What Do I Believe?


I recently read a quote by Oswald Chambers that read, “Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ.”  When I read this quote, it challenged me to rediscover the basics of Christianity.  For the last few years, I’ve been inundated with books, articles, conversations, and debates about what it means to be a true Christian.  I’ve been torn between the liberals and conservatives, the Baptists and Pentecostals, the Democrats and Republicans.  When you are constantly trying to keep up with latest shift in Christian culture, Jesus can get lost in the shuffle. 

So, I decided to go back to what I learned in my old country church growing up in Blair, SC.  I know that Jesus loves me.   I know that He died on the cross for my sins.  I know I’m a sinner saved by grace.  I know Jesus was raised from the dead.  I know that He’s coming back again.  I know that He commands me to love God with all of my heart, soul and mind.  He desires that I love my neighbor as myself.  It is settled, those are my basics.

How does it look?  Well, I will love my brothers and sisters of all denominations.  I love Republicans and Democrats.  I believe you can love Jesus and be liberal or conservative.  I believe we should focus on our personal relationship with the Lord and show our love to others.  I believe I should show my love to the wealthiest and to the “least of these”.  I believe that we are all broken people in some way and we all need the Master Physician.  So, I challenge each of you to throw away the rhetoric and re-discover who Christ is to you!!  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guilty as Charged: I have the tendency to be Martha and not Mary

We all have heard the story of Martha and Mary in the bible.  (Luke 10:38-42)  Martha was busy “serving” the Lord and Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to learn and commune with Him.  At some point, Martha complains to Jesus that her sister is not helping her with the work.  Jesus explains to Martha that her sister is doing the most important thing, listening to him.  Now, for years people have been telling me to slow down because I was “doing” too much.  I admit I had the mentality, “I’ll rest when I go to heaven” or “You aren’t doing anything so don’t try to slow me down.”  On the flip side of that, I’ve had people make me feel guilty when I wanted to take much needed rest and rejuvenation.  I’ve been weary, but the need to “people please” or the feeling of disappointing God caused me to keep pushing.  The result: a tired Carmille.  The truth is…we can’t keep pouring out if we are not being poured in to.  We can become so bus...
Read more

Anna the Prayer Warrior: the Faith of a Little Girl

             I started attended a small prayer meeting a few months ago, but little did I know the lesson I would learn on faith.  I’ve walked with Jesus for a long time, but it took a 10 year old girl to teach me about unadulterated faith.   Anna*, a 10 year old girl, taught me about what it truly means to have faith.  She has touched my heart and I will remember her story of faith for the rest of my life.                     Anna attends our weekly prayer meeting with her parents.  She usually hangs out in another room watching television, but I now know that she does much more than that!  One day our pastor was teaching on the power of prayer and faith.  He was sharing his testimony about being hungry and not knowing where his next meal would come from.  He shared with our group about the times he had to go his c...
Read more

God Has Not Forgotten You

Image
I found the biggest challenge in my faith is when I'm facing tremendous hardship. In those times, I wonder why God doesn't come to my rescue immediately. The hardest part is knowing that he can rescue me at any time, but there is no immediate rescue. I question where is God? Why is he allowing me to suffer like this? In these times, I remind myself of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They were friends of Jesus. One day Lazarus becomes sick and they sent a message to Jesus. Now you would think that because they were faithful followers of Jesus he would rush to their aid at once, but he didn't. He stayed where he was two more days. When Jesus finally arrives, Lazarus had died. When you are a follower of Jesus, we expect to see good things happen in our lives. When trouble appears, we turn to prayer and ask God to help us. Afterwards, we expect God to come and assist us. Unfortunately, he doesn't always come and rescue us when and how we want him too. Are you a fol...
Read more