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Freedom of Speech

Here in the United States we are always talking about freedom of speech. I have to say I am in favor of it, yet many times the practice of it seems to be done in the wrong manner.

Freedom to say what we think, how we feel and what we believe should be the right of every individual. Done in the right way it should not be a problem for anyone. There are questions as to how far we go with this and what is beyond freedom in regard to the rights of others and disrespect towards others, but that is for another discussion.

The trouble starts when one group thinks they should be able to say what they think but the other group should not. Or one person is very judgmental and condemning in what they say and are very rude in their presentation. Or the person or group speaking thinks everyone should conform to their way of thinking.

Freedom of speech should be done in a respectful way. Make your point and speak your mind but do it in a way that is not mean and judgmental.

Also remember that we will all have different views and opinions and just because we are free to speak them out, we should be accepting and respectful towards others whose views are going to be different.

Most of the time we would rather fight and argue over opinions, trying to prove ourselves right and the other person wrong. Name calling gets started and it ends up in a mean free-for-all and nothing gets accomplished.

Just because we have the right to say what we think, we have to realize that it is only our opinion. Not everyone will agree with what we say and we should be respectful of others opinions.

It would be best if we could say what we think in a kind and respectful manner, yet I know that does not happen most of the time. By being mean and condescending towards others we usually cause people to be defensive and respond in the same rude manner.

Enjoy your freedom of speech. Express yourself, give your views and opinions in a respectful way but allow the other person to have the same freedom. If we could express ourselves in this manner I think we would make more of an impact and we could actually have meaningful discussions with one another.

Days of Uncertainty

Living in these days of uncertainty, for me it is good to have a faith and trust in God. I know not everyone agrees with me on that and I certainly understand. This is just my opinion, but for myself and my wife we would not want to be without God in our world today.

We hear so many scary events going on in our world, threats of nuclear war, natural disasters and terrorism.

Here in the US it seems that sometimes we over-react to certain groups of people and do things that not always seem so Christ-like. We do things and say things that I just do not think we would see Jesus doing or saying.

We are told in the bible to put our trust in God, cast our cares on him and do not worry about events going on in the world.

We are also told to love God and love one another, yet we see so much hate and unacceptance even coming from fellow Christians.

Here in the United States we have a wide variety of beliefs, ideas and interpretations all falling under various labels. Labels such as christian, atheist, religious, LGBT, straight, asexual, male, female, black, white, illegal alien, nationalist, republican, democrat and such. Yet we need to remember behind each of the labels is a person who we are to love, accept and treat with the love of God.

We obviously will not agree with one another or see eye to eye with all the different views in the world, but we should be able to look past those differences and love the person who was created in the image of God.

In the organized church I have found we have been taught many things that may not necessarily be exactly as we have been told. Most of us, me included, have been taught a lot of things we take as truth without checking out for ourselves.

Most of us do not know Greek or Hebrew. Most of us do not have access to anything other than the current versions of the bible. I think I am safe in saying that many of us do not do a lot of in-depth studying for ourselves. We seem to take the teachings of a particular pastor or evangelist as gospel truth.

I am finding that this is not a good thing to do. We are told in the scriptures that we have the mind of Christ. We are also told the Holy Spirit lives within us and we have no need for anyone to teach us. To me that says we should stop focusing on listening to only a few people tell us their versions and interpretations and listen for the voice of the Spirit to guide us into his truth.

We find ourselves listening to one person give their explanation of the bible and we do not even check into it for ourselves and seek the guidance of the Spirit to see what is the correct way of interpretation.

We have been taught for so long in the institutional church that God is up in heaven and he shows up now and then at a special church service. We are in the frame of mind that we can only hope to find the will of God while we are in this current world.

The truth is, the bible makes it clear the Spirit of God lives within us. God is not a person that resides in one place. God is spirit. God is not male or female, white or black. He is not an American or a republican. God is spirit and God lives within us. He is closer that we can imagine and it is time we begin to realize this truth and listen for the still, small voice of the Spirit from within.

For me, I feel it is time to put our trust and faith in God and not worry about all the things going on in our world today. Worry will only affect our health and make us miserable. We cannot do anything about most of these things anyway. God promised to be with us always and that he would never leave us. Whether in the physical world or the spiritual world, having the God of the universe tell us he is with us and loves us is the best thing I can imagine.

The goal of myself and my wife is to become more and more accepting of all people. We all have different personalities, different ways of life and different beliefs but there is no reason why we cannot be respectful and kind to one another. Rather than attack LGBT people, people of different nationalities and color, people of different faith or no faith, look past the differences and see a human being who can be a good friend in your life.

This is one thing for me that has become more and more evident after leaving the institutional church. The organization that should be known for its love, so much of the time is known more for what it is against and for showing judgment and condemnation against people who see things differently. I think it is time for this to come to an end.

We do not have to agree with one another, we do not have to condone what we do not agree with and we do not have to participate in things we feel for us is not right. Yet we are called to love one another even in the differences, and we can be kind and accepting to all people without pushing our personal views on them.

So, in this day of uncertainty focus on the love of God. Put your trust in him and walk each day in the power of the Spirit, letting the love of God touch each person you meet throughout the day.

Replacing church for Church

Several of my past articles have mentioned modern day church and how it is off base from what it was intended. I want to make clear that I am not against church, but I also want to make clear what I mean when I say church.

Normally when the word church is mentioned, we all think of a building we go to on a certain day to learn about and worship God. We also think in terms of how much we go to church as being a guide to how spiritual we are, or how close we are to God. We think the doctrines, rules and regulations placed on us by the church are ways to make us better Christians.

I think we need to reset our thinking. The Church is not a building. The Church is the bride of Christ, all of us who are saved by grace. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The building is just a place where we can meet and conduct spiritual meetings. It is another place to enjoy christian fellowship. Rather than see church as a place we go, we are to be the Church daily living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and showing the love of God to all people.

Another area where we confuse the meaning of words is in regard to the word of God. When we talk about the word of God we usually think of the Bible. The Bible is inspired by God, but the true living Word of God is Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Jesus is the Word of God.

Far to often we christians put to much emphasis on the Bible, sometimes even thinking of it as part of the trinity. Remember it is not Father, Son and Holy Bible. Again, the Bible is written by men but is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. It is certainly profitable to read the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but we need to focus on the fact that the Word of God is alive and living within each of us as followers of Christ.

Although it may seem unimportant on how we think of church or the Bible, I think it is very important that we understand what is really meant. The old mindset of a building and a book need to be replaced with the fact that the Church are those of us who are redeemed through the blood of Christ and the Word of God is Christ Himself, alive and living within us.

New Year, New Beginnings

Here we are into a new year already. This is the time many of us have a sense of excitement for new beginnings. We make resolutions to do better at various things in life, whether it is exercise, our spiritual life, eating or treating people better.

My wife and I have stopped making resolutions since we usually, like many, forget about them within the month.

On the other hand, we would like to continue on our walk outside the walls of religion and the many religious rules it puts upon us.

We are going to continue making new friends and get to know people who we were told to stay away from when we were in the organization. We were supposed to associate with people who believed in God and people who mostly believed like the denomination we were part of at the time.

We feel that Jesus came to show us that God loves people. Jesus associated with all kinds of people from all walks of life. They were not all godly people or people the religious leaders of the day would even dream of being seen spending time.

What we have found over the last few years is that people are basically the same. We all have our own beliefs, interests and ways of life. Yet behind the labels that are placed on us we are all human beings in need of love, acceptance, fellowship with others and a fulfilled life.

We all go about finding those things in different ways. Just because we see things differently is no reason to separate ourselves from one another. There is no reason we cannot respect one another, accept one another and treat each other as equals.

Many christian people think this view is very wrong and we should only associate with other believers. They feel christians should judge and condemn those who do not believe as they do and stay away from them until they come to Christ. They seem to think that if we accept people as they are we are condoning what the other person is doing.

My wife and I just do not see things that way. Obviously none of us are going to agree or condone everything other people do, yet we can accept others as human beings, treat them with respect and enjoy time talking and learning about their views. We believe we are all loved by God just as we are, and we believe we are to show that same love to others.

Many times we read in the bible how God treats the righteous and unrighteous equally. We read how God loves all people whether they love him or hate him. We are told to love our enemies and do good to those who treat us bad.

In the New Testament we are told to love God and love our neighbor. Of course our neighbor is not just the person who lives next door but any and all that we come in contact with during the day.

So, we are anxious each day to meet another one of God’s creation. Maybe it will be someone that believes like us, maybe it will be someone who is completely opposite from our views. We just pray that no matter who we meet or what they believe, we will be guided by the Holy Spirit to show love and acceptance, and to enjoy our time together.

Last Post for 2017

Well here we are at the end of another year. It can be a time of sadness in some cases, but usually it is a time of excitement and anticipation for a new beginning.

The past happenings of the year are either remembered as sad occurrences or as happy memories. Either way I think they help shape us into the person we are becoming.

Each new year seems to give us a sense of renewed purpose and goals of doing better, whatever that may mean to each of us. For some it is going to the gym, others want to read more or volunteer more. Many want to get closer to God while others want to distance themselves further from religious ways.

We are all different. We all have different ideas on life yet we are so similar in many ways. We all want to be loved and accepted. We all want to be happy and successful in life. We want to have a purpose and fulfill a meaning that is suited for us. My belief is we accept one another the way we are. We do not all agree or condone the actions of others, but we can still respect and treat each other kindly. We can be friends and still be as different as night is from day.

No matter how hard many of us christian people try, none of us have it all figured out. None of us have it all together and none of us have the right to force others to live, act or believe a certain way just because we think we are right. We are responsible for ourselves and as christians we are to let the love of God flow out to all people no matter if they agree with us or not. God said the Holy Spirit will draw people to the Father and will convict of sin where that is necessary. He only asks us to love God and love one another.

As this is the last post of the year I wanted to take a minute and thank each of you who take the time to read my articles. There are many different views and thoughts on life among my readers and I know not all agree with what I say and that is OK. I am not trying to force my views on others, I am just writing about how I feel and how I personally see things at this period of time. Each of us have our own views and opinions and we should be able to follow and share those views, and yet be accepting of others.

I also want to make sure that no matter who you are, what you believe, no matter what religion, race, sex, nationality, I consider you a friend and you are more than welcome to visit, read and post on this site.

I enjoy reading your posts and hearing different thoughts and ideas, but I do not get into debates. I see debates as trying to force my view on you or yours on me and I see no reason to try to force others to agree on things. I do encourage friendly discussion anytime.

So, until next year I hope each of you have a good holiday season. I am hopeful you will continue to visit my site and find encouragement, acceptance and friendship throughout the new year.

Christmas Memories

As the Christmas season progresses I have noticed spending time reflecting on memories of past Christmases. Have any of you done that? Maybe I should say any of you who are say, fifty-five or over.

Sometimes my mind starts to wander off into years past and I see myself with my parents. I can actually see it in my mind like I was there and I can sometimes smell some of the good smells of Christmas cookies baking in the oven.

It actually can get a little depressing when I wander off like that. Not because I did not enjoy that period of time, but because it is only a memory. Even while I am lost in thoughts from those years gone by, I am still aware of being in the present time. All those loved ones are now gone and are only memories.

I can also envision years not quite as far back when I was younger and had small children of my own. I can remember that excitement of my kids wanting to get up early and open their presents. Yet even thinking about those times gets a little depressing because again, those cute little kids are all grown up and have kids of their own. Again, the thoughts of joy and excitement are just memories.

It is funny how memories can be so uplifting and encouraging and bring so much joy, and at the same time can be so depressing. So many pleasant memories and happy times of friends and family being together. Then it all disappears as reality sets in and you know those times are gone.

I seem to be able to tell when it is time to get back to reality. If I think about the memories to long I can feel the depression start to hit me. I know it is time to snap out of it, put my mind on something else and get back into the present time.

In Philippians 3:13 it says ‘forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal’. I say live by Hebrews 11:1 … Now faith. We are Now living in the kingdom of God. We Now have the Spirit of God living within us. Enjoy your memories, learn from the past but do not dwell there. Move on and keep looking forward to the goal and live each new day with our Father.

So yes, Christmas time is a time of excitement and happy times. It is also enjoyable to drift back into the past and remember all the good times with friends and family. Yet if you let it, it can be a hard time of year. The best thing I have found is to enjoy the good times with friends and family in the present. Do not let anything keep you from participating or ruin the time you can spend with them. All to soon they will be but memories, but thank God for the memories.

Your Opinion Will Get You in Trouble

Have you noticed that no matter what your opinion or what you believe, just post that thought online and see how many people you get stirred up because they disagree. So many people are ready to argue and try to prove their way is right.

Do you ever get fed up with all the bickering, arguing and disagreements we have over spiritual matters? I sure do.

We all have opinions, interpretations, beliefs and our way of seeing things. Naturally we are not going to agree with everyone, yet I do not see the purpose of going into long back-and-forth debates trying to prove each other wrong.

Some people love to debate. We all have things we enjoy and like to do and for some getting into long, drawn out debates is a joy.

Others, like me would rather have a short and friendly time of commenting and let it go. I see no reason to debate and try to get others to change their views and see things my way.

In the bible is says ‘if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone’. To me that is saying do not worry about the differences we have or the various ways of thinking. Let each person have their own views and accept that others will see things differently.

Each of us should be able to reason, learn and decide for ourselves what we feel is right. Not only in Christianity but in life itself. It seems many of us want to control others and tell them how to live or point out what we think are their sins and mistakes. In regard to the lives of believers the bible states, ‘who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand’. As followers of Jesus he is our master. Each of us are serving him and are responsible to him, not other people.

I know we can all learn from one another, yet our main source of learning is hearing from the Father through the Holy Spirit who lives within us. We can be guided by the Spirit through the bible and many times through other people, but our allegiance is not to men, governments, pastors or anyone else. We are to follow after our perfect example who is Jesus.

I have decided that for me it is best to be open to hear from others, listen to what they say, seek the guidance of the Spirit as to what I have heard and then move on. If God has something for me to learn from what others say that is great. If what someone says does not resonate with me through the Spirit I move on and let that person have their own view and stick with what makes sense to me.

If we could all follow this way of thinking I think we would get along without all the bickering, arguing and back-biting I see in our world today. Accept one another, respect one another and love one another in the power of the Spirit. Realize it is not wrong to have varying ways of thought. Remember we are called to love God, love our neighbor and look out for the good of others.

For those outside the life of faith we are to treat them the same way. Again, that does not mean we agree or even condone what others do, but we are still to love them with the love of Christ and treat them as our neighbor. The Spirit will convict people of things that need to be changed, it is not our job to judge, convict and condemn people. We are called to love them with a godly love that can only come through the power of the Spirit that is within us.

So, have your opinion, share your opinion in love and be ready to hear and accept the opinions of others even when they disagree.

What Do I Mean When I Say Christian?

Christianity can mean a couple different things and it depends on what meaning we are using as to how I feel about it.

If, when talking about being a Christian, we mean we are following Christ, acting like Christ and living like Christ, I am all for being called a Christian.

Usually these days the word Christian means more about the religion of Christianity. Just like Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Baha’i, Shinto, Taoism and a host of others, Christianity is a religion controlled by men. It is divided up into many various denominations, doctrines and biblical interpretations. Contrary to popular belief Jesus did not start the Christian religion.

Here in the United States we are so proud to say that America is a Christian nation. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with that idea. America is a country made up of many religions and beliefs. The good thing in this country is that we are not forced to be a part of any religion or belief. We have many freedoms that are not found in other places and I am thankful for that fact. We are free to choose what we want to believe, who we want to follow and we have the right to express that without fear of punishment.

Following Christ is not about a religion. I actually think it is better sometimes not to use the word Christian because of all the religious thoughts and ideas it brings up. Religion is a man-made, organized system that divides more than anything. We separate into groups that meet in buildings on set days and at set times saying we welcome anyone, yet only want those who feel the same way we do.

It bothers me to see so many who profess to be Christians, those who believe in God and Jesus and spreading His love to others, who argue and fight with those who think differently. We are supposed to be known for our love for others and love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Still, it seems a lot of Christians are more interested in defending their personal views and thoughts, getting mad and arguing amongst themselves while those outside the faith are looking at them and wondering why they need to have Christ in their lives.

Now, talking about Christianity in the sense that we are following Christ, living like Him and treating others like Jesus treated people, this is an entirely different thing. As mentioned in Acts 11:26, the disciples were first called Christians by the people of Antioch because they saw the disciples acting so much like Christ. To me, this is the true meaning of a Christian.

True Christianity is a community of people who act like Christ and let him love through them. It is a daily life and is not separated into normal living and religious living. It is not specifically following set doctrines or following rules of do’s and don’ts. It is not meeting in a building once a week listening to one person talk, singing a few songs, shaking hands and going home. It is not a system of leaders who are on a higher level than others. Those who have gifts of leadership lead by example, lead as equals, and lead by a servant spirit to encourage and build up their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They are not to lead by power or a position of authority.

True Christianity is a daily life following the leading of the Spirit. It is meeting with those we come in contact with along our daily routine and showing the love of Christ. It is eating together, laughing and crying together, accepting one another, talking and discussing our thoughts and views.

As followers of Christ, we are to love others, accept others, and treat others with compassion, respect and love. We do not have to agree with everyone, just accept them. We can agree to disagree and love people just as they are. Everyone does not have to be just like us and they do not have to believe like us. They should be able to be themselves and we as Christ followers should be OK with it.

It is time to stop being a Christian in the sense of religion and focus on Jesus and let Him live through us. After all, we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ, God lives within us. There is no reason why we cannot love and accept others just like Christ loves and accepts everyone.

Issues of Serving the Public

Over the past few months we have heard stories about government workers not granting marriage licenses in certain circumstances. We have read of bakers and florists refusing to fulfill the request of people because it violated their personal religious convictions.

Most of the time the stories I have heard are in regard to LGBT people, although I am sure it happens to other people also.

I have thought about this a lot and figured I would give my two cents worth on the subject. Obviously this is only my opinion and I know there are many other views on this matter.

I feel that no matter what label is placed on us as human beings, each individual is a person deserving of respect and equal treatment. No group of people are more or less important than another.

In regard to government officials, they take an oath to serve the public and to do so according to law. When a person such as Kim Davis refuses to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples based on her religious beliefs, I feel she is breaking the law and should be punished accordingly. If she believes so strongly on this issue, she should have resigned from her position. When you take an oath to serve the public it is no longer about your personal convictions. It is about upholding what the law says is available to all people.

People in private businesses such as bakers and florists are a little different. I believe they are in business to make money and serve the public and they should serve everyone equally. Although unlike government it is a private business and it is the decision of the owners as to the convictions they follow and the treatment they give to their customers. In that regard, if they choose to treat someone badly and not serve them they should not complain when they receive bad ratings, boycotts, the loss of business and possible lawsuits.

I feel no matter what label is placed upon us, we are all human beings. We are all deserving of equal treatment, equal rights, respect and acceptance. That does not mean we all have to agree with one another, but we can treat people fairly even with our differences.

When we, and especially those of us who profess to follow Christ, treat people with condemnation, unfairness, disrespect, judgment and sometimes down right hatred we are showing a spirit of anti-Christ and not of love.

Jesus came to show us the love of God. He provided grace for all of us out of love. As his followers we are also to be known for our love. To me, treating others unfairly just because they do not believe the same things we believe, or because they see things differently or do not act the way we think they should is not living by the love of God or showing that love to others.