Writeous Living http://writeousliving.posterous.com Most recent posts at Writeous Living posterous.com Sun, 23 Jan 2011 23:52:52 -0800 23 Reasons I've Been Ruined By God http://writeousliving.posterous.com/23-reasons-ive-been-ruined-by-god http://writeousliving.posterous.com/23-reasons-ive-been-ruined-by-god In my post, “9 Reasons Why I Used to Be a Christian” I listed reasons that motivated me to become a Christian. But those reasons were not enough to convince me that there was any significance or merit to the title, “Christian.” We can all think of people who call themselves Christians but are the biggest hypocrites we know. I’m sure we can also think of times where we ourselves have been hypocrites and the finger should’ve been or was pointed at us. We all mess up – but being a Christian isn’t about us. It’s about Christ – and His awesomeness (…what an inadequately inefficient and grammatically incorrect way to describe God. Apologies.) Today I give you reasons why I can’t follow anyone but Christ…how God has ruined me for anyone but Himself… whether or not that makes me a Christian is up to you…
  1. God loved me first and He’s never stopped (Isaiah 46:3).
  2. He gave me the choice instead of forcing me to love Him in return (Ephesians 2:4-5) (1 John 4:9-10, 19-20).
  3. He doesn’t determine His love for me based on how I treat Him (Psalm 130:7) (Isaiah 54:10).
  4. God is patient (1 Timothy 1:16)…a complete gentleman that never forces His way but always waits for my response.
  5. He doesn’t flip out on me when I mess up (Exodus 34:6) (Psalm 86:15) (Psalm 103:8) (Nahum 1:3).
  6. He forgives every mistake I’ve ever made – regardless of what it is (Numbers 14:18).
  7. His standards are perfection and yet (because of Jesus) He accepts progression instead. No matter how many times I fail Him, He still accepts me with open arms (2 Timothy 2:13) (Titus 3:4-5).
  8. He sees everything I do (Job 34:21) (Psalm 11:4) (Psalm 139:2-4) (Proverbs 15:3) (Hebrews 4:13) but…
  9. He also sees everything I go through (Psalm 10:14)… He doesn’t miss anything (Psalm 56:8).
  10. He knows me intimately…every single detail... (Psalm 139: 1) He even knows my name (Isaiah 43:1).
  11. He knows what I need (Matthew 6:8).
  12. He knows what’s coming up for me…He helps me prepare for it (Proverbs 3:5-6) (Jeremiah 29:11).
  13. He wants me to spend time with Him (James 4:8)…to come looking for Him so that He can show me who He is (Jeremiah 29:13-14).
  14. He doesn’t leave me when others seem to disappear (Hebrews 13:5) (Psalm 27:10).
  15. He hears me…He listens to what I say… (Psalm 6:8-9) (Psalm 116:1-2).
  16. He never has a weak moment (Isaiah 40:28) (Ephesians 1:19-20).
  17. He rescued me from a dead-end life (Ephesians 2:4-5) that caused me heartache, confusion and disappointment (Psalm 18:16-19).
  18. He fixes what I’ve ruined (Joel 2:25). Not because He has to…simply because He wants to.
  19. He took my place because He considers me a friend (John 15:12-15) (Revelation 3:20).
  20. He is the only Man who has always kept His word (Joshua 23:14b) (Psalm 33:4) (Psalm 146:6).
  21. He has never ever lied (Numbers 23:19) (Titus 1:2) (Hebrews 6:18).
  22. He’s not indecisive (1 Samuel 15:29).
  23. He doesn’t change…I can always count on who He says He is (Malachi 3:6).
I don’t need another obligation for my calendar. What I need is a Friend who is committed to me regardless of how I act because I am so wishy-washy. All of the reasons in the other post for being a Christian are very common – but the problem is that they are all me-focused rather than God-focused. Those are all reasons that I benefit from or that have to do with me receiving credit or recognition for doing something. But, it’s not about me – it’s never been about me. And that my friends, is the mistake we’ve made as the Body of Jesus Christ. We’ve misrepresented Him because we each want to be seen/heard. It’s not about us…not then, not now, not ever. The message of the cross is essential, but it is just a demonstration of the love that God has been consistently showing for generations. Eternal life isn’t just being spared from hell…it’s about getting to know the One who sacrificed it all to be with us. Unwarranted love. So romantic! God has ruined me by revealing Himself to me. How could I settle for being a “Christian” (as in my other post) when I have the opportunity to know Christ personally?

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Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:50:17 -0800 9 Reasons Why I Used to Be a Christian http://writeousliving.posterous.com/9-reasons-why-i-used-to-be-a-christian http://writeousliving.posterous.com/9-reasons-why-i-used-to-be-a-christian  
Living in the United States allows us the freedom to choose a religion (at least by law). Although we are granted the freedom legally, there are many reasons why we choose (or choose not) to follow a religion. The following are reasons I have used to justify being a Christian.
 
  1. Escaping Hell. Anyone who knows anything about hell would understand why becoming a Christian would be an intelligent decision. Since John 3:16 says that all I had to do was “believe” in order to escape hell, I had decided that I believed.
  2. Lack of Responsibility. Hell was taken care of because I believed. If I sinned, I knew Jesus would forgive me. So, no matter what I did – I believed that I wasn’t going to hell.
  3. Expectation. Since I was raised by a family professing to be Christian, naturally – it made sense that I would also proclaim to be one. It was the religion I was most familiar with and I knew the traditions and practices of the faith. Besides, I was confirmed so I was obligated to be a Christian – right?
  4. Being a Good Person. Aside from my family expecting me to be a Christian, I wanted to be considered a good person. Most good people are “Christians” and so if I was a Christian – that automatically made me a good person. Jesus was a good person, so following Him means I had to be a good person too. While being a good person, I often looked at those who weren’t and pointed out how much better I was because I did what was good.
  5. Rewards. Good people are often rewarded. If I prayed and asked for something, God would give it to me – right? Why wouldn’t He? I’ve heard a million times, “ask and you shall receive.” Who doesn’t enjoy gifts? Bring them on!
  6. In-Crowd, Identity. Who doesn’t want to belong? Since the U.S. has a history of being a Christian nation – it has been safe to be a Christian and easy to find others that identify themselves in the same manner. To be a Christian has been to have a recognizable/familiar identity and to have a network of “brothers” tied together that were always “available” to help you.
  7. A Fix for Bad Times. Who really wants to keep walking through bad times? Let’s face it – realistically, we are a people who like to complain…especially if you live in the tundra like I do. So, if God is a healer or provider – I will go to Him in hard times and ask for help. When things are going well though, I didn’t need Him as much though.
  8. Singing and Dancing. I started dancing to country music (I didn’t have a choice in the matter) when I was just a young lass and I started singing in choir when I was in third grade. Music has always held a special place in my heart. Attending a church that allows you to sing and dance during worship was like hitting the jackpot. If that’s what being a Christian meant – I was hooked.
  9. Supernatural Works. Who wouldn’t want to make people come alive after they’ve already been pronounced dead? Who doesn’t want to be able to tell the future? I do! Who doesn’t want to be able to make an arm grow back? This stuff all sounds like magic. Magicians are typically credited as being amazing! I wanted this kind of attention.
Hell sounds crazy scary – naturally we would want to escape it. We want to meet the expectations of others and please our family/friends. Being considered a good person is important to us, but there are plenty of bad people who call themselves Christians – or…plenty of Christians who do bad things. No one wants their efforts to go unnoticed, we all like to be recognized. Everyone wants to be accepted instead of ostracized or alienated. Where do we turn when we experience pain if no one is around? I need someone to help me when times are hard – I need some comfort and relief. I want to jump around and sing at the top of my lungs sometimes – just because I can. And I want to do crazy things that people have never seen before. But we all want to do that stuff…we all want this. But for me, these reasons weren’t enough to keep me around very long. These things are what most people know about Christianity and they don’t stick around either. As a people, we want more – and if this is what it means to be a Christian, it's too cheap of a religion. Count me out, I don't want to be a Christian.

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