"American" & "Christian" Are Not Synonymous

This is a concern of mine that is very hard to explain and sometimes offensive to others. Hopefully, this blog will not be the first time that you have been made aware of this issue.

Many people across the world view the United States as the modern Israel in a sense. Some believe that Americans are convinced that what our government does is an act of God. That may be accurate for some believers, as long as a republican is in office.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, "God is not a Republican....OR a Democrat" and the accuracy of that statement made me think a lot.

So many times we try and combine God and country. These two are not meant to be combined. I am not saying that no country has ever been faithful to God, but the US is far from that status.

Just think about some of the differences:
U.S.: Prosperous because of greed
Xianity: Known for giving

U.S.: Centered around pleasing yourself
Xianity: Told to deny self and please the Lord


These are two examples of possibly thousands. I am trying to create a starting point for some dialogue on this issue, but I encourage you to think about these things.

Christianity in the U.S. is struggling', and I think most of that has to do with the cultural and spiritual clash that has taken place. In the words of a friend of mine, "If I serve the god of American Christianity then I'm out. I need a God who is bigger than that. I need the God of the Bible; of Jacob and David, of Moses and of Paul. If I don't find that God, I'm out." Now, I am not saying that this can't be changed, but I am encouraging you to make sure that you are supporting the right kingdom because the U.S. will most likely not last forever, for all kingdoms pass away, but the one Kingdom that won't is the Lord's and we need to identify with that kingdom more than any other.

Choose you this day whom you will serve...because when it comes down to it...in the words (paraphrase) of my dad, if you are forced to choose between being American and being Christian, I hope you choose being a Christian.

Feel free to comment...

It is not about you...

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the idea of how much we focus on ourselves. It's interesting to me how much this idea flows into our everyday lives so much. Obviously, you might say, our flesh includes selfishness, duh, and I would agree, but it seems to me that this attitude actually plays into a lot more areas than we think.

When someone succeeds, we find a way to make ourselves a victim: instead of "congratulations on your promotion, I bet the Lord has the best for you in LA", it is something more like "I can't believe you are moving to LA and leaving ME".

When someone confronts us on things that need to change in our lives, we get angry at them for bringing up our blemishes instead of realizing that their best interest is most likely to help us be as Christ-like as possible.

Now, I don't feel that I am writing on this matter with clarity and full expression of my thoughts, but it mostly concerns me because it comes out in our witness, or lack thereof:

I am guilty as charged just as much as anyone, but how many times does the Lord whisper to us to reach out to someone or to tell someone about Him, and we make it an issue about us..."What if I say the wrong words?", "what if I look stupid?", "what if I go to speak and then I have nothing to say?", or the kicker, "what if the person decides NOT to follow the Lord based on the ridiculousness I say to them?"...well, there is good news...

IT ISN'T ABOUT YOU! It is about obedience. It is about listening and then doing. I know it isn't easy, but may I suggest taking a look at your words and motives and asking the Lord to give you a focus on being more like him instead of pleasing yourself and always needing your own needs met over others....

Please comment below...!

Real Attempt

Ok, so, here goes. Maybe I will try this thing after all. Is anyone even reading this? From time to time even? See, the only problem about these things is that I don't really like to talk about myself and I don't really know a whole lot in any area, so pretty much there isn't much to write. Nonetheless, I will trudge through the muck and post something every once and a while. Ok, thanks for reading this rambling.

Introduction

I don't even know how any of these things work! HA! Man, I am so behind the times...now, if I can just even get back to this post after I submit it, that would be progress...