Christianity 101

My Ways, My Afflictions

I was going to post this yesterday morning. 🙁

“I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies” (Psalm 119:59).

We all need to periodically evaluate our ways. Daily, I suppose. May the result of such self-analysis cause me to turn back to God’s ways or to reaffirm myself in those ways.

“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word” (Psalm 119:67).

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalm 119:71).

“Good for me”? Well, it’s a matter of perspective, no? If affliction brings me into compliance with God’s Word, then it’s a good thing. Right?

“The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver” (Psalm 119:72).

What a great verse to come across when all kinds of things financial and economic are staggering and collapsing all around us! (Now if that girl who is auctioning off her “virtue” would grab ahold of that verse!)

Well, what say you?

Christians Without Borders

I don’t usually read Covenant News but the above headline caught my attention. Here you have the opening and closing paragraphs, with my own title borrowed from the body:

Our Banner, Our Emblem, Our Flag of Allegiance

The relationship between church and state continues to be a subject of great interest and importance to me, particularly the dangers of statism and its inevitable by-product, nation-worship. For example, I think the flying of the American flag in our churches is a bad idea. In my opinion, it sends all the wrong messages. For one thing, it confuses the kingdom of God with the kingdom of man. We wonder, “Where does America stop and Christianity begin?” For another thing, Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. It transcends tribe and nationality. And it is God’s primary agent of activity in the world. Because of this, the nation-state is always seeking to usurp Christ’s kingdom authority. Allegiance to the nation replaces (or at least actively competes with) allegiance to Christ.

[…]

There is reason for thinking that if Christians could look, not at their own country, but at a man – the God-Man whose kingdom unites people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation – there would be no need for displays of national patriotism in their churches. By its very nature, the church is different from any other society on earth. And the cross, not the flag, is the point of intersection between the church and the world. The cross of Jesus Christ is the secret of being in the world without being of it. It is the source of freedom for us to be given to the world as broken bread and poured-out wine. It is our banner, our emblem, our flag of allegiance. Let us fly it high!

Here is some further reading from one of my own sites:

God Loves Muslims

Floyd McClung writes:

How would Jesus respond to Muslims? We know how. He would treat them like he treated the Samaritan woman at the well, the Roman centurion who came to Him for help, and the tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus would treat Muslims like he treated Simon the Zealot – the Zealots were urban terrorists of the day – he would invite him to follow Him! Jesus would treat Muslims like he treats you and me. With love, respect, and huge compassion and amazing grace.

One of the greatest challenges we face as followers of Jesus in today’s world is how to respond to Muslims and violence in the Middle East. Some believers are fearful that Muslims are our enemy and are “out to destroy our way of life.”

Should we circle the wagons in alarm and fear? Should we warn everyone how bad Muslims are and alert people of their plots to “destroy our nation,” as one American believer said to me?

No fear! No hatred! No, none for us who follow Jesus. We have a calling from God to love Muslims. They are not our enemy. The real enemy wants us to see people as our enemy.

He’s right, of course.

But will the average Christian accept that?

“This is my future.”

Namrata Nayak

I learned about this astounding child from Steve Schippert. Here’s a little bit of what The Anchoress has to say:

Namrata Nayak knows who she is. At 10 years of age, she understands the world in ways many of us never will, no matter how long we tread the stony paths.

[…]

But I will let her speak for herself, because Namrata Nayak does not need anyone to speak for her. Observe her astonishing and heroic witness.

“The world has seen my face destroyed by the fire, now it must come to know my smile full of love and peace…I want to dedicate my life to spreading the Gospel.”

“[W]e forgive the Hindu radicals who attacked us, who burned our homes…They were out of their minds, they do not know the love of Jesus. For this reason, I now want to study so that when I am older I can tell everyone how much Jesus loves us. This is my future.”

And here:
“Christmas is a time to thank the baby Jesus who saved me from the fire and saved my face which was disfigured and wounded…There is so much pain and suffering, and I don’t know how long the special forces will protect us,” she told Asia News. “But Christmas is a time of gratitude. I am afraid that my people will still be attacked, but this is our life. If God has saved me, he can save other Christians too.”

God bless you and keep you and use you even more, Namrata.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).

“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein” (Luke 18:17).

Does the Golden Rule Apply?

Suppose I’m at WalMart and see an item with a price that’s so “too good to be true” that it must be a mistake. Say a normally $300 digital camera for $30. So I attempt to purchase it for $30…and succeed.

What should I do in such a case?

  1. Tell the store management about the matter.
  2. Tell family and friends about the “great deal that’s surely a mistake so you’d better buy a camera before they discover and rectify the mistake.”
  3. Blog about it here so you can “check your local WalMart for the same or similar goofs.”
  4. Buy as many of those cameras as I can so I can resell them at a profit.

What say you?

And why?

Above all, love God!