Tag: jesus

Salvation Annulled?

We’re saved by grace, but…

Jesus says we must behave,

Nullifying grace

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…”

Ephesians 2:8

Is grace unconditional? There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s grace. But what about all the commands that Jesus gave us: repent, follow me, do not lust, go the second mile, love your enemies, judge not, honor your parents, etc.? Does grace erase those commands? Can we ignore the New Testament Gospels? I’m told that our sins have been forgiven at the cross. And let’s not forget that Jesus is coming back to judge all believers. For what!? Will God’s grace forgive all of us or just a select few? I’m so confused!

His Infinite Awareness

Omniscient being

The one who knows all our needs…

And talks to reindeer

“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”

The Conductor from The Polar Express

Am I the first to call Santa Claus an omniscient being? Think about it, though. He knows if we’ve been bad or good. He sees us when we’re sleeping, and he knows when we’re awake. And he knows where we live!

What Would Jesus Think?

Our Christian nation

We learn to love our neighbors…

Unless they are gay

“For many in America and around the world, the American flag has smothered the glory of the cross, and the ugliness of our American version of Caesar has squelched the radiant love of Christ.“

Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church

Was the recent LGBTQ bar shooting in Colorado Springs religiously motivated? Was it politically motivated? Maybe both? And what about the shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016? All I know is that I hear a lot of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from Christians and politicians… in our so-called Christian Nation. Love is love!

Toasting Jesus

Faith is to believe

What you do not see or hear…

Jesus on my toast

“Without the bread of life, we are toast!”

Anonymous

I know that Jesus likes watching us masturbate, but is he spying on us through our food, too? What I really wonder though is what people are thinking who actually believe they’ve found Jesus on their breakfast burrito, grilled cheese sandwich, or potato chip (see this article on BuzzFeed). Amazon doesn’t sell Jesus Toasters but they do have The Grilled Cheesus Sandwich Press if you’re interested! No kidding. Take a look.

Recipes For Salvation

Once saved, always saved?

Or once saved and may lose it?

Google is baffled!

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:21

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. John 10:9

The Bible

If you Google “how is one saved” or “steps to salvation” you’ll get a multitude of ways of what one must do to be saved. Jesus gives many examples throughout the Gospels of how a person can be saved. A good example is a rich man asking Jesus what must he do to be saved. Jesus answered, “Sell all your possessions and follow me!” That’s gotta be hard for a rich guy. Jesus gives many, many examples of people being blessed and saved by their actions. What I don’t understand is do we have to do everything that Jesus commands or just some of them? Will we know it when we’re saved? How can my church claim that they’ve saved some souls? How is that possible? Can they save mine? As you can see, my 40+ years as a Christian led me into a state of confusion. I have no idea if I’ve ever been saved, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve lost it by now.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Which Church Would Jesus Choose?

The plethora of

Christian denominations

Dogmatic fake news

Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.

Thomas Aquinas

Let’s pretend that you have a choice in choosing your own Christian denomination (45,000+ in the world). You visit several different churches throughout the year and make an informed decision as to which one just might lead you down that narrow path to eternal life. You agree with all of their doctrines (99 essential) and they’re using the correct version (there are many) of the Bible. You enjoy the people and the clergy. They teach and follow the Ten Commandments if that’s your thing. And they basically tick off all of your checkboxes of what you want from a church. You have chosen from thousands of Christian denominations, a church that you believe will make you Christian enough to meet Jesus’ commands (about 49 commands). Choose carefully because Jesus says that only a “few” will enter this narrow gate. What is the truth? What is fake news? Your choice!

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

She’s Buying a Stairway to Heaven

How many hymnals

Will Jesus have in heaven?

I’ll miss rock-n-roll

– Hymnal, Types of Hymnals

When I was a member of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, we had a couple of different hymnals available to sing from. I wonder how many different hymnals exist amongst the 45,000+ different Christian denominations in the world? I cannot imagine singing and worshipping all day and every day for eternity. Eternity is a long, long time. It’s forever! I’ll certainly miss Led Zeppelin and all the other rock bands that I grew up with! Hey! Gandhi says there’s rock-n-roll in hell. But, he’s such a prankster that I don’t know whether to believe him or not.

Image by Emphyrio from Pixabay

Aborted But Not Stoned

Abortion is not

A sacred top ten command…

Adultery rocks

– Exodus 20:14, Exodus 31:18, Mark 10:11-12, Ten Commandments List, Texas Abortion Ban

The original Ten Commandments were written onto stone tablets by “the finger of God.” And yes, Adultery is one of the ten! Can you imagine if Texas banned Adultery like they did Abortion? Jesus is clearly against adultery and it happens to be on God’s Top Ten List of no-nos for humankind! I have a hard time understanding why some Christians are so up in arms about abortion (and gay marriage) and are so forgiving when it comes to adultery. Our lawmakers struggle to have the stone tablets on their front lawn and other public places. But, God’s words have no real meaning for them.

Image by Ralf Seemann from Pixabay

Judging the Sinless

He cleanses our sins

To assure our salvation

Until judgment day

– John 3:16, Revelation 1:5, John 5:26-29, 1 Corinthians 3:8, Mark 3:28-29

God does not like sinners and allowed his Son to be sacrificed on the cross to pay for all who sin (Revelation 1:5). Well, at least for those who were believers (John 3:16) making that a condition of being saved. I was always told that my sins were abolished by this act of kindness. So, if my sins are wiped clean, why is Jesus coming back to judge the “living and the dead? (John 5:26-29)” Is there some kind of reward ranking in heaven (1 Corinthians 3:8)? Or maybe I have committed the Unforgivable Sin (Mark 3:28-29) and didn’t realize it. That’s possible!