Christian or WAFR?

  Christian or WAFR?

In the book of Proverbs we read,

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; 

bind them around your neck, 

write them on the tablet of your heart. 

Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man." 

                                                                                                          Proverbs 3:3,4.

Do you Love God? Are you faithful to Him? Does you love extend to those around you, family friend and foe alike?

Sadly when I speak to people of other faiths and lifestyles here in North America they see many of those in the evangelical community as unloving.

They see evangelicals as wanting to take their rights away. Rights given to them by a lawfully elected secular, government.

From my point of view I firmly believe they are not seeing true Christians. They are seeing what someone has called “White American Folk Religion (WAFR)”.

John Walton in a paper entitled, “A Practical View of White American Folk Religion Contrasted with Real Christianity” (October 31, 2020) wrote,

 “WAFR is a race, class, gender-based hierarchy that hijacks the Christian label to sanction abuse, greed, and violence, and then absolve leaders who live lives contrary to the teachings of Jesus and wield power in opposition to God's plan for the world.” John Walton

The attributes of a true Christian are given by the apostle Paul who said,

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22,23.

The apostle Paul also defined what Christian love is when he wrote,

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.

So who are you? 

Do you follow the teachings of Jesus? 

Are you showing the fruit of the Spirit and attributes of Love as the apostle Paul laid out?

        Or; 

Are you a WAFR?

Please think about it.

Who's your friend?

 Who’s your friend?

In the book of James we read,

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."  James 4:4.

So who’s your friend?

Jesus tells us,

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24.

We must decide whether we are on Gods side or mans side. A decision that should not be taken lightly. 

Matthews gospel tells this story,

"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 

"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 

"Which ones?" the man inquired. 

Jesus replied, " ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,' and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.''" 

"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Matthew 19:16-22.

Are you this young man. Who had more faith in his wealth than in God? Or is your faith in God?

Please think about it.

Not my will bu yours be done

 Not my will but yours be done

Jesus said,

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38

Here is a portion of scripture misused by the so called prosperity doctrine teachers. They say all you have to do is ask God and He will give it to you. 

Sadly many have given more than they could afford to a ministry only to find what they were led to believe is untrue.

In the book of James we read,

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:3.

Jesus makes it clear what we are suppose to do when he states,

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33.

The way I see it is, the closer we come to God, through prayer and the study of scripture the better we see what Gods will for our life is. Thus we come in line for Gods will in our life and pray as Jesus prayed on the mount of olives,

"...not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42b.

So my question to you is; 

Uncertain times

 Uncertain times?

The apostle Paul wrote.

"And we know all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.

We live in uncertain times. The Covid-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented grief the world over. Many around the world are looking to the political drama going on in the United States, the regional conflicts around the world, and asking what does it all mean.

Some are even saying we are on the verge of the second coming of Christ.

Frankly I don’t know why all these problems are occurring. I especially don’t know if we are on the verge of Christs return.

What I do no is what the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 is true,

"And we know all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.

Thus my questions to you the reader is;

Do you truly from your heart, love God?

And;

Are you doing what God has called you to do?

Please think about it.

Revival

  Revival

In the book of 2 Chronicles we read,

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles, 7:14.

I attend an evangelical church and as such I hear a lot of people saying there is a need for revival. And it does. 

That being said what I am hearing is “America and Canada need revival” as if America and Canada are Christian nations who have fallen away from God. Which is not true. Canada and America are not Christian nations. Nor have they ever been. There is no Christian nation in this world.

It is not American and Canadian nations that need revival, it is the Church particularly those claiming to be evangelicals. 

Sadly in the year of our Lord 2020 the evangelical movement in North America has moved away from the pure gospel message. 

They are mixing their faith with politics. Always a bad combination. As someone has said,

“mixing religion and politics is like mixing water and gasoline. 

The water is undrinkable. 

The gasoline unusable. 

And the whole mixture explosive.”

Yes there is a need for revival within the church be they evangelicals or non-evangelicals, all need;

To humble themselves and pray. 

To confess their sins.

And to ask God to forgive them for turning from His word. 

Please think about it.

Are You?

 Are you?

Jesus said,

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" Matthew 7:12.

The apostle Paul wrote,

"Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4.

two questions: 1/ Are you following these two teachings of Jesus and the                                                apostle Paul?

                2/ Are the pastors, priests, politicians, or other leaders you                                                follow doing what Jesus and Paul said?

Please think about it.

You and others

 You and others

Jesus said,

"Do to others as you would have them do to you. 

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners' love those who love them.  

And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners' do that.  

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners' lend to ‘sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.  

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." Luke 6:31-35.

One question; Are you doing what Jesus is telling us to do here?

Please think about it.

Peace

 Peace

The apostle Paul writes,

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, 

live at peace with everyone."

                                                                       Romans 12:18.

The apostle Paul understood that in order to win souls for Christ you need to be at peace with those around you. If you are constantly arguing and fighting with those of other faiths and lifestyles you will never win a soul for Christ.

Tony Campolo the American evangelist wrote,

"These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change." Tony Campolo.

He’s right if we care for the sick, feed the hungry and stand up for the oppressed even if they have different views from us, things would change.

Sadly many Christians in North America are known for what they are against rather than what they are for. This should never be so.

In all our interactions with people around us, family, friend, or foe, we should always look to the words of Jesus who said,

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" Matthew 7:12.

Please think about it.

Christians sin

Christians sin

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:  

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  

I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14.

Do you humble yourself before God. Are you like the Pharisee in the above parable or like the tax collector?

The apostle Paul tells us,

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23.

Even Christians sin. As someone has said, “Christians are not perfect just progressing”

The apostle John reminds us,

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." 1John 1:9-10.

Thus my question to anyone claiming to be a believer in Christ Jesus is;

When was the last time you confessed your sin to God?

Please think about it.

Do you take God for granted?

 Do you take God for granted?

Luke’s gospel records,

“Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.  

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner." 

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. 

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. 

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  

You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.  

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.  

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." 

Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Luke 7:36-48.

I have attended church for over forty years. In that time I have seen many who come to church, who have the attitude that they are saved and seemingly take God for granted. I find this especially in those who grew up in the church. They are like the pharisee mentioned in the above scripture.

At the same time I have seen others come to the alter and weep asking for Gods forgiveness, for they know how far from God they were.

I think as believers we from time to time need to truly look at ourselves and ask;

Do I take God for granted?

Do I take my faith for granted?

Am I truly giving to God the reverence, glory, honour and praise God deserves?

Please think about it.

No other gods

 No other Gods

In the book of Exodus we read,

And God spoke all these words: 

"I am the LORD your God, 

who brought you out of Egypt, 

out of the land of slavery. 

"You shall have no other gods before me. 

                                                       Exodus 20:1-3

What constitutes a god in the twenty-first century. The way I see it is a god is anything you put ahead of The Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

The one big thing I see more so in the United States than in Canada is their constitutional rights. The constitution of the United States give each individual certain rights. Which is a good thing. The trouble comes when an individual puts their rights ahead of what God tells us to do in the scriptures.

We don’t see the guarantee of individual rights in the Bible. In the bible we read,

"Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4.

We are called to look to the interest of others. Which means even if we have certain rights guaranteed by the laws of the country in which we live, we have an obligation to God and our fellow man to put others interests above ourselves.

Do you?

Please think about it.

Something to do

 Something to do

In the book of Proverbs we read,

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

 bind them around your neck, 

write them on the tablet of your heart. 

Then you will win favour and a good name

 in the sight of God and man."

                                                       Proverbs 3:3,4.

As believers in Christ Jesus we must remember that Love of God, and love for our fellow man, be they family, friend, or foe, should take first place in our heart.

The results of love and faithfulness will, the writer of proverbs tells us,

“...win favour and a good name 

in the sight of God and man.”

So is this something you are doing?

Please think about it.