Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Stay faithful to what you believe
Thanks to the availability of Social Media portals such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and blogs anyone can say anything they want and reach a global audience.
The quarterback of the Denver Broncos has garnered attention, because of his faith, and that has been linked to the season’s success that the Denver Broncos has enjoyed this season thus far. The Denver Broncos suffered a loss in their last game and Bill Maher took it upon himself to use this as an opportunity to tweet something inflammatory.
While I do not appreciate the comments that were made, I also understand that I can expect that sort of behavior from this individual. Bill Maher openly disregards, and makes fun of those, who profess faith in Jesus Christ. There is nothing new about this, Bill Maher just happens to have the ear of the liberal media outlets, that give him a global audience in which to spout his garbage.
I watched Pier Morgan of CNN interview Joel and Victoria Osteen last night. Pier Morgan spent the duration of the interview, trying to pin Joel Osteen down and get him to take a definitive stand on several inflammatory social issues, such as abortion, capital punishment and homosexuality. Joel Osteen did a good job of not getting pressured into making any type of statement, that would be construed as an official statement of Lakewood church or Christianity in general. Joel Osteen is labeled as the pastor of a mega church in Houston Texas, and therefore is someone that has a lot of influence over a lot of people.
Joel Osteen did reiterate his belief that homosexuality is a sin. He did not back down or apologize for scripture. He stated that he based his belief that homosexuality is a sin, because of what the scripture states. What Joel Osteen failed to say was that God loves all people and despises ALL SIN. Joel and Victoria Osteen stated that while they thought that homosexuality is a sin, that they would not have a problem attending a same sex wedding, IF the people involved were dear to their hearts.
I believe that the Bible says we are to love the person and hate the sin. The bible also says that if someone is openly living in sin, and has no remorse, or does not show a repentant heart, that we are to break fellowship with them. In other words, it is our duty to love them, and to show them what the bible says about their behavior. If they repent of the sin, and turn away from it, then we can have fellowship with them. If they do not repent and reject the counsel of God’s word then we are not to continue to be in fellowship with them.
I realize that blogging about religion and politics is not going to make me a popular person. Most folks shy away from those topics because they are so polarized and emotionally charged. We believe what we believe, and some folks say that these topics are too personal and private to be discussed in an open forum. I totally respect those people who tell me that they do not want to discuss these topics no matter what the reason is.
What I take issue with is people who use social media portals in order to make fun of folks who have faith in Christ or mock God with their statements. I also take issue with people of faith who use the same social media portals to openly attack people and wish them ill will or tell them that they do not deserve Jesus. When people of faith make that kind of statement they are doing more damage to faith in Christ.
Lets get this straight folks. None of us deserve Jesus. What did Jesus bring to the world? Jesus died on the cross for the sins of man for all time. Grace is the gift that God gave to mankind through his son Jesus. No one deserves that grace, but it was freely given for all. Instead of attacking people who do not agree with our faith in Christ, we should agreeably disagree with their opinions, but respect the person. If we are Christ followers, then we should act like Christ followers. If we are Christ followers then we will show the fruit of the spirit that Galatians 5 speaks of.
Please stop using social media to openly attack people who do not agree with your faith in Christ. Use social media to engage those people in a mutually respectful manner, that will open up a dialog to discuss our faith in Christ. No matter what be ready to agreeably disagree with those we chose not to believe in the way you believe.
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