I will be the first to say that I am undeserving of love and anything that is life. I will definitely be the first to say that I have messed up terribly many times and at times feel like I have been the worst of sinners. In saying that I will also be the first to say that I have an unexplainable joy and a desire to love whole heartedly that does not come from me, but rather something greater than me. I know for a fact that I am a sinner and that in order for there to be any life and reconciliation there must have been something that atoned for that sin. It is only through the love of God and the death of Jesus, the Christ, that I might be saved. Not only the death, but also the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and is surely alive. Colossians 2:13...I was dead in my transgressions, but now I am alive in Christ. I may be the worst of sinners, but I am clean, pure, free from sin.
Oh man, first blog and I'm going heavy and right in the face. The reason for this is to make it clear that there is nothing that I have done to deserve any love. But, because of the great love of a deeply gracious God I no longer struggle with anxiety, worry, or things that go along with that. I was once a very anxious worried man who struggled with things that were out of my control. No longer do I have any anxiety. That pumps me up. And although I am tempted to do wrong, I do not desire to do it.
So, why this? The purpose of this blog is to first share any daily devotions I am having in the Word of God. Secondly, the purpose of this blog is to examine how the Church of Christ (Not specifically the denomination "Church of Christ") but specifically the Christian church is involved in social media. Whether it be Christian music, mainstream or solely worship, or any news in the society involving church related stuff I want to talk about it. It is from the inside of my mind/heart to the outside world that I desire to create this blog. This blog has the desire to discuss and help understand how the Bible applies to everyday life.
I would love to share anything that is on my heart. If you want something that will challenge you in ways that you might have never expected stay tuned. Trust me....this is going to be fun! (and definitely interesting)
Pretty crazy first post in the world of blogs. I am pumped about this.
Please feel free to leave comments. I will attempt to address many if not all of the comments left in any of the posts.
Oh, heyyy Tim...
ReplyDeleteThis should be a pretty interesting blog. I look forward to reading it in the future. I've never really seen anyone take the Christian Church pr approach, and I'll be interested to see what you find.
My question for you is, do you believe the Westboro Baptist Church has affected the public's views of religion in general? Or do you think the public has the ability to completely separate them from other religious organizations?
Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteThe only real news I hear about the Westboro Baptist Church incidents are snidbits from the news on TV and second hand stuff from other people. So, I can honestly say that I am not a Westboro Baptist Church genius. However, I do know the overall main things that they are involved with and the things that they are usually associated with. I know that they have been known to protest some intimate type stuff like weddings and funerals because of issues that go beyond the wedding or funeral itself. Because I do not understand the whole Westboro Baptist Church stuff all that well, I don't want to say anything without knowledge. I will say that regarding judging and things like that the Bible can be very clear. Matthew 7 explains "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." This is Jesus talking and teaching. He then goes on to explain that how can I (Tim) judge someone else, when I (Tim) have sinned and messed up also. It makes no sense to judge others if I have messed up too. To go even deeper God loves people, but hates sin. In fact, He is so perfect and righteous and holy that he cannot even be around sin. Does this mean that it is contradictory that God loves people, but hates sin, since humans sin. No, not at all. What it does mean, however, is that God loves people and desires to be with them so much that he offers a way to be clean and righteous, without sin, so that He can be with you. It is through Jesus. God hates sin, but loves the person. It is never that God hates anyone. Instead, He loves people, but hates sin. If that makes any sense. So, the Bible explains that we are to be like God and strive to be righteous. We should, then, not hate or despise people but rather love on them and help them to achieve what they are capable of achieving spiritually. If someone is caught up in sin, then I should not hate them for that but rather hate the sin and love the person.
I know this is kind of a lengthy response and a round-a-bout response, but what I'm trying to get at is to try not to continually judge others but rather love them as Jesus loves them. I don't want anyone to continue to sin, because sin leads to death. But, through love and correction I can attempt to allow Christ to use me to have people see his light and to stop sinning. This, I feel like, can be applied to living life as a whole, but specifically also to the Westboro situation.
To answer your question directly, I think it depends on specific people whether or not it will affect their perception of Christianity. I would hope that the public would be able to recognize that the Westboro Baptist Church has taken an extreme measure of doing things. I've heard someone explain in one of my classes at school that it is their opinion that the Westboro Baptist Church does not really reflect the Christian church as a whole. But rather they are doing things in a different way than what the Christian church would agree to be good. I hope and pray that the Westboro Baptist Church would be soft-hearted and fix their eyes on Christ and what is good and not on satisfying the desires of the flesh by judging through ungodly, unrighteous ways. I think the public has the ability to separate the Westboro Baptist Church and the other "religious" organizations if they choose to. My hope and my prayer is that the Westboro Baptist Church people would examine their hearts, just like anyone else should examine their heart for any unrighteousness. We have all sinned and fall short of the awesome Glory of God. We must understand that God loves us and is the author of salvation. It is only through Jesus that we are saved. He is the true, righteous, and just judge.