Some time ago, a young man asked me several questions about Christianity.
Noting his confusion as we talked, I asked, “Do you know what a Christian is?” “Sure” he said. “It’s someone who goes to church; one who does good works. I know: It’s someone who loves his neighbor. Right?”
I said, “Well, all that is included in being a Christian, but there’s more to it.”
“Really? How about one who thinks positive thoughts and prays a lot?”
“No. Many non-Christians do that, too.”
“Well then, what about a person who teaches Bible studies? Or who preaches? Yeah, I know: how about being a missionary?”
“That doesn’t define a Christian, either.”
Mystified, he said, “I thought Christians did all that!”
“Yes, various Christians do all that, but so do many non-Christians. Some
people preach and teach about the Bible out of a sense of duty. Many think of preaching as a vocation or think they are helping God by preaching. That’s how it was with John and Charles Wesley. They preached about Jesus for several years and led prayer meetings. They even started a Believer’s Club and were missionaries before they, themselves, accepted Christ into their lives.”
“Okay; I guess I don’t know. You tell me: what is a real Christian?”
“I’ll be glad to. They were first called Christians in Antioch. That’s a town in what we now call Turkey. Pagans used the word ‘Christian’ to mock the followers of Christ by accusing them of trying to imitate Jesus.”
“So, a Christian is someone who tries to act like Jesus?”
“Yes, but not in a phony or hypocritical way. Real Christians are truly learning to be like Jesus. The word Christian means of Christ or like Christ.”
“Oh, come on now – do you expect me to believe that? I mean, I consider myself a Christian but I don’t act like Jesus.”
Acknowledging his honesty, I read First John 3:2 to him; “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and we have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him, because we will see him the way he really is.”
“All right then; how do I become like Jesus?” he asked.
“You can become like someone if you know him personally – or have studied him. I know my mom & dad because I spent time with them through the years, and got to know him very well. In the same way, you will get to know Jesus by reading and studying the Bible and praying. Joining a Bible study will help. Read the Gospel of John, chapters 5-10 and ask Jesus to show you how to live and think. You’ll need to ponder or contemplate what Romans 12:2 says: ‘Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.’ God won’t change your thinking for you, and you can’t do it without His help. It’s a team effort. And you should keep in mind that your actions are a result of your thinking.
“The reason so many Christians act like and talk like the distorted world is that they want to be accepted by their worldly friends. Because even many Christians don’t understand what Christianity really is, they put more importance on identification with and acceptance of people than on living for and honoring Jesus. That results in confused Christians and a weak church – even increases confusion in the non-Christian world.
“If a child grows up in the South, he’ll talk like a southerner. But if he grows up in the North, he’ll talk like a northerner because we act and sound like the people we spend time with. Therefore, identifying with people who live a lifestyle that does not honor Christ, trains us to reject Christ and Christianity, while avoiding those worldly lifestyles can give us time to learn to live a Godly life.
“Basically, a Christian is: One who has repented of sin, who has been forgiven by our Heavenly Father, who has decided to turn away from things that offend God, and who chooses to actively live for Him. These are only a few of the identification marks of a Christian, and it takes a person of high integrity to openly and publicly identify with Christ. Christians are not perfect, but they’re going in the right direction. Jesus publicly gave Himself as a sacrifice for us; 
are you willing to publicly proclaim that you will live for Jesus?”
The young man said, “You just taught me a lot. I want to think about it.”
Dear reader, will you think about it, too?
and said, “Jim, my car’s gone.” Jim said, “No; you parked it right over … Oh No! It is gone!”
So, what do you consider to be your property? Clothing? Car? truck? Horses and cattle? Your job? House and land? Do you really own these things? You do if no one could ever take them from you. However, our government thinks they own everything. Quit paying taxes and some government official will assist you with their understanding. And don’t forget about thieves, landslides, earthquakes, and fires.
gifts are given by God. So God retains ownership of the wisdom, skills, and gifts, while loaning them to us.
God didn’t create robots, so He doesn’t control us. But with God’s help, we can own, possess, or control our emotions, desires, and passions; and while using God’s things for their intended purpose, we leave the ownership to God.
have my doctorate and you Christians are ignorant!” He then victoriously stomped away. This young man was not inquiring for knowledge, insight, or help in any manner. Rather, he had an agenda to boost his own ego by publicly disparaging me in an argumentative manner.
don’t realize their “audience” has tuned them out. There is a saying in the military: “The myth of communication is that it has taken place.”
of others, we mature in our own character. Ziglar teaches that when we enable others to succeed, we also are enabled to “reach the top.” Maxwell teaches that we reach greatness as we endeavor to help others succeed.
a corresponding restraining order. His children – one was nine years old and the other fifteen – were afraid of him. Simply put, he was an alcoholic and was abusive to his wife and kids.
yet effectively perform his vocational responsibilities. As with so many alcoholics, he thought he was hiding the problem; but his friends, vocational associates, and family were covering for him.
was God.” Joe wondered who the Word was, so he kept reading. Verse fourteen started with, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us….”
If you are facing frustration, misery, and confusion, don’t end your life. Instead, start a new life with the One Who loves you and died for you. Turn to Jesus. He might not solve all your problems, but He can guide you and help you do what’s necessary to solve them. And find a Christ-honoring friend who can lead you in the right direction.
surfing the grandest of all tsunamis? David creating a giant headache? They are all-time favorites for most of the church, but have you considered the story of Gideon?
I can’t tell the whole story here, but look at several data points. The Angel of the Lord chose Gideon to do an impossible job. When Gideon destroyed the village idol as a result of the angelic visit, the townsfolk wanted to kill him. I laugh when reading what Joash, Gideon’s dad, said, “If Baal is a god, let him fight for himself. It’s his altar that has been pulled down.”
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gave them an excellent battle-plan. I encourage you, both reader and church, to support them financially. The Gideons pay the overhead themselves, so every dollar you give buys Scriptures – and saves lives.
(student) who properly divides (discerns and understands) the word of truth.”
a different way to attempt to gain salvation; a different way to try to go to heaven. But it can’t be done. It’s teaching a different understanding of Jesus Christ, or a teaching about a different Jesus altogether such as the cosmic christ. 
began recounting my stuff: lawn mower, chain saw, pickup truck, hand tools.… But I didn’t get very far when the missionary interrupted me and said, “You apparently didn’t understand the question.”
by naming several items: clothing, car, surfboard, animals, land, business. What else came to your mind? But do you really own these things? Read the definition again.
In Psalms 50:10-11 God said, “Every animal of the forest is already mine. The cattle on a thousand hills are mine. I know every bird on the mountains, and every living thing in the fields is mine.”
So God gives us abilities, talents, skills, and property; but we erroneously focus on them and too often think we own them. Friends, we don’t even own our abilities. God loans them to us, but we can lose them in a moment by accident or sickness.
There is nothing wrong with having things as long as we understand that we are only stewards of the things that we bought – with the money God helped us to earn. So, use things for their intended purpose and get the job done.
with a snake in the Garden of Eden. Do you really believe that non-sense?”
serpent, whale, sea monster, river monster, dinosaur, fiery serpent, majestic beings, seraphim, afraid, worms, and crawling. The word for serpent in Genesis 3:1 is nachash and has been rendered serpent; not because it was a snake, but because it hissed. In medieval literature we read that witches hissed. This word hiss means to prognosticate (know the future), whisper a magic spell or an enchantment. Snakes cannot do that, and that is the first clue that the serpent was not an animal.
(feathered serpent depicted here), was the principal god of the Aztecs.
“Church” is not a building of any sort; it isn’t an ecclesiastical institution; and it is not a business. Having said that, the church meets in buildings, it is known through many identifiable denominations, and good business sense is mandatory. Simply put: the church consists of people – some mature, some not – most of whom abide by a common code of ethics and standard: the Bible.
body of Christ. And since we proclaim a high code of ethics as found in the Bible, we are expected to adhere to a higher standard, higher code of ethics, and higher morality than the world. The world is not expected to live up to our standard; but when we don’t, the world notices it. Therefore, when any of us violate our code of ethics, we not only let Jesus and the church down, we also let the world down. That’s why they view the Church as no better than they are and we become – you got it – hypocrites! 
Based on the nature of his questions, the person asking them had already concluded that there had been several ice ages and that the earth is becoming a greenhouse. I tried to discuss the topic with him, but having a prejudicial viewpoint, he refused any attempt at open bilateral discussion. Maybe he was hesitant to talk with someone with a scientific background – I don’t know.
colder; and it takes a few years to freeze large sections of fauna, flora, and the earth. Many smaller animals would freeze rapidly and in the oscillation of the daily temperatures they would thaw and be eaten by predators, or rot. And without thinking it through, many folk infer that the larger animals could also freeze solid at glacial temperatures without decomposition setting in. However, the larger animals would die at a slower rate, and because of the body mass and internal heat they would begin decomposing before they completely froze.
research about how cold the home freezer should be. (By the way, it should be set between 0o F to +5o F.) In that research we found that in order to freeze a 2 ton elephant and prevent the food in its mouth and stomach from digesting, the beast needs to freeze solid within 30-45 minutes; and to achieve that goal we need a temperature of 150o below zero Fahrenheit. And to freeze a 6-8 ton beast within 30-45 minutes requires a temperature of -250o F (minus 157o C). However, the coldest temperature ever recorded on earth is -128.6o F. That’s -89.2 C. Obviously, the evolutionary or uniformitarian ice age theories are not scientifically adequate to explain what we find in real life. But the Bible gives us hints as to what happened.
schools – both public and private. I believe we need to study reality more closely and teach our students more objectively.
Gene Linzey 