Just to make you aware. I real Christian is not religious.
Religion is just a box that attempts to contain and control something that cannot be contained and controlled.
That is..The Truth.
Whatever is contained and controlled is no longer the truth. It is just a shell.
That shell is what people point to when they claim they are not religious.
The truth is not religious.
To seek the truth is the highest endeavour for any human being.
That is the very thing that sets us free.
I am preaching on Sunday and I agree with this. Religion is man's view of God and His commandments. God never asked to be defined by men other than the apostles who wrote by The Holy Spirit and they did a beautiful job. But certainly not uninspired hypocrite pretenders riding around in private jets for the sake of Christ who carried his own cross.
I'm not saying there's no need for a church or worship because Jesus truly died for her to sanctify His church so they we would come together and worship but as for the truth being gatekept by those who "understand God" against those seeking to know it makes me vomit.
The bible is written at a 6th grade reading level but even today few open it's pages to read it. If anyone has questions just please read the Bible (Only).
Yes, they are all false gods. We are called to seek the truth. Jesus declares he is the way the truth and the life. I have sought that and find Him to be true. Religion just tries to package a version of the truth so that we can just believe without seeking. The bottom line is this. Seeking is the only way. Once you see the truth everything else is just a shadow
Agape Love is different from all other forms of so called love.
Agape Love is a decision to love others even if they do not return that love or even if they are your enemy and want you destroyed.
That entire concept makes absolutely no sense unless their is something higher than self.
Jesus died for the sins of the world. He died while the world was busy trying to destroy Him.
Once you see and understand that higher form of Love you are giving a new vision of reality.
You can choose to reject that vision because it violates everything you used to hold dear. Or you can embrace that vision and be set free. It's not easy and the world will mock you every step of the way if you take that path. The world just does not understand
When Jesus spoke to people he went out of his way to make it hard for people to follow Him. Churches today go out of their way to make it easy to follow Him.
Jesus would say things like this
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
When Jesus saw many people coming to Him he went up the mountain and sat down. Forcing the people to follow Him up the mountain. His followers came to HIm. Notice not all the people went up the mountain only those that choose to follow Him. (matt 5)
Jesus would speak in parables that confused many. Those parables were disigned to separate believers and unbelievers. Matt: 13 11-14
Those same parables pointed to various peoples and their reaction to the gosple.
the parable of the sower of the seeds (Matt 13:3)
the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14) basically saying religion is not the way.
The point is this. religion offers a set of easy to understand rules to find God.
To truly follow Jesus we must take up our cross not knowing where we will be walking tomorrow. It is hard because we do not want to give up control opf our lives.
Many disciples deserted Jesus because it seemed impossible to accept what He was saying. (John 6:60-66)
Jesus than turned to the 12 and said Are you also going to leave.
Simpn Peter replied, Lord to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
That is me now. I fight my faith all the time but I also know they are the words in eternal live. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors.
To sum it up. Christianity has nothing to do with paganism. Granted many christian churches have pagan elements.
You asked about the old testament.
I am trying to keep my answer simple. You can choose to seek the truth in this answer or not. That is your choice.
The new covenant (new testament) cast a shadow back in time. That shadow was the old testament. That shadow was preparing the way for the truth to a people that were not ready for that truth.
Just to make you aware. I real Christian is not religious.
Religion is just a box that attempts to contain and control something that cannot be contained and controlled.
That is..The Truth.
Whatever is contained and controlled is no longer the truth. It is just a shell. That shell is what people point to when they claim they are not religious.
The truth is not religious.
To seek the truth is the highest endeavour for any human being. That is the very thing that sets us free.
I am preaching on Sunday and I agree with this. Religion is man's view of God and His commandments. God never asked to be defined by men other than the apostles who wrote by The Holy Spirit and they did a beautiful job. But certainly not uninspired hypocrite pretenders riding around in private jets for the sake of Christ who carried his own cross.
I'm not saying there's no need for a church or worship because Jesus truly died for her to sanctify His church so they we would come together and worship but as for the truth being gatekept by those who "understand God" against those seeking to know it makes me vomit.
The bible is written at a 6th grade reading level but even today few open it's pages to read it. If anyone has questions just please read the Bible (Only).
Well said. Just curious, what are your thoughts on the truth. Do you believe the “god” of all the religions are the same god?
Yes, they are all false gods. We are called to seek the truth. Jesus declares he is the way the truth and the life. I have sought that and find Him to be true. Religion just tries to package a version of the truth so that we can just believe without seeking. The bottom line is this. Seeking is the only way. Once you see the truth everything else is just a shadow
What are your thoughts when some say that Christianity is just repackaged paganism? Does the Old Testament Offer truth in your opinion?
Agape Love is different from all other forms of so called love.
Agape Love is a decision to love others even if they do not return that love or even if they are your enemy and want you destroyed.
That entire concept makes absolutely no sense unless their is something higher than self.
Jesus died for the sins of the world. He died while the world was busy trying to destroy Him.
Once you see and understand that higher form of Love you are giving a new vision of reality.
You can choose to reject that vision because it violates everything you used to hold dear. Or you can embrace that vision and be set free. It's not easy and the world will mock you every step of the way if you take that path. The world just does not understand
When Jesus spoke to people he went out of his way to make it hard for people to follow Him. Churches today go out of their way to make it easy to follow Him.
Jesus would say things like this Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
When Jesus saw many people coming to Him he went up the mountain and sat down. Forcing the people to follow Him up the mountain. His followers came to HIm. Notice not all the people went up the mountain only those that choose to follow Him. (matt 5) Jesus would speak in parables that confused many. Those parables were disigned to separate believers and unbelievers. Matt: 13 11-14 Those same parables pointed to various peoples and their reaction to the gosple. the parable of the sower of the seeds (Matt 13:3) the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14) basically saying religion is not the way.
The point is this. religion offers a set of easy to understand rules to find God. To truly follow Jesus we must take up our cross not knowing where we will be walking tomorrow. It is hard because we do not want to give up control opf our lives. Many disciples deserted Jesus because it seemed impossible to accept what He was saying. (John 6:60-66) Jesus than turned to the 12 and said Are you also going to leave. Simpn Peter replied, Lord to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. That is me now. I fight my faith all the time but I also know they are the words in eternal live. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors.
To sum it up. Christianity has nothing to do with paganism. Granted many christian churches have pagan elements.
You asked about the old testament. I am trying to keep my answer simple. You can choose to seek the truth in this answer or not. That is your choice.
The new covenant (new testament) cast a shadow back in time. That shadow was the old testament. That shadow was preparing the way for the truth to a people that were not ready for that truth.
Thank you for your words of truth.
Our church where we used to live would say "God is too big to fit in any religion."
"I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life. " Famous quote of Jesus, who is the Door.