God And Jesus @ MindSay

From a young 17 year old boy to the editor of the S.E.Calgary News:

 

I’ve been reading the polls that have been in the news lately. Faith is on the decline in the United States and agnostics and atheists are on the rise. What is also on the rise are disillusioned ex-church goers and bitter fist shakers.

 

Bill Maher’s movie “Religulous” did well in the box office last year and authors like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens are becoming increasingly popular writing books like “The God Delusion” and “God is Not Great”. Even in  “Family Guy” the pet dog is an atheist.

 

As a young guy who has found faith, as a Christian, and a believer of God, I wanted to write a letter to you, the fist shaker, the ex-church goer, the Atheist and Agnostic. It’s a short letter, but I mean it from my heart.

 

To all Angry at God,

 

I’m sorry.

 

You might not have expected something like that from me, a Christian. But I mean it. I’m sorry because as a Christian I haven’t done the greatest job I could in showing you that God is great, that religion doesn’t poison everything, and that Jesus may not look like you think he looks like.

 

In some ways, I understand. Sometimes Christianity can be negative. Sometimes it makes people more racist, more intolerant, and more judgmental. Sometimes it is thrown into politicians speeches that you may disagree with, or worse, the person that might have hurt you worse in your life might have been a Christian.

 

I’m sorry.

 

I believe in the depths of my being, that God is good. That He does love you.

 

I think you would love Jesus. I really mean it.

 

If you could have seen Him healing the ear of one of His enemies, or feeding the hungry, or healing the blind. I think if you saw Him in action, you might even like Him.

 

You might be surprised at how opposite He was to how some people make him out to be.

 

I know we might not see eye to eye on a lot of things. We have gotten into some good debates before. But I don’t want to debate today. We can later if you need to. I wanted to tell you something first.

Did you know that Christians used to be known for their love? I know that seems crazy with our politically driven message today. But it’s true.

 

The 300 years after Jesus died was a great time for Christianity. A Faith in Jesus went from a small group of people into impacting millions of people.

 

Back then if someone had a baby they didn’t want they would go throw them in the woods or outside the city. It was the Christians who went and got the babies and raised them as their own. In those times sometimes people were so sick they were left alone to die. The only people that cared for these people were Christians. As they nursed the sick back to health a common question was “why did you do this for me?” and the answer was “because Jesus loves you”.

 

People wanted to know what could give someone so much love. People back then were amazed by what Jesus could do in someone’s life. A little different to the gospel tracks you might have gotten on the street.

 

That’s how Christianity grew so large. It was through love.

 

I know you may not agree with all my views. But if you saw the sincere love that is cultivated in someone when they have a faith in Jesus, you might not be so bitter.

 

Maybe if you see less Christians with picket signs and more at the soup kitchens you might change your mind about us.

 

Maybe if a Christian was the only one there for you when you lost your job, bringing you groceries and praying for you, you might not have such a big issue with religion.

 

Maybe if your local church opened their doors to you when you needed them, you would feel a little different.

 

But, maybe you haven’t been seeing that lately.

 

We really haven’t been doing our best in showing what Faith can do in someone’s life. But from the bottom of my heart I know that God is good.

 

I’m writing to tell you that I’m going to change. I want to start to show you what God can do for someone. I want to start to show you what Jesus is really like. I want to show you something so beautiful that maybe even you would want to know more about it.

 

Forgive me.

 

Thanks,

A Christian

 

My buddy environgirl seems to have started an avalanche...I read myclette 's blog this morning and caught a revelation from this quote from the bible:

Luke 23:33-34

33And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

 34Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

They *being those who condemned Jesus for serving God in a fashion they believed was blasphemous* crucified Jesus...and Jesus said to forgive them because they hadn't a clue what they were doing...

He served God in an unorthodoxed manner. He made them think and made them uncomfortable. The Jews and Gentiles alike hated Him for what he said... His naysayers believed in a boxed God even after all the miracles He had done in their midst. Now there was a man who was God manifested, and they couldn't see it because they thought of God as the one in their little box. The God they knew how to serve with a box set of rules...

My concern, though is not with that particular issue, but with this: "they parted his raiment, and cast lots".

When I read that phrase, it struck me. These same people that scoffed at Him ripped his cloak to shreds. Not just any cloak, a cloak that was made of one piece of cloth that had no seams at all. This, to me, represents the fullness and oneness of God. No one was set apart, but all made as one body ...one garment, if you will, that had no divisions or seams. His garment was ripped apart, as was the body of believers after His ascension. They all had a piece of God and Jesus, but not the full oneness that was had when He was here.

They also cast lots over the garment.The meaning of "cast lots":

to use or throw a die, or some other instrument, by the unforeseen turn or position of which, an event is by previous agreement determined. ^source

In essence, to gamble for which piece they would get. Are we who identify ourselves as Christians not doing the same thing? Each one of us has cast our lot, not knowing what the outcome will be. We switch from church to church looking...throwing the dice to see what part of Jesus' remnant we can get, then if we aren't happy with that, we go and play again.

When will we ever learn to stop throwing our dice and get the garment back together so we can all have the fullness that Jesus wanted us to experience?

Jesus was praying for more than just sin on that cross...He was praying for all who would take His message and pervert it for financial gain, those who would kill in His name when that is not what He asked of his followers, for those who would never have the fullness because they were too worried about dividing the truth into sections that were easier for them to handle.

So I follow my sisters in saying, no, I do NOT adhere to your brand of Christianity. I seek the fullness of the Spirit and truth of Jesus' message to us all. I yearn to have the full body of Christ gathered in one purpose as they were in the days when He himself walked this earth...when His father God milled through the garden...that is the joy of following God that I am looking to gain.

Anything less is not worth seeking.

 

Once a human being is born a journey of choices begin. There are two possible end points of this journey: Heaven or hell. It is in the choices we make which our sense experience gravitates along the journey. Good choices and the Kingdom of God will influence our experiential walk. Bad choices and the realm of Satan will influence our experiential walk.

 

If we constantly make bad choices our life may seem like hell on earth.

If we constantly make good choices and make one horrible choice, then the hell on earth feeling may still arise. Like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, the ultimate choice will fulfill the destiny God intends for humanity: the Heaven of the Kingdom of God.

 

Unfortunately there are many that are hardened by bad choices who curse God and die like the other thief on the other cross next Jesus. That destination will always lead to hell. Don’t let your dieing breath be to curse God and die.

 

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Up Where You Belong

Sit with God or Sit in the Cheap Seats (with Satan)
Devotional by Tommy Tenney
Sep 11 2006 04:35AM

Visionary Advancement Strategies InJesus Group

 

Your great High Priest says to you and to me, “I know how it looks from the perspective of the audience! I know how you feel, but I have a better place and a better seat reserved for you.” (God’s Eye View, p. 164)

Do things look bad for you right now? Do you feel trapped and doomed to live in failure or embarrassment for the rest of your days?

The thief on the cross couldn’t have had a worse view of life and death as he gasped for breath on a Roman cross. Death for him was guaranteed just before sundown at the latest, and he had two choices—curse God and die (the option chosen by the other thief), or believe God and live. He asked Jesus to remember him, but the Lord did for him what He did for us—He gave him a “backstage pass” to the mystery play of life.

Things aren’t so rosy for the arch rebel and those who follow him down the wide and easy path of rebellion.

Satan has an eternity-long box seat in the back row of the theater of God. He can’t figure out what’s going on, he’s powerless to change or modify God’s script, and if he could read God’s script (he does know how to quote a few lines here and there), he still wouldn’t understand it. He doesn’t have the key to understanding the Word—the Holy Spirit. He can’t even get good popcorn—all he ever gets is the burned stuff at the bottom with a hint of sulfur flavoring. (p. 165)

Why do I spend so much time and space describing Satan’s limited options? It is because his options are our options if we fail to follow the Son of God in life and in death.

Do you sometimes feel as if Satan’s misery has become your misery? Do you feel powerless to change or modify the “script” of your life? Do you want to shout and shake your fist at God over your troubled childhood, the color of your skin, the poverty in your family, or your limited options in life?

I have two things to say to you. First, Jesus understands your anger, your frustration, and your pain. That is why He came to take your place on the tree of blame. Second, you are not powerless to change your destiny as long as you retain the power of choice.

The thief on the tree was out of options—he was beyond the forced solitude of death row, he was “in the chair” and minutes from death. Yet he exercised the power of choice and chose Jesus Christ. That brief thirty-second exchange with Jesus changed his eternity from doom and damnation to eternal joy! Are you still breathing? Then you still have the power of choice—choose now (and trust the rest to Him).

 

I'm finally beginning to complete one of the goals I set for myself last summer... to read and relay The Urantia Book's version of "The Life and Teachings of Jesus." 

 

Note: according to this book, everything that I am going to recount about Jesus' life is factually correct. Understandably, I'm rather skeptical. I think it would be very nice if it was true, but wishing doesn't make it so. I'm not trying to force anyone to believe what I am about to write. I just ask that anyone who reads this keep an open mind.

 

I'm going to write about this book in installments, the first of which will be commentary regarding Jesus' Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Before I go into what happened, I think it's important to give a little background information on Jesus' origin and life.

 

The Urantia Book describes God as one creator called the Universal Father, who has many Creator Sons, each of whom reside over a specific universe. In order to gain full control over their universe, the Creator Son must make "seven bestowals upon the various orders of his universe creatures" (1324). The seventh bestowal for the Creator Son Michael was to live the life of a human being on Urantia (Earth) as Jesus of Nazareth.

 

Here are some tidbits about Jesus' life that I found interesting:

1. Gabriel showed himself to Mary the day after the conception of Jesus.

2. Joseph and Mary were married in March, 8 B.C

3. Joseph and Mary took their trip to Bethlehem on August 18th, 7 B.C.

4. Jesus was born on August 21st 7 B.C.

5. Jesus had 7 other siblings: James, Miriam, Joseph, Simon, Martha, Jude, and Ruth

6. The Urantia book depicts Jesus as an intelligent, thoughtful, questioning, and most importantly, ordinary child.

 

Alright, now on to Jerusalem. In a nut shell, Jesus' pilgrimage was filled mainly with disappointment. Women's acceptance in temple, secular trade in the temple courts, ritualistic sacrific, and consecration ceremonies were just a few of the religious practices that Jesus questioned. The following excerpts are the result of such questioning:

 

In regards to the belief in "the wrath of God or the anger of the Almighty" Jesus said, "My father, it cannot be true-- the Father in heaven cannot so regard his erring children on earth. The heavenly Father cannot love his children less than you love me. And I well know, no matter what unwise thing I might do, you would never pour out wrath upon me nor vent anger against me. If you, my earthly father, possess such human reflections of the Divine, how much more must the heavenly Father be filled with goodness and overflowing with mercy. I refuse to believe that my Father in heaven loves me less than my father on earth" (1378).

 

The following text was not said by Jesus. It does, however, relay Jesus' feelings once Passover week had ended, "He felt assured inhis own mind that the Father in heaven was not pleased with this spectacle of sacrificial offerings, and as the years passed, he became increasingly determined someday to establish the celebration of a bloodless Passover" (1379).

 

The reason why I found the preceding passage interesting is because many Christians (who I've met in person) don't celebrate Passover, and don't really regard Jesus as a Jew. He did question many traditional Jewish beliefs, but Passover was not one of them. I fully commend the few Christians on mindsay who celebrate Passover. If this passage is true, then Jesus probably would have wanted the celebration to continue to be practiced.

 

This next passage was exclaimed by Jesus after leaving Jerusalem. Just as an aside... Jesus actually became separated from his parents on the return back to Nazareth. Apparently he went to temple service and completely lost track of time. Gosh I hate when that happens! His parents didn't find out he was missing until that night, and spent four days looking for him. Jesus didn't seem to care all that much, but most understandably his parents were scared to death. When I read that part of the book I just thought, "Man, too bad they didn't have cell phones back then," which I thought was rather silly... Anyway, here's something not so silly:

 

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, and the people thereof, what slaves you are-- subservient to the Roman yoke and victims of your own traditions--but I will return to cleanse yonder temple and deliver my people from this bondage!" (1384).

 

This passage really made me think. Throughout the entire book it is obvious that Jesus questioned almost everything, and was constantly debating whether to stay true to his own rational beliefs, or stay true to his family. He ultimately decided, "While I must do the will of my Father in heaven, I will also be obedient to my father on earth. I will await my hour" (1384). He meditated over beliefs that didn't make sense to him, such as belief in an angry God and animal sacrifice (to name a few). Then, he followed his own opinions which eventually spawned a new religion. It seems incredibly ironic to me that Catholics, for example, are almost totally reliant upon tradition. The Eucharist... the repetition of prayers... I could go on and on... they're all illogical traditions.

 

"He passed through the consecration rituals but was disappointed by their perfunctory and routine natures. He missed that personal interest..." (1377). I'm sorry, but when I think about lack of personal interest... I think about drones of Catholics repeating the same memorized verses for the umpteenth time. Later on in life, Jesus persuaded his brothers and sisters to develop their own prayers so as to form a personal relationship with God. Plain memorization was not what he had in mind.

 

In all of this speculation I am, of course, assuming that every word in The Urantia Book is true. If this is not the case, then I hardly have proof to support my argument.

 

That being said, I don't believe in blind faith. I think it's a cop out. Jesus didn't have blind faith. He saw that the Jewish religion was faltering.. that certain practices were illogical and immoral. Why then do we allow ourselves to just blindly agree with practices and beliefs that are also nonsensical and immoral? and perhaps... traditions that Jesus himself did not endorse?

 

More next time.