Look at this, I actually managed to get another post up today!
Anyways, I have a couple of things I want to say. The first is undoubtedly really silly, and it's just a side rant.But, I am really and truly confused. I know it's probably because I created it with the first computer, but my account for the Think Classic blog (link below [yay for unabashed self-promotion!]) did not look like this at all. This is all new and fancy to me. I keep pushing buttons and then promptly finding that I didn't want to push that button, and then I get all sweaty and panicky beacuse I don't know what I just did.
Just kidding about the sweaty part.Gross.
So, if anything looks out of place, or weird, it's probably just because I feel really incompetent with this new fancy blogger.
Alright! Now, for the good, deep stuff.
I was trying to think of something I could write about. Then I thought, Well, it would probably be a good idea to write about something that expresses who I am. And then it dawned on me...
I am the way I am, and I am who I am because of who I am in Christ--because of my beliefs.
Some people might initially take offence with that, and that's fine. Everyone has their own opinion, and the right to make their own choice as to what they believe. It's also kind of sad to me that some people might automatically think that because I am a Christian, I am a big hypocrite, but I'm sure that is the case. I'm not perfect, and I don't pretend to be, but I strive to be the best person I can be with this new life that I have in Christ. Sometimes I fail, but the great thing is, I can always ask for forgiveness and start over--pick up where I left off.
Another automatic assumption I have had people make before when I tell them that I am a Christian, is that I think I am better than everyone else just because of this. I actually don't think that at all. I, sadly, wouldn't be surprised to hear that there are Christians who think that. But I'm very grateful for the fact that I was brought up by a wonderful Christian family who taught me not to go sticking my nose in the air thinking that I am better than other people. In fact, I was taught that, as a Christian, I am to make myself a servant to others, so that I can help them, witness to them, and be an example of God's self-sacrificing love so that maybe I can share my faith with them.
And speaking of examples, that's another assumption I know some people make--that I'm some radical know-it-all who will beat you upside the head with my Bible the second I get the chance, and then try to force my beliefs down your throat.Once again, I know that there are people like this, but I can say that I honestly am not. I try very hard not to be. I was raised to think (and have only recieved verification of this over the years) that one of the best ways to witness to others and share your beliefs with them is through your actions--because actions really do speak louder than words, most of the time. That doesn't mean I won't verbally share my beliefs and my faith with others. I'm more than happy to do that. But I do realize that I need to be asked, or invited, to share my beliefs with words. If somebody doesn't ask for your opinion, then you can be sure they're not going to listen to it if you throw it in their face unwillingly/without their consent.
These are all things I believe that help shape my personality. I also try to live my life so that I represent the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, self-control). I try to offer forgiveness to others, because I shudder to think how often God forgives me.
I try to be set apart, by God's standards, and some of the best verses I can give as an example are these:
Song of Solomon 2:2
Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.
1 John 2:15-17
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world. The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized--whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ, but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every form of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all of this because of the Message.I didn't just want to talk about it, I wanted to be in on it.
~
"This I pledge, and I'll take it to my death: I'll lay my life down for You and die over again. I'm not ashamed of the Most High, even if I die tonight."
P.O.D.
