Grace and Hell

Ok, I have a confession to make. It is hard to say this but I have to do this.
I don't believe in hell. At least not in the traditional sense. Many of my christian friends are going to get upset.Probably because they harbour resentment towards some people who they would love to see to go to hell. Actually I believe that these people who are so unforgiving are going to hell themselves! Actually they are living in their hell of bitterness right now. Many unfortunate people including kids are already living a life of hell through no fault of theirs.


I refuse to believe that God who is just and merciful is going to send my friends who all are  mostly good people  to a blazing lake of fire to be tormented by creepy creatures and all kinds of obscene things unimaginable things for all eternity. Ok, these people might have told a few lies been a bit selfish entertained lustful thoughts in their minds.  But do they deserve hell for that?
Even earthly judges are fairer.



What's more certain than hell is death. I will hold on to the promise of eternal life in paradise through Jesus but to hell with hell.

Do you believe in hell?
Do you really think good ppl who may be bit stubborn, harbour little jealousy, entertain lustful thoughts are going to burn and be tortured in hell forever? Is that fair?

Grace for Gays?

As Christians we are repulsed by the idea of gay marriage. Honestly as good Christians we object to all types of sin such as lying, cheating, idol worship etc. But these objections are nothing compared to our loud protests against gay marriage.

We protest because we know these people will commit "sinful acts". What about the rest of us? Will we no longer commit any sin? Imagine if the Minister refused to join you in holy matrimony because he, you and everyone else knows that you are definitely going to indulge in some sinful act in the future. Something like an angry outburst(equivalent to murder) or lustful thoughts about someone other than your spouse ( a.k.a adultery). Oh and not to forget the innumerable lies we tell especially to ourselves.

So  exactly why is the sin of homosexuality elevated to a higher pedestal amongst the sins? What are we so afraid of? After all, we do know what happens to folks sex lives after they get married. Seems like a great way to reduce the occurrence of this sin that we hate so very much.

How I Fell From Grace

Sorry the following doesn't rhyme but is a true account and a bit hilarious!

Recently I quit my church.
It started with a video on YouTube
I was told my video was offensive,
that I should not teach against tithing, that was wrong,
But my view is personal I argued
And I live in a country where freedom of speech is promoted.
I said I was very respectful, didn't use any names or used the name of my church
But they said we can't take it because you still attend our church.
Honestly it sounded like I was begging
for them not to cut me off.
I tried to tell them about Grace
and they admitted they didn't really understand.
I was even told that as a woman,
I needed to focus on my family instead of
making videos about what I felt passionate about.
I then expected to be also told
to not to work outside the home or vote or drive.
I was told I had shamed my family
and also already brought curses upon them.
My brain says I shouldn't
but my heart still feels the pain of knowing
that some Christians still cannot agree to disagree.
And will not study the scriptures for themselves
to find out and then stand up for the truth.

Here is that video..

Let's Stop Tithing

Many call this a sensitive subject and do not like to talk about it. Church ministers, pastors and leaders do not like discussing this as they may fear church income will drop significantly making it hard to finance ministries. Ordinary church goers don't talk about it either because they fear they can be seen to be doubting God's Holy word which has been preached to them by the anointed people of God a.k.a the church leaders.

Wake up guys! Study this topic for yourself and let the Holy Spirit lead you out from a place of fear to a place of faith. Have faith in God's new covenant with His people which has replaced the old one! Under this new covenant which was sealed by Jesus blood on the cross there is absolutely no place for tithing.

Let's get rid of this law and become generous, cheerful givers. As ministers, pastors and leader why don't we stop preaching this law which can only bring condemnation. Instead let us be brave and believe that God has the power to change hearts and create generous and cheerful givers.

If you wish to study this subject in more depth, here are some useful bible references in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJfmHf3Ul5w

I Really Love Me

Learning about God's grace has made it possible for me to really love myself. Now before you judge me a narcisist and start preaching to me me that as a christian I need to focus on loving others instead of being so self centred,  please hear me out.

My argument is you cannot genuinely love others if you have no idea how to love your own self. This argument is based on Mark 12:31 which says "Love your neighbour as you love yourself".Can you see  how if your idea of loving yourself is messed up  how messed up your love for others would be? Just to clarify, this idea of loving yourself is not about the selfish pursuits of pleasure for onself that bring temporary happiness but genuinely loving your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self and is further explained in the next paragraph.

Loving my physical self to me means loving and respecting my body. It means consciously  protecting this housing for my spiritual being from eating disorders, substance abuse, and physical abuse. It means fighting and protecting myself against emotional and mental abuse. Loving my spiritual self means tending to this self that is eternal. I can protect and nurture my spirit by fighting spiritually harmful things like greed, envy, lust, unforgiveness and bitterness. Loving myself also means being able to receive love and help from others around me .I know I can achieve all these with the help of the Holy Spirit, inspirational teachings from the Bible and my christian friends.

While I am learning to love myself properly,  I am learning to extend this concept of love to others. This means caring for others physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being exactly like I care for my own. It means not becoming a stumbling block for others by purposefully inciting greed, envy, lust and bitterness in their hearts. It means encouraging and teaching others to value their physical and spiritual selves. This type of genuine love is full of compassion and fuels an unquenchable desire to share the gospel with others. To summarise,  it is hard to love others properly if we do not really know how to genuinely love our own selves. And we cannot love ourselves if we cannot grasp the concept of God's  unconditional love for us.

What do you think about loving your own self?

Now I Can Love

Love is a funny thing. As a kid I expected my parents to love me unconditionally. They tried their best but I didn't always understand this especially when I wanted something from them and they couldn't or wouldn't  give it to me. Sometimes I  even wished I was born in a different home.

As I grew older, I didn't stop wanting to be loved. I just wanted it expressed differently instead of with things bought with money. I realised how complex love can be. Isn't it funny how each of us defines this concept for ourselves? We decide on what actions and behaviour we will exihibit in order to express our love for others. And then we create rules for others,  rules which they need to be careful not to break if they claim to love us.

A lot of times the people we love break the love rules we made, whether intentionally or accidentally. Sometimes our expectations do not meet with what they are willing to give to us in the name of love. Yes, it's an excellent recipe for heartbreak isn't it? Some "love experts" say each of us needs to love ourselves first before we can even begin to love others.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if perfect unconditional love existed? The good news is it does! God's love for us is perfect and one just needs to look at the cross to begin to grasp this. As I learn more about this love, I love myself more. I value myself more, I appreciate my strengths and I work on my weaknesses. I am learning to be patient, kind and forgiving to myself. Knowing how loved I am makes it is easier for me to genuinely love and care about others.

God loves me => I love myself => I can love others

The following are my favourite bible verses on love..
Mark 12: 31
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
What do you think about perfect love? Is it possible? Have you experienced unconditional love?

Is Your Repentance Inspired by Grace

I grew up hearing the phrase repent to get your sins forgiven. Preachers fired the word repent repeatedly  from the pulpits, denting my conscience,  making me and I suspect others feel guilty of their weaknesses.

This is what I then understood this word meant. To me it meant stop breaking the ten commandments and other laws which are so important to God. The new testament teachings made it even harder to keep these laws because according to it anger equaled murder and any lustful thought in my mind was equal to adultery. I understood that if I was not perfect by the time Jesus came I would not be going to heaven.Of course I failed to keep these laws like we still do today. After repeated failure I just gave up feeling incapable and useless thinking God's salvation is not for me.

Learning about God's grace has changed my perception on repentance. I have learnt that repentance under grace means a complete change of mindset which comes from knowing God still loves you if you fail. He wants you to get up and try again. He wants you to know that the power of His Holy Spirit is behind to help you find the tools and resources and the support which you need to create this new attitude. This new attitude is going to stop you from falling often, help you pick yourself up if you did and try again knowing your sins have been forgiven. The most wonderful thing about this attitude is knowing that my salvation will not be lost as long as I keep believing in the power of Jesus blood to cleanse sins and give eternal life. Repentance to me is also removing my focus from my works and focusing on God's love which perfect my works.

Does this idea of repentance gives me the license to sin? No, on the contrary it inspires me to change certain attitudes which may be inherent to my human nature or learned from an imperfect childhood. These attitudes for me are things like fear, feeling unloved and strong biological urges to survive.  I now know that my sins are merely a product of these attitudes. Faith in God's love has taken care of my fear and my desire for perfect love. Knowing that God has created us humans different to the animals in the sense he has given us a strong sense of conscience helps me embrace my biological urge to survive and yet not letting it destroy my humanity. Armed with this knowledge of his love I  am now less inclined to fall and more inclined to love Him and all of His creation.

Or despise you the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 2:4

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

Philipians 1:6

 

Read more about grace inspired repentance here.

http://gospeltranslations.org/wiki/Biblical_Repentance/The_Meaning_of_Repentance

http://graceandsanity.org/programs.htm

 

What does Repentance mean for you? Is your repentance inspired by God's grace and His love?