[Brian's Thoughts for the day: Dec. 21st]
WHAT DO I KNOW?
I was drawn into a web discussion one night about; “What was the unforgiveable sin talked about in the Bible?” I then began to think about how important it was for me, when I was a 16 year old new believer in Christ, how I could figure out every doctrinal and theological concept in Christianity. Was I a believer in Arminianism or a Calvinist? Did I believe in a pre or post tribulation rapture? When will the world end? What exactly did the “Unforgiveable Sin” actually refer to? Who will be the anti-Christ? Etc, etc, etc. Luckily, by the time I was 18, I had figured out the answers to all of life’s questions (at least I thought so). Now, as a middle aged man I finally realized that I didn’t need my seminary education to understand God's heart or Christianity. Jesus’ message is really VERY SIMPLE (even young children can understand it). In Luke 10, Jesus was asked by a Jewish religious leader; "What was the most important commandment, of the 613 commandments (or Mitzvot) found in the Torah (Bible)?" Jesus responded very simply by saying; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself.” Really simple concept! God loves us and wants us to love and trust Him in return. He also wants us to show love towards those around us. It’s a shame that in my life it took hardship, loss and trauma to turn my face fully towards my Heavenly Father. It was still ok though as God had been waiting patiently and always rejoices whenever His children turn to Him. Can’t say I’m fully walking this all out yet—but loving God fully is the current desire of every fiber of my being. ~ Brian
Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.
I was drawn into a web discussion one night about; “What was the unforgiveable sin talked about in the Bible?” I then began to think about how important it was for me, when I was a 16 year old new believer in Christ, how I could figure out every doctrinal and theological concept in Christianity. Was I a believer in Arminianism or a Calvinist? Did I believe in a pre or post tribulation rapture? When will the world end? What exactly did the “Unforgiveable Sin” actually refer to? Who will be the anti-Christ? Etc, etc, etc. Luckily, by the time I was 18, I had figured out the answers to all of life’s questions (at least I thought so). Now, as a middle aged man I finally realized that I didn’t need my seminary education to understand God's heart or Christianity. Jesus’ message is really VERY SIMPLE (even young children can understand it). In Luke 10, Jesus was asked by a Jewish religious leader; "What was the most important commandment, of the 613 commandments (or Mitzvot) found in the Torah (Bible)?" Jesus responded very simply by saying; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself.” Really simple concept! God loves us and wants us to love and trust Him in return. He also wants us to show love towards those around us. It’s a shame that in my life it took hardship, loss and trauma to turn my face fully towards my Heavenly Father. It was still ok though as God had been waiting patiently and always rejoices whenever His children turn to Him. Can’t say I’m fully walking this all out yet—but loving God fully is the current desire of every fiber of my being. ~ Brian
Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog.
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"It's easy to be a "Christian" when life is good. The real sign of a person's relationship with Jesus is who they are when things are hard and it seems like life is falling apart." ~Brian