Whatever is True?

Working for a Christian organization that operates in a non-Christian world is very interesting.

At what point should a follower of Christ move from "idealism" to "realism"?

I hate it when people pat me on the head because of the innocence of my youth. "She's just an idealist," they say. "She'll find reality one of these days."

What IS reality?

I think I know why Paul told Timothy not to let anyone look down on him because he was young. It never occurred to me that people would actually do that. But they do. How could I possibly know God better than someone who has been a Christian for years longer than I, who has dedicated their life to a "ministry" doing what they really feel that God wants, supporting a political agenda to change a culture?

Can Christians operate to "change the culture"? Well, we could look at Constantine's rule for an interesting answer to that question. He changed the culture all right. Christianity became accepted, and people were forced to maintain the morals of a "Christian" regime that ushered in the dark ages.

Or look at the Crusades! I love history for the examples we have. An invasion of a foreign land for its riches, all in the name of "Christianity".

No, when you really look at history--HIS story--I think you could see that the people who have followed God and who have served Jesus Christ, have not been the most popular people in the world. They did not have the easiest lives. Read through Hebrews 11, if you want an interesting history lesson.

What IS it about Christians today that we would bow to such peer pressure from our "Christian" nation to accept the complacency of the political battles over the intensity of spiritual warfare?

Hello, people! We don't fight with weapons of flesh and blood. Satan knows how to use them SO much better than we do! We can't bring about revival by changing the law!

What could happen if followers of Jesus would take up His cross and follow? What would happen if we lived by His grace for every moment of every day? What would happen if we didn't "walk in wisdom" as so many people do, avoiding pain and anything that might possibly hurt us?

In the world we will have tribulation... A servant is not greater than his master.

Well, to all of you pain-dodging people, call me suicidal, but I'd rather die for my Jesus and serve Him than spend a life "ministering" and finding myself empty at the end. Anybody who thinks he is more than Christ (and I speak from bitter experience here) can expect only heartache when his world comes crumbling down around his ears.

What would happen if we were the same person before others that we are in the mirror when we get dressed in the morning? It's called integrity. That's what I want. To have a pure heart, a heart that is unflinchingly honest with myself and humbly broken before the Lord when I am wrong. I don't like to lie. I'm horrible at it, actually. I can't take the guilt. But what gets me even more is the facade of trying to be something that I'm not.

What is true? What's true is that I am a messed up human being with a desire to know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. I am someone who wants to serve, but who really messes up sometimes--but it's true--I'm covered by His grace. For the next time I mess up, I'll know to run to Him for help before I try to figure it out on my own.

Basically, I'm sick of the "God helps those who help themselves" SPIRITUALITY. I am so hungry to talk to people who KNOW the God of the Bible, people who are willing to lay down their lives, not for a cause, but for a PERSON who died for them and offered them the opportunity to be perfect before God because they are clothed in His righteousness.
Isn't Jesus' sacrifice worth a little more than our "realism"?