True and honest worship of God is in the daily lives of your reflection of the One who lives and loves in you. How do you bring God glory? How do you bring God praise? You live as He lives. You walk as He walked.
In the Churches of God what they will tell you is that walking as He walked - “walking the walk”, you might say – involves a rigid and legalistic ritual life of days, seasons, times, and years. And though observing such things can have a benefit, it falls fall short of what walking the walk genuinely requires an honest and God-fearing Christian.
Being a Christian is a 24 hour a day, seven day a week experience. It is observing this world and the things of this world through the mind of Jesus Christ. It is being and becoming a breathing, living, and responsive reflection of who Christ is. It is showing the grace of God in everyday life.
It is laughing with the widow, helping the lame, grieving with the lonely, uplifting the heavy-hearted. It is laughter with the joyful and crying with the hurt. It is worship in attitude and worship in action, clothed and radiant with thanksgiving and praise of Jesus Christ who came from and was sent by God the Father.
It is reflecting and radiating the entire spectrum of love from wavelength to wavelength – being mindful and observant to prayerfully never miss an opportunity to show the hungry and spiritually starving who Jesus Christ is. Regardless of the date, the moment, or the occasion, you reflect Christ. You show Christ. You live Christ. You breathe Christ.
Here's what Christianity is not. Christianity is not avoiding your relatives and family because the only time you can see them is on Christmas. Christianity is not refusing to open the door to talk to little children on October 31st. Christianity is not refusing to go to a son's or daughter's or family member's birthday party. Christianity is not believing you are more than a Christian than another because you go to Church on Saturday and they go to Church on Sunday. Christianity is not skipping a funeral or a wedding because it's more important to be at a church service than to show love to your family. Christianity is not spending every moment trying to convince people you are a prophet, or a minister, or a pastor, or endlessly typing on your keyboard thinking you know more about every subject on this great earth than anyone else does about religion or Christianity. This isn't living Christianity, this is making a farce out of Christianity and making one's self look like a blind, arrogant and conceited idiot. And more than this - Christianity is not thanking God that one is more of a Christian than anyone else - or condemning other Christians as "falsely so-called" because they aren't submitting to one person's religious dogmas. Herbert Armstrong and his doctrines did far more to damage the essential elements of real Christianity than one can ever imagine, and the rotten fruit's stench keeps on coming from certain ones to this day who wallow in the muck of putrid vomit that supposedly passes as "Christianity".
Days and seasons and times of years do not act as an on and off switch to reflecting and radiating the very Christ who lives in you. There is never an excuse to say that you are “called” and others are “not called”. The very nature of humility is the shedding of pompous arrogance, prideful self-centered thoughts and actions. Those who call themselves ministers and servants of God will not be exalting who they are or their title or their position. They will not need to say who they are or what they do. Christ will be what others will see when they minister – no one else, not themselves. There will never have to be a convincing argument needed. People will know. People will acknowledge, people will see that the living Christ is the one working, and no title or position or rank, whether it's minister or pastor, or evangelist or prophet, or apostle or bishop will need to be said. Those who resort to the need of proving to others who they think that they are simply showing others what they are not and never have been, and never have been called to be, for their actions out their inner selves filly displayed for all to see and for the entirety of the Church to rebuke and chasten, and run from.
The Church is the people of God. It is a spiritual organism that transcends physical time and physical space. It is a people who have Jesus Christ living in and through them. It is a people who don't only say Christ but live Christ in every action. To restrict these actions to a calendar day is the strongest quenching of God's spirit in action. The Sabbath Rest is an outpouring from God inwards to you and outwards to others – the Kingdom of God at hand and in action. The Sabbath rest is in Him, and in You, and for all. Days – and seasons – have benefit – but are inferior and physical. Life in Christ and living in Christ is beyond the calendar – and intrinsically spiritual. And God's Rest – His Sabbath Rest – is a spiritual life of love, humility, grace, respect, truth, compassion, kindness, joy, and peace from the very God who gave His Son for all. This is the freedom of Christ in action. For those who live this way, there is only grace and freedom through Him. And this is why Paul stated that you are not under Law – but under Grace. For those who live Christ – sin shall not be your master, only overflowing and outgoing love in Him through the Spirit of God.
Submitted by SHT
Submitted by SHT
10 comments:
Is Christianity pointing out other peoples flaws? Accusing people online in front of the whole world? Calling people names and insulting them?
Sometimes we screw up. Sometime we can't see our own problems. Sometimes we can't be even bothered to read a whole comment before get angry at some one telling us we are wrong.
What are we all to do? Seems like we have to keep trying. And that for some doing the work of God is helping others see their errors. Whether that is leading a cult into the ground or saying crappy things about other people we have never met because we don't like what they believe.
We need each other. One to stop being evil the other to say stop being evil... And still face the fact that everyone is a sinner... Remeber that before you comment.
Perhaps the best posting ever on this site! (Or others as well). Short, to the point, and well said! RTR
What Church do you attend SHT?
SHT,
From a perspective of someone not in the COGs, but someone who embraces aspects of it, some of your points fall short because you haven't seen what is a reality although not widespread, but none the less still a reality with many members of the COGs.
To say Christianity isn't restricted to a day is completely correct. To imply that some in the COG movement practice this is correct as well. But I will tell you that there are more people than you would expect attending the COGs practicing exactly what you wrote and not exclusively to each other. Trust me, you would be impressed with the myriad of examples of a "Christian" life practiced by some of the members.
To look at the COG movement through the narrow lens of "it is all things physical" misses the point of actually what is required in the "Christian walk". Repentance is a physical act. Baptism is a physical act. Having hands laid upon you is a physical act. Praying, giving thanks, fasting, giving money to the poor, visiting the widow, taking in the orphan, helping the neighbor are all physical acts. The giving of the Holy Spirit is the catalyst for producing fruit. The carnal mind will see the keeping of a day as a means to save ones life. The spiritual mind will see the keeping of a day as a means of perpetuating the reconciliation to the Father by resting from physical labor and pursuits and thereby produce the fruit of realizing the greatest commandment. For the other six days of the week, the carnal mind focuses completely upon the self. The spiritual mind thinks about, prays about and helps those in need. Again producing the fruit of the second greatest commandment.
If what you said: God's Rest – His Sabbath Rest – is a spiritual life of love, humility, grace, respect, truth, compassion, kindness, joy, and peace from the very God who gave His Son for all is true, then what are we all doing here on this blog. Those from the COGs will say that by you/me calling some or all unchristian/unconverted in the COGs is exactly what the accusation is against HWA. As I have said before, tearing down others regardless of their actions is unnatural for a spirit begotten person. The hope is all of these leaders or men in positions repent of their actions. The carnal mind would be happy to have a can of gasoline and a match to do away with them all not seeing the wheat for all the tares.
To put forth truth before these men as you have in this posting is peace of mind for you and a harbinger of what is to come for certain COG men. It is the truth that will bare witness against these men some day.
You either do not know Anon 3:31 or forget there are complete HQ hypocrites on here. High ranking elites who come on here blatantly pretenting and seeking out who they can intimidate in their Churches. It's gone on for years.
They deserve everything they get.
3.31 PM
Did Christ point out the Pharisees flaws? Yes He did.
Did Christ accuse the Pharisees in front of the whole world? Yes again.
"You aren't perfect, so who are you to condemn unrepented evil behaviour and unrepentant people" is as old as the hills. Christ rebuked and condemned the unrepentant cities where miracles were performed. He didn't say "not a problem, no ones perfect."
The Herb splinters are still run as abusive cults. Yet all you do is whitewash those responsible, and try, in typical bully fashion, to intimidate the victims into silence and denial.
Anon 3:31,
The name calling of WCG and the splinter cogs has been a set pattern for the last 60 or so years: fake christians, the Beast, the whore, pagans, unconverted, etc.
I think a little criticism when their primary focus is on judging who is and who is not a real Christian is appropriate since they began that line of accusations.
"I think a little criticism when their primary focus is on judging who is and who is not a real Christian is appropriate since they began that line of accusations."
True, the protestants started all the name calling during the Reformation after technology made it possible to escape the supressive force of the earlier religion.
Todays technology makes it possible to extend the name calling to everybody...even those with a fake name.
nck
Nick, I’m not supportive of a pattern or system of name calling.
I believe you have said you are an attorney or work in law or play one on tv, regardless I’m confident that you’re aware that in a court room if one side decides to go down a path of evidence/argument this allows the opposite side to present evidence/argument previously barred.
The current COGs are in large part numb to the fact they are relentless name callers dismissing more mainstream Christians as false, pagan, deceived, undiscerning, worldly Christians to name just a few.
So while name calling goes back millennia, it’s hardly justifiable for someone to complain about “name calling” that is actually a presentation of evidence why the WCG and COGs were wrong in dismissing others through name calling and holding themselves out as the chosen real christians.
True.
I was reacting to the assumption that cog invented name calling. I sit here on ancient printed propaganda that completely exagerates the "Inquisition" victim numbers including name calling in order to justify seccession from the Habsburg empire. Did the tea party people resort to those tactics versus the British rulers?
Nck
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