lucas labrador

Submitted by byrlk (United States), Nov 5, 2007 at 09:19

this is why it is so important that you read the bible for yourself so that you can correct self-righteous people like this.

does lucas have a right to be upset over others' sins/deception? i believe so... but only as much as he is upset at himself.

"judge NOT lest ye be judged" is a very strong warning for all people who claim to know God - certainly, for those who claim to be disciples (apprentices, per se') of Jesus. but make no mistake... Jesus was not saying these warnings as a man or a prophet: he was making declarative statements as God walking the earth. is all you have to do is read any one of the first 4 books of the new testament.

my advice is to not waste time on anyone who has anything to say which is contrary to the bible. the bible says that ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God, it also says that it is not by our own works that we are saved (and by saved, this is not some super-spiritually deep concept to me... it's simply saved: saved from my own stupidity, selfishness, and from an invisible army of spiritual forces that does wish to destroy me - and you), it is by Grace and Grace alone, lest anyone should boast.

from the beginning, the story of the human race was never about what we could do, but what God could do.

Christianity, unfortunately, while it had an amazing beginning, has since lost much of its true conviction: to live as Jesus did, fully obedient to God, fully loving Him and devoting our lives to Him, and living lives of service to each other.

i am not saying to throw christianity out the window... there have been and are today good christians - scarcely, unfortunately, but you can't blame them alone: the world as a whole isn't exactly getting better either. =)

what i am saying is don't focus on christianity... people love to point the finger at any and all religions (including this guy who ironically/hypocritically picks on homosexuals/etc. in the video i saw) *which is here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lC6lRyjyHcA

we all have to decide for ourselves WHO Jesus was and if he is worthy to be trusted... perhaps, with everything.

and the most accurate source of history about his life is found in the bible. i challenge you to read it and that other book by josh mcdowell. josh, in my opinion, while he has his faults, is not trying to play God (like the dog lucas). however, i will say that, like lucas, i require (and YOU require) forgiveness for our own judgmentalisms on people of whatever type... we judge more than we realize.

watch this video *the upside down kingdom, or listen to greg boyd right below.

http://kensingtonchurch.org/message/index4.asp

i agree with THESE types of people because they agree with Jesus and with the bible.

those who do not... i cannot be responsible for. and is all i can say on behalf of christianity is that i am very, deeply, truly sorry for our sins... and not just to you, but to God. we misrepresent Jesus/God ALL OF THE TIME, and it's not right.

there is a story in the gospels about a servant who is forgiven a massive debt... around 40 million dollars or so. his master was going to throw him into prison, but he being a good, forgiving, very loving master, forgave the servant of that debt... wiped it clean, and said, "you start NEW with me today. you are forgiven."

that servant went out, and on his way home, he found a lesser servant of the same master who owed him 20 dollars. he said to the lesser servant, "YOU OWE ME!!! pay me now, or i will throw your family into prison!!!"

the man couldn't pay... he said he would, but he couldn't then, so the unforgiving servant had them all throw into prison.

the master found out what he had done, and said to the servant, "you WICKED servant... i forgave you all, but you didn't learn your lesson." and he cast him into outer darkness.

the moral of the story is simple: judge not lest you be judged, you are forgiven an unpayable debt: your job is to reflect this and forgive others, no matter WHAT they do to you, and also, to whom much is given, much is required.

if God has truly forgiven us through Jesus - who claimed to be God, lived like God, acted like God with GOOD will towards humanity, and claimed to be making the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be reunited with God - then it is our job to be ministers of reconciliation with everyone... not preaching christianity as a religion that all should convert to or BURN IN HELL!!! but telling people, "look what God has done for me... and GOD LOVES YOU. look to Jesus... he is your FRIEND. he didn't come to judge us... he came to save us."

of course, it seems so complicated to trust something that you can't see... but that's why you need to examine the documents of his life for yourself.

he was not just a good prophet. he was either God or a nut or a liar... maybe even a demonically possessed person. but i'm telling you... you've gotta read the story (and ignore fruits of the "faith" like lucas) to truly know that you have formed a right opinion. because if you don't know about Jesus for yourself, how can you assume that you understand him?

certainly, don't take my word for it. read about him.

there is a reason you don't want to... you've read other books with no problem - all sorts of books, i'd wager.

but do, please. because if it's true - if God really loves us and Jesus is who he says he is, then it's not bad, condemning, horrible news: it's the best news you're ever going to hear in this world.

love you - b

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