Monday, October 30, 2023

What Is A Christian?

In this present age, there seems to be a disconnect between calling ourselves "Christian" and being a "Christian." There are many people who think they are a Christian because they go to church or mass every time the doors open, but they never talk about Jesus when they're away from the church. There are those who can speak the Bible, quoting every chapter and verse, but they hate other ethnicities, immigrants, other cultures and sometimes even Jews. I love the scripture that says: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3.)

I once challenged a man who was speaking so much evil about certain groups of people and I reminded him that the Bible tells to love. This Baptist preacher told me that he did love them. I was left stunned. How can you speak about killing people you love? Or depriving them of the basic needs of life? That's not any kind of love that I've ever heard of! Jesus told us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and elderly and house the homeless. These are the ways we show love to someone. So many people think love is an emotion when it's not! Love is action. You can tell me 10 Million times you love me, but if you never do anything to show me love, you'll never convince me that you do.

Jesus told us on That Great and Final Day, He will tell many who spoke in tongues and prophecied and cast out demons in His name to depart from Him and when they question why His answer will be: you didn't give Me water when I was thirsty, food when I was hungry, shelter when I was homeless, etc. And they will say they never saw Him in those conditions to which He will reply: "When you did not do it unto the least of these, you did not do it unto Me." Love is action! Being a Christian means action. It means helping those less fortunate rather than saving all the blessings God has given you and building up a million dollar bank account. It means helping build homes and shelters for the homeless rather than building a million dollar mansion. It means not buying a $150,000 car and driving it past a single mother who is walking to work in the rain so she can support her children!

I have been called to do what I am doing! I was put here at such a time as this to call Christians out to doing what Jesus told us to do! I cannot sit back and keep my mouth shut because I would be disobeying God if I were to do that. He has anointed me to bring the message to the church and to the lost that He is a loving, merciful God whose Grace is sufficient for each and every one of us. And for those of us who have known His grace and mercy to not turn around and show grace and mercy to the lost, we are but hypocrites and we do not have love in our hearts. My soul cries out in pain when I see Christians who aren't behaving like Christians! Because I know they're not filled with the love that I have known from my Father in Heaven! Being filled with His love makes me want to share that love with every single person I come into contact with! To do for each and every person on this planet what He has done for me! To wipe their tears, soothe their hurts, mend their wounds, feed their bodies and their souls, give water when they're thirsty and tell them that He loves them so much! No, I don't always hit the mark, but I keep trying. When the devil knocks me down, God reaches down His hand and lifts me back on my feet so that I can dust myself off and get back into action.

When you do kind things for your enemies because you love them, it amazes them! They don't know how to react to that! That, then, makes them pause and wonder how your Christianity can bring you to do that when their religion only makes them want to kill you, at all costs. When you pray for, and do good things for, those who use you and hurt you, you bring about a questioning in their hearts about their own state of salvation. But, of course, you can't do these things if you don't love your enemies and those who spitefully use you. Love is the key! Love is the answer! And there is no law or commandment by God that has ever said love is not good! Love conquers all! Love overcomes all! Love benefits all!

Because love is God and God is love!

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