Jesus, Catch Me When I Fall
I have had three separate experiences within the last week that have caused me (not to re-think my BELIEF), but to think about my BELIEF, seriously. There is one experience, that is not worth mentioning…so I won’t. But the other two, I will mention. That’s usually the way it goes, applying the Word to our lives.
There was a program on television this past week, that was so bizarre. It was called, ‘Who ‘Framed ‘Jesus? You know the kind of program I’m talking about. It was a dispute over ‘Judas (and whether he really existed or not, and if he did..why did he do it?), the ‘Pharisees, ‘Pilot and ‘Herod…which person(s) actually ‘framed Jesus. My question is, why all the analyzing of the subject anyway. As Christians, we either BELIEVE in Jesus and His Word or we do not. How can anyone pick and choose what part of the Word is true and what is not? I think the obvious answer (which was not even mentioned) is that Jesus was not framed at all (which would have ruined the program..he..he. It was God’s plan. Nothing happened to Jesus that God did not orchestrate. Our sinful hearts created the need for the Savior. God’s love is so great for us that He sent His one and only Son, to pay the ransom for you and for me.
The second experience is more of a personal one. Some of you have been getting emails from me with links to my Bible study posts and my blog posts. I received an email from a second party person (who is related to the email recipiant), asking me not to send the email notification. This in itself does not bother me in the least. So I will say to you the reader(s), if you wish to opt out of the email notifications….you will not hurt my feelings…sincerely. What caused me to question (about myself and BELIEF, seriously) was the following statement. “The email recipient would like to hear from you, but don’t send anything to this person about your religious preferences“. That’s okay too, but my thought was this: My BELIEF in Christ IS my religious preference. And, I really do BELIEVE in what I am doing. I share it with you not as a self-righteous act, but as a part of my own journaling process with the Lord and His Word. After becoming a Christian, I spent many years as a note taker. I was reaching only for the surface issues, not understanding the deeper issues. Note taking for me could be very chaotic. I had notes here and notes there, literally. It was not a matter of whether or not I had accepted Christ as my Savior. It was a matter of, the same question Jesus has been asking the Disciples (in John’s Gospel), “do you really BELIEVE (and understand)?”. It was a matter of what Jesus will ask Peter, three times, in chapter 21, “do you Love Me?”. It IS a matter of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!”. Everyday should be a transformation for us. That is what journaling (recording experiences, ideas, or reflections on a regular basis, into the character of God) is doing for me. I am reflecting upon God in ways I never have before. This is a part of my life now. This is who I am. Will I be doing this a year from now? I do not know if I will be doing it in the same way, but I assure you I will still be doing this. I would challenge anyone to study the Gospel of John, and not see “BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ” in a new light. Does that make me a crazy person for Jesus? Probably! But that’s okay with Jesus! Does that make me self-righteous? Absolutely not! I’m probably one of Jesus’ greatest challenges..he..he. I fall quite often, but I am so glad He’s there to catch me when I fall.
Day 21, part 2 will be posted later today. Go ahead, read John Chapter 17
This entry was posted on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 9:58 am and is filed under Bible Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
