In Reply to: And your point is? posted by non_christian on December 31, 2003 at 07:13:20:
an eclamation mark, sometimes a question mark ; )
Seriously, my walk/life with Jesus has all these signs & more of`m...I did quote the Bible, simply
because I love the Word, since it`s living waters
& bread from/for the spirit & I find light, guidance, consolation, plain advice & admonition in
it like in no other book...therefore it wasn`t just
throwing in a couple of verses...
I do believe, that they fit - I fail to understand
you dear Observer - along with Romans 2: 11 ff ...
John 3:16 and what have you...God is a God not only for Israel & the Christians...He`s the Creator & Paul goes as far as to say that He`s not far from all of us, we live in Him, He surrounds us
& many religious experiences are to my understanding a direct result of God being "highly
interested" in our well being...part of the real well being for us is of course also a correction,
which we don`t receive so cheerfully as Hebrews e.g
explains us...However there is also a certain
ignorance in the "Heathen`s faith", as he doesn`t know much about the unknown God, he nevertheless somehow worships & feels attracted to...
I guess we all remember from Acts 10, that the angel
didn`t do the preaching to Cornelius - who is a
prototype of someone converted to the God of Israel, someone who believes, gives donations etc
yet who lacked the personal relationship with God,
needing the atonement, reconciliation worked &
done for us through Christ...this is a much closer
relationship...only topped by being in the kingdom of God, by departing from our old body, for eye hath not seen...you know...so if the angel didn`t do it, but let Simon do it, we are as Christians in
a similar situation...people need to hear the Good news...we can`t expects God or the angels do that job...odd as it may seem and unfit as we could consider ourselves...
I don`t want to discount per se the accounts of
Eva meeting this & that religious person, however
just being charismatic by appearance is not what impresses me nowadays...if I happen to see steadily
a joyful appearance (although anyone has at least once in a while some bad days, I suppose)...well, that is different...the kingdom of God is not eating & drinking, but righteousnes peace & joy..
I got to feel & observe that in someone...& not just for one moment...
I lived in Asia for altogether 6 years, the most in
India & Nepal & before I joined, I was heavily into
the asiatic religions & esoteric ways of life...
I am therefore a bit aware, that much of the east is attractive at first glance...for someone who is thirsty, many liquids come into consideration (if
the smell & looks aren`t too awful)
Dear N_C ...I can understand your annoyance with
us who uphold personally a deep faith in Jesus as our Saviour...I like to take the opportunity to
express my regret, if any of my postings here on
journeys or GenX came across too (self)righteous...
Gospeltrue faith & teaching has it, that a Christian
doesn`t have any righteousness of his own, so I apologize, if some words of mine had the smell of that...I think people like you ought to be on this
board, otherwise it becomes a bit "boring" to agree
always with the agreeable ; ) ...yet, may be you
could also see the benefits of something strong
enough in our lives...if you fall on the rock Jesus
you also won`t stay the same...remember how the rich youg man met Jesus...he went away sadly...Jesus didn`t beat him over the head, but
the truth was hard enough for him to take...he
was too attached to his riches...quite a warning to
Christians of today....so imagine, if you`d talked
to Jesus or met Him, do you think, you wouldn`t
get challenged in some way??You think, you`d stay the same....???
So if you happen to get some resistance here or elsewhere, it`s either due to the Christians self-
righteousness or because Jesus in them wants to tell you something not to blame the Christian for, but because it`s a needed correction in your life...since no Christian is any better than you,
why care then, who said what???...