CHRISTIANITY
In his famous book "Mere Christianity", Lewis makes this statement; "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us."
I am of Christian faith, and for reasons other than what I've been taught or learned from the Bible. I believe people are led to Christ through love and by example, not by threatening hell and damnation. I'm not perfect - God is still working on me! I'm sure some that I know will shake their heads and think, "Oh no, we've lost another one!" Logically thinking, one would have to consider what I was lost from, and more importantly, whether the state I was lost from was really worth belonging to in the first place. Additionally, in order to be lost "from" something, there must be "something else" to compare it to; whether that be a social status or moral state of being. So in order to claim that I'm "lost" you must first argue your own state in the universe and if that suits you just fine from a moral and/or spiritual prospective, then I suppose I could be lost from that. Whatever the case, it's not my job to determine your state of being. I can only make claim to my own. I do know that God is real. Jesus is real. I'm always happy to share why I can make those statements. The actual events that led to my belief still amaze me even today.
I believe there is one Body of Christ, the universal church. I refuse to discuss denomination differences. I believe all Christians are united as one Body according to Scripture. I also believe the "church" is a body of believers and not a building. This is scripturally supported in the New Testament. Something else to keep in mind is that God did not create all the various religions we see around us. Man did. I'm still amazed that Satanism is a recognized religion in the U.S. Army and witches are allowed to take "holidays" off in the Air Force. The devil really knows how to cloud and confuse an issue.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jews first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith" ~ Romans 1:16-17.
Don't take my word for it, click HERE if you would like to get to know Jesus yourself. I've compiled some REALLY interesting links below and love to discuss the Gospel if you want to e-mail me. I'm also always happy to share my personal testimony with anyone interested. May God bless you with all peace and happiness and may God continue to bless America! ~ Ed
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Romans 10:8-10 ~ "But what does it say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart" (that is the word of faith that we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation."
Isaiah 53:5 ~ "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
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The Lord placed in my heart a need to support some children through Christian Children's Fund. He has so blessed us in this country and they have so little. Information about the children I am sponsoring is shown below. You can help and make a difference too, by clicking on the Christian Children's Fund logo above. Each child is only $24.00 a month. So please help if you can. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity! We also donate to the American Red Cross and the Idaho Food Bank. ~~ Ed
Mathew 25:31-40 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
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Neelavathy hails from an abjectly poor and needy family in India. Her father and mother are laborers. They work hard for long and tiring hours, but their total income is approximately US $171 per year. Try as they will, they are unable to make ends meet with what is at hand as there is abounding privation at home. Seeing no way out of their plight, but keen on educating their child, the desperate parents sought aid from the nearby Christian Children's Fund project. Neelavathy is in school. Her favorite subject is Tamil, the regional language. She enjoys playing group games. Her health is average. Neelavathy has three brothers and one sister.
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Okema Samuel was born at Awich village, Gulu District, Northern Uganda. He has siblings. Both his parents are alive and he lives with them. The parents are very poor peasant farmers and earn an average annual income of less than US $100. They live in a mud and wattle grass-thatched house. This child was brought to the project for help by his father. They are Acholi by tribe and Protestant by faith. Okema Samuel is in school. His favorite subject is English. He enjoys playing ball games. At home he helps with fetching water. Okema is 9 years old as of August 2008.
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Click on the above image to read about the first Christmas!
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