I want to clear up some misconceptions about me and my faith. As always these are my OPINIONS. I am not a Theologian or Legalistic. I am a Christian. That means Christianity is the belief that Jesus is the son of God and he came here to give us a second chance at heaven. He paid the penalty for my sin; the ones I have committed and the ones I know I will continue to commit.
I have to admit that some Christians come from a "I'm better than you, you heathen" point of view but that is not Christianity. That is a human expressing themselves. I am uncomfortable around these people myself. Christ left two instructions before he headed out of here and I paraphrase. First, love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second, love your neighbor as you love yourself and as I have loved you. These are two simple instructions and a pretty cool way to live life. God is LOVE! He sent His kid here to be beat to death so we wouldn't have to.
For a long time I told people I was "spiritual", not religious. Church is not a requirement to get into heaven. I tried them all and the only "ism" I ended up with was alcoholism. The problem was I quit searching after "men" who gave me a bad vibe about religion. It wasn't Jesus' fault that humans are flawed! That is why he came to save us in the first place. We tend to write religion off because of a bad experience. It's funny though because when we get a bad pizza we don't cry out "Pizza is horrible and hypocritical and I'll never eat it again!" No! We just keep trying pizza places until we find one that we like.
I found Parkview Christian Church to be a great place of worship. By being a member my relationship gets better. The better my relationship with him is, the better my relationship with everyone around me gets. Our church doesn't demand money or make legalistic rules. It helps me grow and does wonderful things for people around Chicago and around the world. My pastor wears jeans, drives a Harley and smokes a good cigar here and there. The key to finding a new church or faith is to get rid of the old one and start anew. For years I thought God had it in for me and was chasing me with clowns, bats and snakes. Now I see he had my back when I was lying in the streets and laying on the streets.
We all sin. There is the top 10 he layed out in stone but sin is sin. I find it amazing that someone who calls themselves a Christian berates gay people as going to hell and then lives as a racist, or wife beater or tax cheater. Sin is sin. Christians are no more or less hypocritical than any man who walks the earth. What we do have is a faith in Jesus and a desire to follow his ways to the best of our abilities. We will all stand in line before God alone. It isn't a VIP line where some get moved to the front and the ugly ones get moved to the back. We will stand alone and account for our time here.
The next one I hear is "You're trying to shove your religion down my throat!" Again, some folks do that but that is the minority not the majority. I share my faith with those who want to hear about the wonderful life I have found. If I had the best pizza in town wouldn't you want me to tell you where I got it? Jesus wanted his followers to spread the good news, not beat them to death with it. Faith is a choice. I want everyone to know how I was delivered into a joyful existence. I would be selfish to keep this gift to myself. It is a choice. You can take it or leave it.
I don't walk into Walmart and scream out "Hey, anyone want to talk about Jesus?" That is not the way for me. I believe that Christianity is living a life of attraction not promotion. When people ask me how I made it through homelessness, depression and addiction I am glad to share my experiences with them. I tried to force my way through life on my own understanding. Sometimes it worked out but most of the time I lived in guilt, shame, remorse, envy, greed, lust, hate and so much more negative emotions.
Believing is the basic requirement. I have many Godly experiences playing with my dogs or walking through a forest. Christianity is a relationship with Christ on the inside that I try to put into my daily living on the outside. I am a comedian and actor and I swear and tell off-color jokes. None of them disrespect God or my marriage. I am fallible and that is why I need Jesus. He is the great equalizer. I try to show love to my fellow man but I get ticked when someone cuts me off in traffic because I am human. The sceptic is quick to point out that as a Christian I shouldn't be doing this or that. I know what I am supposed to do and I have a book to cross reference when I think I am going off track.
Jesus doesn't fight wars, men do. I know that people have been killed in the name of all religions including Christianity. Those were men fighting other men for earthly spoils. Jesus wasn't in there with a bayonet. Why blame him? Don't blame the apple when the chef cooks a bad pie!
We are not promised sunshine and butterflies as believers. What we are promised is a place in heaven if we believe in Christ and are sorry for our sins. Simple! I don't have opinions good or bad about other religions. That is not my call. I am only a man. Once again we will all stand alone before our maker. It's his call from there. I believe in Jesus and a loving God. The rain falls on the good and evil and no where does it say that bad things and pain aren't going to fall upon us. We can be assured that we are not alone. It's when I have tried to go it alone that all my troubles began.
Thanks for following. Who knows what's next. I love you all and wish you all the blessings God has in store for you. Don't miss the 50 miracles that happen in your life every day waiting for God to answer your laundry list. Remember God also says no. I hope to see you along the way and I hope my story has shown you that EVERY DAY IS A GIFT!
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