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He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' - Matthew 16:15
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My Story, Your Story
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It is a story of good and evil, love and hate, passion and peace, suffering and sacrifice. It is an adventure, a romance - my metamorphosis, and my song. It is no less than my story, but it can be very much more, depending on the reader. The land I lived in was ruled by a King. He was good and gracious, just and perfect - and I hated the very sound of his name. I lived my life outside of his laws, calling down curses on his name, because I despised him. Because he was the King - he was in control, not me. Because he was just, and I had broken his laws too many times to count. Because I wanted his position. I could never be like him, but I didn't want to be. All I wanted was to have his power, to be the one who made the laws. According to his law, I was an outcast and traitor. I saw only one way to change that. There were many, many more like me, and still are, and I gathered them together. Under my leadership we became a rebellion, but it was I who planned our every move, gathered resources and dreamed about the day I would kill the King and set myself up in his place. Of all the outlaws, I was the most passionate, driven by my all-consuming hatred and ambition. The day I had so long awaited arrived - the day I would feel the sweet taste of victory as I rose to become ruler of all. My soldiers fought long and hard, fueled by their anger and bitterness at the King who had made such a perfect standard, the one that we could never meet, the one that condemned us to our lives as outcasts. But in an unexpected maneuver, the King's forces separated us, then surrounded us. My rebellion was crushed, my armies defeated. I was taken and cast into the deep dungeon to await the king's orders. But I knew what would happen. The laws were clear. Tomorrow I would die. The next morning the King himself came down to my cell. In my blinding rage, I spat in his face, cursed him and threw myself again and again against the iron bars of the door. I shouted in rage because he had made the laws - the laws that I could never hope to keep, the laws that condemned me to death. Then he spoke my name, very gently, as a father speaks to his child. I froze in shock. I was his greatest enemy. I had tried to kill him and usurp his throne, and he had called my name almost as if... He spoke again, and I saw the tears in his eyes. And this is what he said to me. "My child, I love you. I love you more than words can ever hope to describe. I love you passionately, because I have known you from before the world was born. Even when you turned against me, I loved you. I have always loved you, and I always will love you." I couldn't move. I hated him - yet he loved me. But there was nothing I had ever done that could make him love me! I had never honored him or praised him, never done anything to bring him pleasure. All I had brought him was pain. Hatred. Loathing. "I love you because I made you. And I made you for so much more than this! I want you to have joy, purpose, and the never-ending love I have for you. "But you've broken my laws. They are permanent and cannot be changed, just as I cannot be changed. According to my law, you must die. "But I love you! You have no idea how much I love you! "So I have sent my son, who loves you with the same consuming love I have, to take your place. He's kept my every law, because he shares my nature. "He will die in your place. He will die because he loves you. He will die so that you can live, and live life to the fullest, with me, in my Kingdom and my house. You will be my princess, my child, and my precious daughter. "Will you come and live with me forever?" This is a true story. This is my story. This is your story. This is the story of all mankind. How it ends is up to you. I chose to go with the King. I accepted his unbelievable sacrifice and became his princess. His child. His precious daughter. And he has given me all the riches of his Kingdom, a place of honor serving him, and a passionate love for him and his people. Even when I forget his sacrifice and my love for him, he still loves me unconditionally. He calls me back and reminds me of who he is, and what he did, and why he made me, and of great things to come. This is what I chose. Some choose death. They chose to ignore the King's sacrifice. They chose to turn a blind eye to the law, to argue that they had done nothing wrong. And others chose not to listen to the King's words at all. Life and love, passion and peace, laughter and purpose - this is what the King offered me, and what I chose. This is my story, my transformation, my life and my life's song. This can be your story. But only if you choose it.
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For those of you who know and love the King, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.
For those of you who have yet to make a choice, I hope this parable helps you understand at least a little bit of why "the wages of sin is death", why one person's sacrifice changed that, and why He is a King worth following.
May the King and Champion of our hearts bless you abundantly!
surly your friend is not saying that god is so vengeful he felt the need to kill his own son to stop himself from killing all mankind
I thought the christian god was all forgiving?
He gives up the thing He loves most His son, just so the price of our sin (death) can be forgiven. The most amazing thing is, is that He never had to do that. He could've just sentenced us/them to death. He is forgiving.
sorry i seem to keep going on about this but i feel like if i just get my head round this one concept then i could understand Christianity
So God sends a part of His Trinity, to take that sin that has stained our lives forever, if we choose to believe in Him.
He wants our Trust to be in Him that He has cleansed us, and that we can live with Him.
Hopefully this helps.
But no. He loved us too much to let that happen, and He CHOSE to keep going and make the ultimate sacrifice, once and for all. Fully God and fully man, He died in humankind's place and rose again; conquering death to show us that we too can conquer it - through Him.
As far as the whole "bloodthirsty God" thing goes...didn't you read the beginning of the story? "According to his laws, I was an outcast and a traitor."
God is perfect (otherwise He wouldn't be God). It's a hard concept to wrap our brains around as mere mortals, I know, but just try to understand for now. :p No sin can touch Him, and He cannot tolerate any kind of sin. His laws are permanent, unbendable and call for perfection. It's not because He "vengeful" or that He hates us or anything; it's simply because He's God, and the law calls for perfect justice. In His vision, black is black, white is white and sin is sin - no exceptions, matter how you slice it. There are no varying "degrees" or gray areas or anything.
Because of the sin and brokenness in our lives, however, there is a huuuuuuuge gap between us and God. That gap is what keeps us from Him and from Heaven. And no matter what we do, there's no way to cross it ourselves. It'd be like trying to jump across the Grand Canyon. Whether you're a kid on a pogo-stick or an pole-vaulting Olympic gold medalist, you still wouldn't make it.
Now God is a God of perfect justice, but He is also a God of perfect love and mercy. He wanted to reconnect with us, but He knew there was no way we could reach Him over the "gap".
And there were two problems: If He used justice without love to solve the problem, said "sorry people, but I'll hafta let you burn in Hell after all" and just let us die, He'd be a monster! Justice without love and mercy is a terrible thing. On the other hand, If He used love and mercy without justice, made an exception to the law and didn't pay the price, snapped His fingers and said "You know what, it's okay. Your forgiven and everything's peachy-keen," He'd be a monster there, too! If He made any sort of exception, it would have to apply to all mankind; He'd be letting murderers, thieves and all sorts of nasty people run loose without being punished. Love and mercy without justice is also a terrible thing.
So that left one solution: sending someone perfect who'd committed no sin EVER - someone who could bear the weight of all sin that was, is and will be - to bridge the gap and pay the price forever. (Equivalent exchange, anyone??) *winks at Cinders* :)
Because Jesus was perfect, fully God and fully man, that one sacrifice He made was powerful enough to stretch across eternity for all mankind and bridge the "Grand Canyon" permanently. The bridge stands there forever, and anyone - regardless of who they are, where they've come from or what they've done - can cross it. But it's up to them to choose if they want to or not.
Some people still ignore the bridge and try to jump across themselves. And God respects that. He never forces us into anything, even when it's something He knows is the better choice. His perfect law still stands today and people still fall short of it, but because the perfect sacrifice has already been made, there's a way to come back to Him - no strings attached. All we have to do is choose it.
Whew...sorry that was so long-winded, lol. I just wanted to tackle everything I could. I hope this helps you understand a little better.
But just because they don't make sense to me doesn't mean that they aren't true or that everything I know about Him is a lie. There are some mysteries we aren't meant to know, and I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm making excuses or something. But God wants us to trust Him, to walk by faith as well as by truth, and that's what I'm doing. I may not always sense Him, but it doesn't mean He's not there. Call me crazy for trusting in Someone I can't see, but I'm going for it. :D
"I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
But I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here, and I'm never alone"
--Barlow Girl, "Never Alone"
and i'm sorry if i offend you here but i don't believe I would ever want to follow this faith, i think there could be god and I also believe that if he truly is a god in the purest sense of the word then he will accept anyone who choses to do what they believe is right for the sake of humanity and accept their own sins and faults and tries to fix them
I don't think a god who accepts no grey area and wants us to follow him and his son with blind faith and with out question is a god worth having faith in
If i am declined from heaven what ever it may be for following my own moral code and doing what I believe is good, instead of god's moral code for the promise of heaven, then I guess i will plan a rebellion from hell
God sent us the Ten Commandments, but we decided to go against him by breaking those rules; but the King of Heaven who made the billions of stars and hundreds of millions of galaxies loved us so much that he died for us on a cross.
"God so loved the world that he sent his only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" -- John 3:16.
God is holy (perfect), so therefore he can't let sinful things into Heaven, that includes us. However, Jesus lived a life without sin, and then died on a cross as a sacrifice, and was separated from his father in Heaven for 3 days - Jesus, who was perfect, went to hell for 3 days and held all the world's sin on his shoulders; suffered all the punishment YOU deserve, just so that you might have a hope of knowing God, and God knowing you. GOD LOVED YOU SO MUCH THAT HE SENT HIS PERFECT SON TO DIE FOR YOU WHEN HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO! Then, on that Sunday morning, he rose again from the dead conquering death to show us that we too can conquer it - through Him. God loves you so much; So much we can't understand it - He loves some sinners who turned their backs on him.
Jesus died on that cross so that you don't have to, and so you can have a relationship with your Father in Heaven who loves you and created the entire universe, and everything in it.
For those who trust in Jesus today, God gives us grace and mercy - Not only does God save you from death, but PROMISES to always be there with you from the time you first put your trust in Jesus; and lets you be with him forever, in Heaven.
I hope that made sense.
i'm sorry but the only way that makes any logical sense is if god is either a moron or just plain cruel
To be honest i don't think i will ever understand why any one would follow Christianity the closer i look at it and try and understand it the more it worries that people follow it
it's to me logically a almighty all pure great god wouldn't need any kind of sacrifice wouldn't need followers wouldn't need them to obey very specific set out rules
and cool guy it's the whole corrupt establishment that worries me most
The reason an almighty God would need a perfect sacrifice to save us is for the sake of Justice. It says in the Bible that Man was made in God's image.
If there was a murderer who killed someone (broke the law), they would have to be punished otherwise you would not be happy with the decision; and therefore we too would have to be punished we as we have broken God's laws (if it were not for the fact that we can trust Jesus).
God even gave us a conscience (is that how you spell it..?) to tell the difference from good and evil, so we know what is right and what is wrong.
and yet someone who has all their life tried to do what was right would not go to heaven because they don't believe in jesus
that is illogical
we can't get into heaven by our own works, alot of people think that b/c I've been better than others means that they deserve to get into heaven. It doesn't work that way. Comparing "good" people to those who aren't, isn't what God sees, it's what's on the inside that counts.
The church leaders during Jesus' day were like this, they did good deeds, but only for glory, they compared themselves to others, and basically told the Lord accept me, b/c I'm not as bad as him.
Jesus told them that it wasn't enough, basically saying the most religous good-doers of that day didn't believe in what they did and said. Hyprocrites is what He called them. We got to know the reason for doing good, before we can do good ourselves and actually mean it.
Edit: Basically being "good" won't save you, only knowing Jesus as our Saviour will.
but doesn't doing a good deed for the good of humanity or for the benefit of the individual your are doing for deserve a better reward than someone who does for a reward aka for jesus to get in to heaven?
if your believes are correct and god doesn't accept my good deeds as something good because i did them for other people than for the reward of heaven then i do find him and illogical and unjust god, one which i don't find worthy of my faith
what about those that follow a different religion but still have faith, they have been brought up like that to believe something else it's not their fault, are they going to hell too, what about someone who has never been educated or told about jesus or a child who can not understand the concept are they also going to hell for not accepting god's son?
A criminal was caught and has just been charged for breaking the law, he rapped a woman, killed her cats, and stole her valuables.
He is now standing before the judge, and jury. He has a lawyer, but doesn't use him, and tries to talk his way out of it. After a long court, the judge said thank you, we will come to our descision in a week.
During that week, the criminal knew he was guilty. So, he decided to help the family of the woman he rapped, give back all the valuables plus more, and help out a lot of stranded cats at the animal department. With the addition of doing various multiple good deeds. In an attempt to cover up his crimes.
He arrived back at the trial, and presented his lists of "good deeds" to the judge. Here is the judge's response "You fool, you are more guilty just for trying to cover up those crimes with good deeds, they are nothing compared to your crimes." (basically he did the good deeds for nothing). The judge asked for a closing statement, the criminal ignored the lawyer, and tried to get out of it himself.
The criminal was arrested, and afterwards, he was told that the lawyer was the judge's son, and if he trusted him would have been able to get freed.
Hmm...just thought this parable would help, hopefully it does.
So you say that we can't get into heaven of our own works. I accept that.
But if someone calls himself Christian, accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and carries out his interpretation of what the Bible tells him to do, even if he does not do good works, but still lives by the Book... he will get into heaven?
And if his actions are questioned, so long as he replies, "Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator" and he truly believes it, then he is heaven-bound, because he is enacting what he believes the Bible to be saying. Am I right or am I wrong?
"One is your left hand
One is your right
It takes two strong arms
To hold on tight."
They both have their places and they're both very important.
What you need to understand is that while good works have nothing to do with your basic salvation, they have EVERYTHING to do with your faith. If your belief in Jesus is genuine, then the good works will come naturally. Like my dad says, "You don't bark, eat kibble and chase cats to become a dog; you do those things because you ARE a dog."
Likewise, you don't pray, go to church and do good things to become a Christian; you do all that because you ARE one. It's a part of the new, born-again you; you can't help but take joy in living for Christ and doing things that please Him and benefit the people around you. And while works aren't the ticket to Heaven, you will get rewarded for them later when you get there. (I'd quote a bunch of scripture to back me up, but I have a feeling you'd rather not get banged over the head with a Bible, lol.) :p
Am I making sense? Is that a sufficient answer to your question?
EDIT: Really good parable, coolguy! It's a great illustration. :-)
i understand the concept now
but i explained on why i don't follow the Christian faith because of this concept here
In most other religions - Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc - you have to do xyz to get to God or Heaven (or good karma or whatever the afterlife issue is). You have to reach up to this big, impersonal god person and try to be "good enough".
Christianity is the ONLY religion where God can be your friend; where He is the one reaching down to you and you don't have to earn a certain number of brownie points to get to Him. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done; His grace is there for the taking, no strings attached.
Real Christianity isn't a religion at all. It's a relationship with your King and closest friend. I don't see many other "religions" with something as wonderful as that; do you? :-)
The reason Jesus is the sacrifice to God is because of our sins, to get rid of our sins. (basically to kill our sin and cleanse us personally). -very summed up, but hopefully get the point across
Christianity is different from Buddhism because God came down to Earth, felt pain, cried, breathed air, and died so all we have to do is be truly sorry for what bad things we've done, and have faith and trust that Jesus will save us. Buddhists believe that they have to do good work and good things to get to a "better state" whereas in Christianity God did all the work, because he loved us so much - I think that was the point Dearheart was trying to make.
I hope that made sense.
okay question, so if you accept jesus no matter what you will be accepted by god, correct?
what about if you gay? christians always use that arguement as part og the anti-gay rights argument so i was just wondering what if your gay but love jesus? i know it's wandering majorly off topic, sorry
Yes, the gay lifestyle is a sin according to the Bible - just like adultery, fornication and all the others listed in Romans; but when you get down to the bare basics of Christianity, all the other stuff, though important, is still a side-issue.
And lol, don't worry about "wandering off topic". It was a good question. :-)
EDIT: The "lazier religion", eh? Lol, don't be so sure. Just because there's grace and forgiveness involved doesn't mean that we get away with whatever we want. Sheesh. :P
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