I believe the words of Christ when He said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
I believe that the life of a Christian is made more joyous when one is free to live within the law and within grace.
I believe that God has freely forgiven me and is seeking me out. I believe that by altering my behavior to be more like the person God has called me to be, I am also seeking Him.
I don't believe that religion alone has caused any wars. Wars are fought by people and for the motives of said people.
I don't believe there's anything wrong with a large church: it can shelter more people.
I believe that divorce is against God's design for man. I also believe that Jesus died because no one else could live up to God's design.
I believe that God loves each and every one of His creations deeply and fully.
I don't believe that God has any problem with religion. I think God has a problem with people taking their wickedness and disguising it as religion.
I believe that the religion that God the Father hold to be pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress. I believe that includes widows and orphans who don't look/think/believe the way I do as well.
I believe that are churches are not perfect. We need more honesty. We need to show the world that we are all broken people coming together for healing from the master Healer.
I believe that changing our behaviors helps us to change our core. I believe that if we are to be in a relationship with a holy and just God, we must seek to be holy and just. I believe that we will always fail in this seeking. That's why I believe Jesus died to helped bridge that gap.
I believe that the Church and religion give me a wonderful and vibrant heritage.
I believe that Christ died for me, as I am a part of the creation that was lost and needed to be rectified to the Creator.
I believe that the Church is Christ's bride, not me, not you.
I believe that Christ loves the Church and eagerly awaits her.
I believe that religion is man's attempt to seek out the Creator. And I believe that the Creator rejoices when His creation calls out to Him.
I love my God. I love Jesus. I love the Church.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Musings from Matthew 5
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. -Matthew 5:27-29
Tonight, I'd like to talk, or better type, about something that stands out to me. We often hear the above verse, but I don't think we really take it seriously very often. And ladies, I think we tend to down right ignore it. Tonight I specifically want to talk about how this verse applies to celebrities.
Often I hear women talking about how handsome, good-looking, sexy, etc. certain male celebrities are. I admit, I've done the same. However, it struck me a few months back how this verse applies to such talk. It struck me when a friend was going on about how good looking (with various many more adjectives and facial expressions) Ryan Reynolds is. What hit me, was that she did this right in front of her husband. Now, he didn't say anything, and I don't know if they talked about it later, but it struck me: women often think this okay.
Now ladies, if you husband stood there in front of you and went on about hot, sexy, attractive, ect. Jennifer Aniston or Katherine Heigl was, how would you feel? I know that personally, I would possibly be very hurt or angry, depending upon my mood.
So, I let this stew around in my mind a little. Women tend to talk about male celebrities fairly often as part of "girl talk," or at least, many of my friends do. However, I think that our "talk" borders dangerously close to the mental adultery that Jesus warns against.
Yes, male celebrities tend to be good looking men. However, I would encourage us wives to have eyes, and libidos, solely for our husbands. Perhaps this means that you should limit what you watch. Perhaps this means limiting what you talk about with your friends. Perhaps for you this is just something to think about. Let's just each work a little harder to honor ourselves, our husbands, and our faith with what we say and how we act.
Tonight, I'd like to talk, or better type, about something that stands out to me. We often hear the above verse, but I don't think we really take it seriously very often. And ladies, I think we tend to down right ignore it. Tonight I specifically want to talk about how this verse applies to celebrities.
Often I hear women talking about how handsome, good-looking, sexy, etc. certain male celebrities are. I admit, I've done the same. However, it struck me a few months back how this verse applies to such talk. It struck me when a friend was going on about how good looking (with various many more adjectives and facial expressions) Ryan Reynolds is. What hit me, was that she did this right in front of her husband. Now, he didn't say anything, and I don't know if they talked about it later, but it struck me: women often think this okay.
Now ladies, if you husband stood there in front of you and went on about hot, sexy, attractive, ect. Jennifer Aniston or Katherine Heigl was, how would you feel? I know that personally, I would possibly be very hurt or angry, depending upon my mood.
So, I let this stew around in my mind a little. Women tend to talk about male celebrities fairly often as part of "girl talk," or at least, many of my friends do. However, I think that our "talk" borders dangerously close to the mental adultery that Jesus warns against.
Yes, male celebrities tend to be good looking men. However, I would encourage us wives to have eyes, and libidos, solely for our husbands. Perhaps this means that you should limit what you watch. Perhaps this means limiting what you talk about with your friends. Perhaps for you this is just something to think about. Let's just each work a little harder to honor ourselves, our husbands, and our faith with what we say and how we act.
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