You think you’re better than me

Who rules? O’Doyle rules! O’Doyle rules! O’Doyle rules! If you have no idea what I am talking about…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsNgRmsx-14

A family thought they had it best, sadly their run came to a tragic end. You could say, that’s not me. I never did anything like that. While it’s just a movie, there is enough bullying you have experience in one of three ways, as the bully, the bullied or the stand by guy (Person who just watches but doesn’t do anything about it). Who is at fault more, the bully or the one who stands by and doesn’t nothing about it? Either way, it’s still wrong.

What makes one wrong better then another one? Paul talks a lot in chapter 3 of Romans about sin and how we all sin. I am not perfect. I am not Jesus, yet I live my life for him. Christians have a tendency to struggle with different sins and yet are completely judgmental against other sins. We pick and choose what is the deeper sin. Some might say…

·         I might smoke but I never watch rated R movies
·         I get drunk once every while but I have never done drugs
·         I look at porn but I didn’t have sex before marriage
·         I lie and gossip but I always encourage people when I see them face to face

Hypocrisy can look different in someone else’s eyes. This is a point Paul brings up in Romans 3:19ish-20 (The Message), “And it’s clear enough, isn’t it, that we’re sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God’s revelation doesn’t put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else’s sin.”

Just because you claim God and Jesus doesn’t mean you are perfect. Christians should never come across as perfect. One of the sad stories you hear is when a couple with kids goes to get divorced or live in a sham of a marriage and nobody has a clue. People are shocked and have no clue. Why? With all of the Sunday School, small groups, life groups, c groups and whatever else groups Church’s come up with, if you’re not honest, it doesn’t create true community. People put on a show that they have it all together, I noticed the one’s that think they have it all together are usually the opposite when people aren’t around.

There is a book for parents with young kids Everyone Poops, there could be one titled Everyone Sins. Paul makes sure we understand this from the greatest to the least, everyone sins. If you think you are better than anyone else, you are wrong. If you’re a Christian you are still a sinner. Shoot, Christians are attacked more because you know some things you do are sins.

Just like a bully, you can be wrong for being a bully and wrong for not doing anything to stop a bully. Generally, no one sin in greater than any other. You are not a greater person then your neighbor. So get of the judgmental horse and have a huge piece of humble pie. Rather than being so quick to judge others, what are ways you can improve as a person? Maybe it’s time to be honest with someone, or to quit judging and focus on getting something that is wrong with you right. You can’t expect others to improve when you aren’t even willing to improve yourself. You are a sinner just like everyone else, so there are still things in life you can improve. Don’t judge, just focus on what you can improve in.

Have a great day.

Giving up because of you

It’s all on you. Imagine if the good and the bad of people was blamed on you? People weren’t afraid to say you are the reason someone else isn’t held in high regard. What you did and how you act effects other people. This is true with faith. What if instead of a person it was God?

If you say one thing and do another it makes people question you. I was in high school and still trying to figure out what faith was all about.  I attended several different churches and talked about faith with several different friends. One friend invited me to church and infrequently I would go with him.

Seeing this guy at church and outside of church was a different world. This was a guy who drank, smoked, did drugs and would have sex with any girl he could. Once we got into church it was a different world. We were in a class and he was the one people looked up too. He had scripture memorized and would quote scripture as he talked. People would come up to him and tell him how amazing it is that he takes his faith so seriously. These same people would give me the dirtiest looks at church. A major reason I thought all Christians were hypocrites was because of friendships like this, people that lived one way and did another.

Paul calls out the people faithful to God at the time. In this case, if you were a follower of God during this time (Esp. before Jesus came) you were a Jew. Jesus was a Jew too. Romans 2 has some harsh words about these people that claimed faith but lived a different way. He said this in Romans 2:24, “As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

God is not lifted up among those without faith because of you. More and more studies show that most people have attended church for a while when they were younger and give it up after high school. One of the main reasons, Christians are hypocrites. They live one way Sunday morning and completely different during the week. When people know you are a Christian you represent God wherever you go.

Some people don’t mind representing God and are good examples of Jesus others are not. A while ago I talked to a student whose parent always talked down to them. This parent would say why aren’t you like Jimmy, Susie and Johnny (Made up people)? The student wanted to tell them because they drink, smoke and have sex all the time. This parent thought the people they mentioned were great Christians, but they had no idea. Little did they know their son was one that did none of the three.

We all make mistakes and misrepresent ourselves at times. As a Christian, I have done things that have turned people away from faith, I am not proud of that. I screw up and honestly don’t represent Jesus well at times. Yet Jesus forgives me and can forgive you too. Church was never meant for the perfect but the imperfect. The home of Jesus is meant for everyone no matter how righteous or unrighteous you are.

If someone has caused you to turn your back on God because of them, I’m sorry. Give God, Jesus and the Church another chance. What other place can you seek forgiveness like the Church? Don’t give up on Jesus because of the actions of a Christian. We can all make mistakes and God is a graceful and forgiving God. Jesus loves you.

Have a great day.

Facebook, homosexuality, gay marriage, judgmental Christians, who are we trying to represent?

It’s just not fair.

Facebook has been an interesting place lately.

It seems like it can be ok to be friends with someone until you say something they disagree with.

My friend David Vang put a saying up on Facebook, “Yes I am a Christian. No, I don’t think that makes me better than anyone.”

With politics, Chick-Fil-A, gay marriage and any other hot topic subject, sharing your view might not be accepted and you could be considered judgmental.

A couple of times I have shared on these subjects and some of the responses I get back aren’t positive.

It happens.

What the problem is, if people don’t share your exact view, you’re not ok with them.

I have seen where Christians have been bold with this and say, “I am just sharing the truth of God and I don’t care what other people think, God needs to be lifted up.”

While there is truth to this, it’s not always done in love.

I have heard people say Christians just persecute me for my views.

Don’t forget, Christians are the number 1 persecuted group in the world.

Just for wearing a cross or admitting you’re a Christian can be instant cause for death.

I am extremely sorry if you feel that Christians just persecute you.

Not all Christians are like that.

Sometimes you might miss the point of what we/Christians are trying to say.

Sometimes we say things in the wrong way.

This happens throughout history.

I shared yesterday about Paul being beat and people beating him without knowing why.

In Acts 21:38, we find out what they think of Paul…

“Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert some time ago?”

In other words, they had no idea who Paul was and what he represented.

Yet they still felt the needed to beat him up and they thought he was a different person.

Paul represented Jesus, and tried to share the message of Jesus with everyone.

Yet they thought he started a revolt and led 4,000 terrorist?

They didn’t know who Paul was.

Sometimes we don’t understand people and we are misunderstood.

As a Christian, I am sometimes misunderstood for what I represent.

This is who I am….

A sinner, full of mistakes, a father, husband to a (smoking hot wife), Christian, hypocrite, depressed, sad, happy, mellow, laid-back, goofy and  not perfect.

As a Christian, I live by the Bible.

I would love to say that everyone gets to go to heaven and no matter how good or bad you have been. I will see you in heaven.

That is me, but I have to submit to what the Bible says.

The Bible says the only way to heaven is through faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

As a Christian we follow the Bible and try to let that lead our lives.

We are not always the best at communicating that.

According to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin, just like masturbation with lust, looking at porn, adultery, lust and every other sexual sin.

This does not mean I don’t want to be friends or we can’t still show love to each other.

Our first commandment is to show love to everyone, no matter what their views are or how they vote.

If I did not hang out with people because they sinned, I couldn’t even hang out with myself.

I am full of errors and sin.

I believe living for Jesus, is not living for my view on the world but his.

What do you think?

Who or what do you live for?

Have a great day.