Why The "Panicking Christian"?

Like most Christians, I occasionally find myself in a borderline, all out panic about something which I already knew, but seem to have forgotten or that I only knew in my head, as opposed to my heart. And mercifully, God decides to show me what is really going on or what it is that I needed to know, before I completely lose my mind.

So the writing within is just that. It is that which God has shown and taught me while I was typically in one of those times in my life. Since the way in which He has chosen to reveal things to me tend to be fairly easy to follow and understand, I am sharing them via this format. That said, I take no glory for any of this. It is God whom has given me the ability to write, and it is He who has given me the content to write as well and He who saved me by His glorious grace in the first place.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

For Him

(Taken from three recent separate posts I made to my social media page - definitely a running theme)


You have befriended the toughest kid in school. But did you befriend them because of the "protection" you will enjoy as their friend or have you befriended them for who they are? There is a difference, after all. The former is all about you - what you are going to get out of it, your happiness. The latter is about them - that they, as a person, is worth pursuing as a friend whether one gets any benefit from that or not.

I am not speaking of school yard matters but of God, Christ and His Church. Do you pursue Christ for you or for Him?

Do you seek Him to escape the fires of hell? Or to live a better life? Or to be happy or "feel good" about yourself? Do you not realize these reasons as "all about you" and not about Him at all? Are we not to pursue Christ for who He is and not for what we can get out of it?

But are there not benefits to following Him? Of course! But these are a side effect of that closeness with Him, not the purpose or reason for it. The reason is simply this: He is worthy.


God did not send Jesus to this world for me
Jesus did not die for me
Jesus did not rise for me

Jesus came
Jesus took the cross
Jesus died
Jesus rose

For GOD

I am God's creation
But I am vile
Wicked and sinful to my very core
All the things which He cannot abide

But God desired me
God desired His creation
So Jesus came to redeem me
Not for me
But for God.


"May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!" ~ J. Dober

WWJG?

We've heard it asked, WWJD - What would Jesus Do? - but what about, WWJG - Where Would Jesus Go?

Some time back, I saw a post online that basically said that Jesus would rather hang out in a bar than in a church and there were oodles of people arguing for each side commenting on it - each side as unwavering as the other in their "yea" or "nay" opinions and I am certain there are both sides reading this now. Well, you're both wrong.

To say that Jesus 'would rather' or would prefer to hang out <wherever> would be to say He was "playing favorites"...did you know that is a sin (James 2:9)? And that taking that stance is to accuse God of sin? Does that "really" sound like a great plan to you?

Would Jesus go to the bar? Yes, He certainly would and He would not be there shooting dirty looks at all the "sinners" either. Would He go to the church? Yes again and He would not be there acting all pious or "self righteous" (although He is the only One who could really).

WWJG? Everywhere where there are people, that's where. He would go the local church and the local pub. He would go down that ally where the addicts go and He would hang out at Walmart. He would hang out on "both sides of the tracks". He would go to coffee shops, fast food joints, expensive restaurants, theatres, concerts and playgrounds. And at none of these would He show up to stand in righteous condemnation over anyone - we're the ones who do that crap - which is one of the very reasons He would go where He had to in order to find "us".