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Notes - Email - Serious Rings - Fun Rings The Lighted Path - Design - Host |
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Intresting digression Ok, let me just say, in my defense, that the last time I talked with my aforementioned friend about religious beliefs and such was about the time I became Pagan. I was acting on impressions of a seriously misguided mind. That was directed to him, of course. Hey, you, Moron with your hat on backwards!!! I'm sorry!! Forgive me?:D That said, my thought of the day, or rather the thing on my mind right now, is spiritual warfare. I was talking to a friend from the Exwitch forum, the youth pastor I mentioned before I think, and he was talking about that same topic. He wondered why the church, in general, avoids the topic as much as they can. I think it's at least in part due to the desire to make life look cheerful, fuzzy, and peachy-keen to outsiders, while we all know that it's most certainly NOT any of the above. That makes me think of something our Sunday School teacher said, and has a couple of times, actually. We don't advertise the bad parts of being Christian. We don't tell people on the way in what happened to the Apostles after Jesus ascended. Only one lived to old age, and the rest died some pretty gruesome deaths. Even Paul, while he was alive, went through some crazy stuff and survived it! Observe- 1Corinthians 11:23b-27a "...been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." Does that sound like a fun time to you? And yet, that's what we're expected to know, to deal with, to survive, if He calls us to it. But do we put that in our tracts? Our brochures and such? Would we attract followers that way? Much easier to show people a God of love and forgiveness, of mercy for the evils that we do. And yet, that results in people like the girl in my Notes, telling me that I have no right to judge her, that just because she curses and raves and insults people doesn't mean she's a bad Christian, and that she's saved by faith alone. Saved, yes. . .But there's so much more you can do than just be saved! My intent was not a sermon. It was an accounting. I was insulted that she was seemingly setting out to give me a bad name. Not me, per-se, but Christianity in general. Well, that was an interesting trip away from the task at hand. . . I guess I'll be posting about what I wanted to post about later. I need to go eat something, and then spend time with my husband. Have a great night, all, and God bless you tomorrow! Joy
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