You're a Christian? Whatever...

"The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross." ~ 1 Corinthians 2 8-9

Once I became a Christian I thought I'd joined the Christian Club. My spiritual life was going to revived after six years in a desert! How joyful I would be; life was finally right-side-up and I was right with God. I was worshiping, praising God, smiling at my new Christian friends, hugging, praying, confessing, boy, I felt like a million bucks in this new club! I was flying so high, I couldn't see the ground. Someone "not so kindly" told me I'd hit the ground in a year or two. That's the kind of encouragement you can expect when you become a Christian. Other comments, from well-meaning family, were, "you're no fun anymore," or "you've ruined everything."

I expected this from non-Christians, but imagine my surprise when I learned a thing or two about my new Christian peeps.

Slowly, not all at once, but slowly, I began to learn that some of my new Christian friends were, say, unreliable, procrastinators, egotistic, alcoholics, and... well, just like everybody else. Then I began to see why us Christians get a bad rap with being hypocritical. We can get just as bogged down in legalistic, theologies, rules and regulations as anybody. We say one thing and do another. Guilty as charged. But it sucks when it's pointed out.

I've wanted to write about this being-found-out issue, and had started this article but nothing really pushed me to finish it until the other day.

I know I'm a Christian because I believe Jesus Christ atoned my sins by death on the cross and was resurrected, and that he offers me eternal life. I study the Word, but I'm trying to change directions from some very old well-worn paths--and which Christian isn't? My writings here are not perfect, you'll find theological inconsistencies, some contradictions of thought, and some snarly behavior. But my path is consistent with what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, that when people become Christians they don't immediately make nice.

"Conversion to Christ and his ways doesn’t automatically furnish a person with impeccable manners and suitable morals." The Message

But Paul addresses something else to the Corinthians. The beginning of introducing Jesus Christ.

You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else. ~ 1 Cor 2 1-5 The Message

This is exactly how I felt when I first started Turtle-Dove. Satan weighed right in on the matter. He sat me down and clearly pointed out how I knew nothing about being a Christian so just exactly would I write about? Wasn't there already millions of Christian's blogs out there? Boring.

Next, he assured me that sharing my last foray into this "God thing" was cult-ish at best, so why would anyone believe I'd found "the way" now? Duped once, duped twice. Right? Then, he told me that there were so many branches of Christianity that I couldn't possibly settle on one, anyways, I was going to embarrass myself and do nothing for the faith. He said I didn't know enough about the Bible to really have an opinion, and no one was going to listen to me anyways and this blog would die in the blog sphere. He was very understanding of my dilemma and I almost listened to him.

But I didn't. Satan is a liar and a deceiver.

So, I just started reading, studying God's word and wrote about what I felt God wanted me to write about. I've been extremely reserved about sharing my past religion, not because I fear them, but because I do not promote hate, and we do need tolerance--but tolerance does not obliterate the Truth, nor can I discount my life in a spiritual quagmire for almost 30 years as now meaning nothing.

Paul was not worried about offending anyone in sharing Jesus Christ, or making mistakes. He died for his belief in Jesus Christ. If he'd sought to be a perfect Christian after picking himself off the road to Damascus, he would have entered a monastery, not hit the road running to share what he'd experienced there.

As a Christian writer who keeps a blog, I have reached out to a few other blog writers. If I see something that I can add or correct, or wish to contribute, I'll email that writer. When we reach out in this world we become vulnerable. That's just a fact. Being vulnerable isn't a place I like to stay long, as I've been hurt by total strangers on the Internet. Because I am a Christian, I've been persecuted without provocation. Especially by people who were wounded in a religion, as they usually turn to atheism, or Buddhism, or a take a radical stance on a particular theology. I understand this because I had a difficult time with the word "meditation" even though we can meditated on God without trying to be God.

Now, I reached out to a group who denounces the Word of Faith Moment because they'd written about cults and I thought I could add another perspective. My bad because I didn't realize they were so outspoken about the WOF movement they'd go through my blog with a fine-tooth-comb. It helps to do some research before extending the branch.

I received a reply by one of the writers who felt that because I supported Joyce Meyers Ministries (in a monetary way) I am still in a cult, and practicing Hindu-Light. He also denounced me as a Christian.

Welcome to radical judgement from the body of Christ. We don't need atheists.

Now, my work here is to write about what I know within my own personal experiences. I can't take on the world of religions or theologies. I won't do the work of the Lord, which will be fulfilled on judgement day. I'm not sure I even have a deeper objective, other than I enjoy writing about my own freedom in Jesus Christ after nearly 30 years of being on a razor's edge, and if the Holy Spirit wants to work in the readers hearts, then wonderful!

It's really up to each individual to do their own scriptural study and not follow anyone blindly. I learned the hard way, and I gather from this man's response, so has he. I'm not sure who his offender was in the WOF movement, but he followed someone down their path and he was wounded.

Sometimes we just get very enamored by charismatic people and we get hoodwinked into their spin on things, and next thing we know we're in the middle of Works. It happens. Not only in churches but in marriages and businesses and friendships.

Everything we need to know about God is between Genesis and Revelations. That doesn't mean I don't read other books, because I do, but we start with the Word.

I truly felt a "no thank you" from this group would have been appropriate, rather than name calling and making judgements.

When other Christians start demanding other Christians to obey they're way of thinking, I always go back to 1 Corinthians. I think, if only that person would have read the Word before they responded to a fellow Christian.

Let's say we get some theologies wrong. Let's say our ministry is not perfect, or it's grown from several years ago, or mistakes were made. Do we reject those who bring people to the Lord? Not according to Paul. God is working through us, straighting out the kinks and it takes time.

What does Paul say about this behavior amongst Christians? Let's look at 1 Corinthians.

I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.

I bring this up because some from Chloe’s family brought a most disturbing report to my attention—that you’re fighting among yourselves! I’ll tell you exactly what I was told: You’re all picking sides, going around saying, “I’m on Paul’s side,” or “I’m for Apollos,” or “Peter is my man,” or “I’m in the Messiah group.”

I ask you, “Has the Messiah been chopped up in little pieces so we can each have a relic all our own? Was Paul crucified for you? Was a single one of you baptized in Paul’s name?” I was not involved with any of your baptisms—except for Crispus and Gaius—and on getting this report, I’m sure glad I wasn’t. At least no one can go around saying he was baptized in my name. 16(Come to think of it, I also baptized Stephanas’s family, but as far as I can recall, that’s it.)

God didn’t send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn’t send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.

The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It’s written,

I’ll turn conventional wisdom on its head,

I’ll expose so-called experts as crackpots.

So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn’t God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.

The Message 1 Cor 1:10 - 21