You Are Scaring People

Being a Christian is not always easy. Much of the Bible tells us how we should exemplify Christs' life after we become a Christian ... walking upright, patiently enduring evil, correcting non-believers with gentleness and truth, etc. How do you do this when called foul names, accused of being judgmental, or that you are only scaring people by telling them God's truth? 1 Timothy 3:16 verifies that God's Word (the Bible) is "God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness." Writing my blogs is an effort to fulfill that mission. There are times during unwanted, hurtful attacks that I don't feel like being gentle. But when I think about what's happening I have to remind myself that a lot of what we see going on today is actually a spiritual battle and that it is not about me. "Through You, we will push back our adversaries, through Your Name we will trample down those who rise up against us" (Psalm 44:5.) I must constantly remind myself, and others on this journey with me, that those that strike against Biblical teaching are not guided by a spiritual code of ethics. My prayer is for their eyes to be opened and that God would grant repentance and a knowledge of the truth. It's difficult for the world to understand a Christians desire to wake sleeping souls. Why? ...

Because, the Bible is spiritually discerned and without the spirit of God in you, the Bible is just words and means absolutely nothing! "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, the meaning of scriptures is hidden from those snared by the devil. It's as simple as that. It was once hidden from me! I poo-pooed the Bible at one time. It was all mush to me, too far over my head ... this, thou, thus! My eyes were only opened when I surrendered to Christ, willing to give up my life to know and follow His truth. There is a spiritual battle going on all over the world. Even without scriptural knowledge, the moral decline in our country should be very noticeable and an indicator that we are way off track.
I have been told I need to leave my Christianity inside the doors of the church (that's the nice way of putting what has been said), yet we see the other side continuing to push their beliefs and sin on us any way they can (abortion, homosexuality, transgendered men in girls bathrooms, etc.), even making some of these laws to abide by! Even so, we cannot grow weary in doing good (1 Thessalonians 3:13). GOD is sovereign. His opponents can only go as far as He allows them. Yes, that HE ALLOWS. God has a plan! Even the enemy has a purpose that will fulfill His will. So, I'm scaring you? Which would you prefer: scared with truth or comforted with a lie?

Suppose that you were dying in the desert and you happened upon a tent. Inside sat two people. One appeared friendly, warm, and inviting. The other one appeared ugly, cold, and repulsive. In front of both people were large baskets but one basket contained life-giving water, the other a deadly poison. The friendly one speaks, "Come and drink the water that is in my basket." The other one who looks cold and demanding shouts, "NO! He's a liar. Do not drink from that basket, it contains poison." The friendly guy replies, "I can't believe how unloving you are scaring him like that! Can't you see this man is thirsty? Can't you see he needs my water? Come and drink." So you question the friendly gentleman, "Do you know that's true water in your basket? He quickly replies, "Of course there is water!" So you turn to the other repulsive one, "And you? There is water in your basket?" He answers, "Yes, I know there is water in my basket! I have the water!" The friendly person becomes irate and says, "I cannot believe you would be so arrogant as to claim that you have the only water in your basket." So this friendly gentleman turns to you and says, "Surely you are an educated man who understands there is really nothing we can truly know. But I tell you honestly, I have the water!" The unattractive one speaks up, "If you drink from the basket he offers you, you will surely die!" The attractive guy is persistent, "I cannot believe that you would be so self-righteous as to think that someone would actually die drinking what's in my basket! Do you think I'm an idiot or a fool? My water is fine. Where is your love, your compassion, your concern for this poor soul? You'll be fine, come and drink!" The other one who now appears to be uncaring and righteous pleads, "I love this man enough to tell him the truth. I want him to live and he will if he chooses the water from this basket. I have nothing to gain if he drinks from my basket, but he has everything to lose if he drinks your poison!" Then looking up at the thirsty sojourner the repulsive guy asks, "Why don't you test both baskets of water with this litmus paper and see which is which?" Afraid he'll lose ground the attractive man screams, "I can't believe you would ask him to do that! I'm offended that you would even suggest it." Then this same guy turns and looks straight into your eyes, "If you do that, then I will be offended. Can't you see this guy is trying to force you to believe a lie? I have the water, not him! Come on, figure it out. Look at him ... he's repulsive, a liar, telling you what to do, and judging me as some kind of dangerous man." So being persuaded by the words of the attractive guy (who obviously cares about you and is warning you against this apparent nut-case) and knowing he loves you because of the words he spoke and that he is attractive, friendly, warm and inviting, you take the water from his basket! But before the liquid reaches the back of your throat, you realize you have consumed poison but it's too late. As you lay dying, the unattractive one comes over and says, "You could have tested the substances in both baskets and you would have known he was offering you poison!" The attractive guy from whose basket you drank lies next to you and says, "Hey man, I'm sorry. I really believed what I was giving you was good stuff. I did have water, I just didn't know it was tainted. I was deceived too. I just didn't know." Who was truly the most loving out if the two?

To the world, Christian's can appear to be cold, righteous, holier-than-thou, irritating judges ...the repulsive ones. But we want nothing more than to warn, guide, and reach down to pull you out of the poisons of the world! We know what will happen by drinking it, but Jesus is the cure. We each have something in our possession. Some have truth and some are deceived by lies. But there is a way to test who has truth and who has lies, by comparing the words that we speak with God’s words. The outcome of our decision is no less critical than the situation above; in fact, it is even more grave, because we are not merely speaking about our physical life, but our spiritual one and eternity hanging in the balance. Christians try really hard to give it to you straight, because they understand that if you do not accept Biblical truth as it is written, then your soul will be in jeopardy. They warn you of the terrible consequences that await those who fail to believe the truth, and they point out the fact that others are out there, deceived and speaking lies about God’s plan for man’s salvation. Yet some criticize them and say that they are unloving, unkind, and lack communication skills. So it is in your power to test which one is speaking the truth and which one is not. Will you, fearful of offending someone, follow your emotions and make your decision based upon the appearance of love, sensitivity, and concern? Or will you, regardless of who you may offend, test the things that are said against the standard of truth that God has given to ensure that your beliefs are in harmony with reality? I hope that you would choose to test the things that have been told you by others, by comparing them to God’s word and concluding based upon the truth that you can believe one and not believe the other. I am not exempt from this test. Test my words as you read the blogs. Ezekiel 3:18 NIV, "When I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood." I may seem repulsive to some but I am trying to open eyes, to dissuade you from the dangers of sin leading to hell's fire! Jude 1:23 KJV, "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Until next time ... -Pat-