Responsibilities as a Christian [a long blog post]

(this is a picture taken with my camera or a friend's camera. I then did some lovely editting, using Picnik.com. The lyrics are from an old Newsboys song called "Hallelujah"[?])

So I have been doing a lot of pondering about what it means to be a Christian in the past year or two. I'm realizing that most of the people in America who call themselves "Christians" have no actions to back up that title. Why, in this supposedly "Christian" nation, do I feel like the outcast? There are so many people saying that they are Christians...and yet how are they showing this to be true?

"Actions speak louder than words" is definitely a statement that truly applies here. Going to church in and of itself means NOTHING. If you listen to God's Word, but don't apply it to your life, what good is it to you? James 1:22-25 says something similar:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does
not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a
mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately
forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently
into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do
this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will
be blessed in what he does.

So many people in America say, "I'm a Christian," without thinking about what that means. If you're going to be a Christian, then BE a Christian. Without actions that reflect the meaning behind it, "Christian" is just another word. Read your Bible if you want to know what being a Christian actually means. I'm working on finding out what it means to be a Christian myself, and applying it to my entire life. In James 2:14-26 (please read the ENTIRE passage), it says:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?
Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and
daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and
well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the
same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith
without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—
and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds
is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he
did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his
actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he
did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it
was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend. You see
that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for
what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Being a true Christian involves doing things that aren't popular and NOT doing things that ARE popular. This involves waging war against the flesh. Here are some examples of things you should strive to do or not do as a Christian (warning: I am imperfect and though I know a lot of what I should/shouldn't do, I don't always do what I know I should do).

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you,
do not demand it back. 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. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
-Luke 6:30-36

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:
sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed,
which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these:
anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
-Colossians 3:5-8

No, being a true Christian is not always easy and it is not always the popular thing to do.

We can't be perfect here and now on earth, but as Christians, we should make outselves aware of what sin is and strive to avoid it. As Christians, we are not to live any longer to ourselves, but to God and to other people.

When you tell someone you are a "Christian," you may become the impression that comes to his mind when he thinks of a "Christian." You may embody what "Christian" means to that person.

Make a good impression so that you can be a bold witness for Christ, and not bring dishonor to His name. Please pray that I do the same.

Catrina's Thought of the Day

So a classmate of mine said that Rush Limbaugh "needs Jesus" because he is so "mean-spirited." I ignored my feelings of disagreement on her sentiment and moved on to the issue that I thought was more important. I said, "Nice people need Jesus, too." And she either replied that Mr. Limbaugh or mean people (can't remember which) really need Jesus. But I disagree with her on this as well--"nice" people and "mean" people need Jesus just as much. Nice people may actually be in more danger because they may think they are all right because they're "nice." C.S. Lewis first brought this to my attention in his book Mere Christianity and I agree with him.

P.S. Everyone in the world should read Mere Christianity!

Does it ever feel...

...like the radio is reading your mind?

You'll just be sitting there in your car [or house] and then this song comes on that seems to describe exactly how you feel at that moment. The lyrics may not completely go with your situation but the feel/essence/etc. and the sound match your mood perfectly.

I had one of those moments today sitting in the car. It was like magic. I was feeling a certain way and two songs came on that made me think, "Wow. That's how I feel."

Anybody ever experienced that? Anybody?

Other random thoughts of mine...

I REALLY need to go to bed but want to type up these notes I've made first:
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-I love cemetaries--they're so beautiful with all the stones. I don't ever want to have one of those flat gravestones [or whatever they're called]--give me a cool pillar thing or little statue or something. I also like going to cemetaries to find cool last names for characters in my stories. [Am I sounding morbid? I don't mean to.]
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-Knowing history is important becauseif you do not know history, you are destined to repeat it. Now, you might say, "well, I'm not going to become president or anything so I don't really need to read history--it doesn't affect me". That's where you're wrong, my friend! Especially, if you are an American, it does affect you and you do need to know your history! If you are an American who cares enough about the future of this country [which includes your future] to use your right to vote, you should know your history. When you vote, you are affecting the future of this country or city or state--no matter how small the matter voted upon.
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-Abortion is as evil as what the Spartans did to any babies that they thought were weak. They would abandon them, leaving them to die of hunger or thirst or to be eaten by wild animals. Abortion is just as evil and barbaric as that only it's done in sterile hospital rooms and the baby isn't even out of the womb yet. It's still in what should be a safe place from the dangers of the world.
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On a lighter note, I found this quote, which I love very much.
"A real friend is one who helps us to think our best thoughts, do our noblest deeds, and be our finest selves."

It doesn't matter how you FEEL--it's what you DO that matters

Thought I'd explain my thoughts on my title. I heard it in a Superchic[k] song and thought it was an awesome thing to say.

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When you're feeling fearful but you DO something that overcomes that fear--then you've done something courageous [making you courageous]. In history books, most of the time you won't read where it says "and he felt"--it's "and he did such-and-such". "He went to battle" or "he conquered such-and-such". I'm sure nearly all the time, the great men of history who did something no one had ever done before or went and conquered or defended something, they were really scared but they didn't allow it to hinder them from doing what they wanted or had to do.

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Maybe you're FEELING tired and don't want to do something but if you do it anyway, you'll feel more accomplished.

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Maybe you're feeling too afraid to say something, even though it's the right thing to do, because you're afraid of what someone or everyone will think. If you do it, though, you'll feel proud that you did the right thing and maybe people won't think how you thought they would.

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This saying can be applied to smaller things like over-eating, cleaning/picking up after yourself, exercising, etc. There have been a couple times when I didn't feel like doing something and thought of this saying and it kept me going. Now, if I could just remember it all the time, that'd be grand!

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Any thoughts?