Christians Be Fishermen...Not Hunters!

I am a Christian. I will never back down from proclaiming that. This posting is not intended to imply that Christianity has all the answers. No man on Earth does. I read the Bible. I pray often. I serve in the community and I try to help other addicts find sobriety. I am happy to share my faith with those who wish to hear about the amazing things the LORD has done in my life. I do not think I am better than you or any man. The people who make me feel the most inadequate and demoralized about my faith are... CHRISTIANS.

I am a church going man. I serve on the baptism team. I am grateful to share my resources with my house of worship. I don't like war unless it is a means of last resort. I believe in helping the poor and sick. I am an Independent who tends to vote DEMOCRATIC. However, I don't vote a straight ticket. I vote based on what the man stands for, not if he's got an elephant or donkey on his lapel.

I have read the Bible cover to cover. I have my favorite verses. Psalms 40:1,2 are my life verses. I try to spend time daily in the words of GOD. Then I turn on the TV or go out in the world and am often shocked by the behavior of people who call themselves CHRISTIANS. They seem to talk from the mountain down on the foolish unenlightened SINNERS below. "If you don't love elephants you have no faith!" Donkeys are crazy, anything goes animals! Nothing could be farther from THE TRUTH. To say so is a sin. You don't know me. How can you judge me? Both animals have strengths and weaknesses. Faith can not be measured here.

I can't quote chapter and verse from the Bible very well. I can summarize the stories and paraphrase the content. There are actually 11 Commandments. The words JESUS left with the disciples before heading off to sit next to the FATHER were, "Love your GOD with all your heart, mind, soul and strength", and "Love your brother like I have loved you." It doesn't say, "sometimes," or "some of the folks." Those seem like pretty wise words to live by regardless of your faith. When Moses came down from the mountain with the TEN Commandments he did not call them the "Top 10 Commandments." Jesus goes on to say that ALL sin is equal in the eyes of his FATHER.

I get confused when a political party or people in certain demographics call themselves the "Godly." Throwing your name in the ring with HIM is dangerous territory for any man. What gets me most is that people who claim to be the "GODLIEST," seem to pick and choose their favorite couple of commandments and chuck the rest out the window.

The sins of Adultry, Greed, Envy, Coveting, Lusting, Stealing, Judging and LYING are equal in the eyes of God. It says it in the book. Stretching the truth is a lie. Leaving out all the facts is deception. Taking things out of context is bearing false witness. I have been guilty of many of these sins. I will sin again and again as a MAN. I strive to be a better one everyday.

All who call Jesus, Lord, and follow him are Christians. I have seen the well dressed Christian man call his child stupid on the way into church. I have seen homeless people with the faith of David. I am amazed that the elite call people of their station with drug and alcohol problems as suffering with "chemical dependency" issues. Men with the same problem who don't subscribe to the same beliefs are "junkies." When the CHOSEN commit adultry it is a "Family Matter." The commoner is called a "CHEATER!" How can you question someones' faith? Jesus sees through our motives and into our hearts. Yep, that's in THE BOOK too. What you think, is as bad as doing it. Motives are actions in the eyes of God.

I don't see how people misunderstand "ALL" and "BROTHER." How I LIVE and SERVE is what GOD is looking at. People who vote Democratic, Republican, Independent,or don't vote at all, may be CHRISTIANS. Helping the poor and feeding the sick are what JESUS did in the short time of his ministry on earth. Yet a man who wants to see the under served cared for is called a liberal. That's another word for generous. He is chastised for wasting taxpayer money. Guns are good. Being a "Good Samaritan," and helping the elderly and sick is irresponsible. I seem to recall that helping the less fortunate was ALL HE DID when he was here. How many barns do you build for YOUR grain?

The Bible says to "Give Ceasar what is his." Yet the well-to-do scream that they pay too much. Remember the woman with the two pennies who gave it to God? She did so with a glad heart. How much do you really NEED? Faith and works are the measuring stick in the kingdom. You can't buy your way into heaven. I've heard you can into hell. This kind of complaining is like a man relaxing on a beach complaining that the sun is too warm. Give with a cheerful heart is great. Gratitude for your good fortune is humility.

Christianity is open to all who choose to receive it and HIM. It is not based on how I vote or look. If I vote to help the few and hurt the many what have I done? It's time to show that we are one in the body. People turn away from religion or houses of worship because of OUR infighting and the intolerance towards each other! The hypocrisy is staggering. Goodness comes from the man, not the labels.

When I see GOD'S name thrown around and hijacked by one group of people I am saddened. All those who wish to drink from the cup are welcome. It doesn't matter what color you are. It means nothing if your hair is pink and your nose is pierced. If you are not a Christian, your faith is your faith. Who am I to judge? Faith is personal. Many men turn away those who wish to follow because they are made to feel as if they can't measure up. None of us can. So they walk away! Everyone is welcome at the table.

I am far from perfect. I sin. I pray for the day when as CHRISTIANS we unite in our faith. Politics is not the baseline for faith. There are Commandments. All of them are to be followed or he would not have included them. Not one or two. We are all God's creatures. I've heard he knows my name and the hairs on my head. That must mean he knows that stuff about all people. I am not gonna be the one to judge God's work.

A love and Faith in Christ is ALL INCLUSIVE. I hope we get to a place where we share that ideal  with ALL men, not through gritted teeth but outstretched arms. We will all stand before our maker. He looks at our hearts. He is love. There is not a line. It is one-on-one. He won't look at how long my hair is, if I have a tattoo, and a pierced ear. He doesn't check voting cards. He looks at what I have done while on earth. I'm pretty certain he likes love more than hate...

Talking to my Son and my FATHER......

I had a talk with my son yesterday. It was one of those talks where we take off the labels of "dad" and "son" and just rapped like a couple of dudes. It was a nice time during the sit down. I didn't tell him where he messed up mowing the lawn, or taking out the trash or blowing his curfew. We just talked about girls, driving, jobs and life.

I call my son Bro. It is my nickname for him because his biological father has Son as his name for him. When he was little I did not want to make it awkward by calling him Son and adding to the icky awkward "STEP" thing. I also call him "Biggie" and he calls me "Smalls." That's fine by me because by physical measurement the monikers fit quite well. He fully knows when it comes to the law of the land I am Biggie and he is a resident of the land.

There are times when I have to talk to him like the Law and sometimes like Smalls. I can assure you both are inevitable but it is not always necessary for me to be the law. Sometimes talking to him as Smalls, usually in fact, we have much better conversations. He opens up more. He hears me. He shares his feelings. He is honest and we both walk away feeling good.

When it comes to being a Christian I certainly do not hide the fact that I am one. I would proudly state that to my death and life. That is what works for me. As soon as that statement was read a few of you probably  rolled your eyes and thought "Oh man here we go..." I am sorry for that. Your ears probably began to close. Your mind drifted to preconceived notions of Christians gone by. The word hypocrisy rang in your head. I don't blame you. I feel the same way and I am one.

You see, where many of us go wrong as Christians is that we seem to exude an air of superiority to the non-believer, spiritualist and agnostic. That is truly sad. I am no better than you. I am no worse than you. We will all meet our maker. That is a fact. What that is is open to conjecture. How we choose to address that maker is optional and personal.

I talk to God all day. I do it on the toilet, on my knees and in my car a lot. I do it in short sentences and long diatribes. I also ask Him to talk to me through other people. He does. I know He speaks through me sometimes. I am grateful when He does. I am humbled when I am of use to Him and grateful when someone says I have inspired or given them hope. I kick the compliment upstairs. I am a messenger. That's it. We all are, wittingly or unwittingly.

To the reader: I ask that you not lump us all into one big pot. To the Christian on the mountain of righteousness, please look at the log in your eye before pointing out the splinters in the eyes of the masses. God is not a marketing tool, a campaign slogan or a political platform. To use Him as such is blasphemy at its greatest in my book.

I do ask the reader to say hello to the Creator, The Great Spirit, Father Earth, The Painter of the Cosmos. For years I had a hole that I couldn't understand inside me. Something was missing. I see now that it was a relationship with my FATHER. A connection to the universe. I have a "Bat line" to him that is always open. I don't know if it's red and under a glass cake cover like on the TV show. I do know he's always there when I call.

Jesus works for me. Church works for me. I did have to change the ones I grew up with and read the Bible to reeducate my mind. The church I go to now leaves me feeling love, not guilt. I feel I am headed towards a wonderful eternity, not a guaranteed guilt filled hell. However, this is not a requirement. Before Jesus left us he had 2 instructions for man. Not 374 rules and who to vote for. They were in paraphrasing, Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. The other was love your brothers like I have loved you.

There was no color, orientation, party affiliation, caveats, "buts" or "except those people" in his statement. That is where the trouble begins. When man twists God's plan of love for power, greed and power and greed. Shame, shame, shame! Those who do that will have to stand in front of the maker just like the hippies, artists, liberals and tree huggers.

God is love. Go out and lay some God on someone today, no and's, if's or but's about it. He loves you!