Do You Know What You Believe?

You say you are a Christian. After all, you go to church. You pray. You listen to the pastor's preaching. You even pay your tithe. AND, you were baptized. So, that clinches it, right?

Christian. What IS a Christian? My dictionary says it is a believer in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Where do you find the teachings of Jesus Christ? Right! You know it's in the Bible. That's WHERE you find the teachings of Jesus Christ.

So, how do you know what the teachings are unless you read the Bible? How do you know WHAT you believe? I mean, maybe if you read the Bible, you'll discover that there are lots of things in there that you don't believe and do not want to accept!

You know, what if, for instance, Jesus tells you that you should love your ENEMIES? --Or cut off your hand? --Or, even pluck out your eye? Are you going to embrace those beliefs?

Seriously. The Bible says a lot of things that we need to know. We need to deeply, deeply know and absorb the Bible in order to be a "Christian". And, for my opinion, I'd have to say, if someone doesn't KNOW the Bible, they really shouldn't call themselves a Christian.

We are not supposed to be following other Christians. Not even our pastor. Sure, he's a great guy and maybe he loves the Lord, but what has that got to do with you and your connection with God?

Jesus said, "If you continue in my Word, then are you my disciples indeed." John 8:31

 Find out what you believe. You may find out you're not a Christian after all. You just have a lot of friends who are Christians. Or, who say they are.

When it comes right down to the crunch, are you going to be willing to die for what you believe in?

That sounds really harsh, I know. But, unless you actually feel that deeply and strongly about your faith, you need to ask yourself if you really believe in the teachings of Christ. Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and mammon (money)."

He said it. I didn't say it. It's not my idea. In fact, none of this is. I get all this stuff out of the Bible.

Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

I think we should ask ourselves: "Am I putting God first?" What is number One in my life? God or Money? Did you know that there is a god of money? Did you further know that MOST of the world worships that god?

"How can we live without money? It's impossible." Well, money itself isn't the evil. It's our ATTITUDE towards money that is evil.

Does having a nice, fat bank account make you feel as though you're invincible? On the other hand, do you feel useless and worthless when you're broke? See how deceptive money can be? It's all in our attitude, isn't it? The money doesn't really have this power over us. It's bluffing.

But, when you put God first and let Him take care of your life, money becomes secondary. It relaxes its grip and control over your life. Don't worry about feeling worthless. Allow yourself to feel that way before God. That's just a good check and balance. We ARE worthless without Jesus. I think it was David who said he was a "worm". Talk about humility. But, with God, we are everything!

So, dear ones, my prayer for Christians is that they will READ the Word! You'll be glad you did.