You Call Yourself A Christian?!

I heard a story today that literally made me sick to my stomach.

A church in the town over from Bowie lost their pastor the other day. He was jogging by the local lake when he had a heart attack and died. 

Now, that is a very sad story, and I am grieved for the family of this pastor. But what makes me angry is that the church is personally evicting the pastor's wife from the parsonage in less that three weeks because her position as "Pastor's Wife" is void and she has no way of paying them rent.

What kind of church would do that?!

We love the name Christian. Christian means to be identified with Christ. It means to be Christ like. 

CHRIST like.

Would Christ evict this woman simply because her husband is dead? 

NO! That wasn't a rhetorical question. The answer is absolutely NO.

 

Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

 

James 4 :17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

 

Galatians 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ

 

Ok. So just from these simple verses I can see that God would wish us to love and sacrifice and do right for a person in need. Or any other time. What kind of Christian are you if you don't LOVE? What kind of Christian are you if you show no MERCY? What kind of Christian are you if you haven't any GRACE?

Especially to your own?!

What did Christ do for you on the cross of Calvary? He showed LOVE, MERCY, and the most amazing GRACE this world has ever seen. I am nothing without Christ and I assure you that you are in the same boat I am in. Do you call yourself a Christian? Do you?

How do you portray Christ to others? 

That isn't a rhetorical question either. 

You need to be honest with yourself and choose what kind of Christian you will be.

Love God. Love People. 

LOVE.

MERCY

GRACE

Those are the words of my love story with Christ. And I am not doing Him any favors by hiding that love from the world when they need it the most.

.....Choose you this day whom ye will serve......

As for me? I will serve the Lord.

Brianna

I MADE IT!!!

I made it!! 

Ok. So I have actually been here in Bowie Texas for about nine days. I have been settling in  and visiting churches in the surrounding areas. I have even managed to locate some thrift stores.  :) shhhhh......don't tell my mom.  ;)

I am so excited to be here at the BBTI this year. I have an awesome room mate and some pretty cool class mates. There are four families attending along with four single girls. Yes, we are a small class. The BBTI is not a college. It is a nine month school that focuses on teaching linguistics and bible translation skills. It's purpose is to teach the missionary how to go into another country and learn their language, culture, and life style effectively and efficiently so that they can spread the gospel correctly. 

There are so many cases in which a missionary goes to a foreign land and has no clue how to reach the people. Or he does it the wrong way. As Christians our goal should be to not only spread the gospel, but to make it clear so that there isn't confusion. 

Today was the first day in orientation. I will attend another day of orientation and then class starts on Monday. I have a feeling that I will like the classes. One of them is all about writing reports on other Missionaries, Countries, and People Groups. :) I am very excited!

So please keep all of the students in your prayers as this year will stretch them in many ways. Each on of us is stepping out in faith. The life of a Christian is built on faith. We are all depending on God to provide our food, rent, clothing, and vehicles. There is no time for a job so we truly are relying on the Lord. 

I have already begun to see different things that God has provided and I know He will keep doing so.  :)

If you are interested in learning more about BBTI please visit the link below.  :)

http://www.baptisttranslators.com/

Brianna

STORY TIME!!!! :)

The other night at church my pastor told me a story that I want to share with you.

My pastor was talking about the purity of Christ. Of course we all know that Christ is pure. 

He is Christ. What else would He be?
Matthew 28:3 - His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

Revelation 1:14 - His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; 

 "White", of course, is a symbol for purity.

There is no arguing that Christ is the pure lamb of God and is the ultimate Savior of our sins. He is perfect and true in every way. 

Well, in thinking about something as white as snow, my pastor mentioned how a few years ago he had washed his white van. He talked about how many hours he had spent really getting it clean. He made sure every nook and cranny was free from dirt. He thought he hadn't missed a thing. But then it snowed. IT SNOWED! We all know how frustrating it is to clean your car and then it snows or rains. It just really messes everything up doesn't it? 

Well, he was looking outside at his white van and all of the beautiful fresh white snow surrounding it.  

Suddenly his van didn't look as clean as he thought it was. He started noticing spots that he had missed. He didn't even know those spots existed! Where did they come from?

I thought this little story was amazing. It reminded me about the comparison between us a Christ.

No matter how hard we try, we can never really be cleansed from sin. And that is the point. Christ is the only one who can cleanse us from sin.

Sin is anything we do, say or think that displeases God.

Lying, fornication, pride, disrespect towards parents, selfishness, taking the Lord's name in vain, worshiping false gods, killing, adultery, theft, coveting........just to name a few. 

And no matter what you say, you know you are guilty of at least one of these.
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
 Don't worry, I am too. 

Even a little "white lie" is sin. Which is kind of ironic considering the fact that we are talking about the color white symbolizing purity. 

The fact is that we are all sinners and no matter what we do we cannot be pure enough to enter into heaven. That is why Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the cross. 
John 3:16
  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We are not perfect. But I serve a God who IS. And no matter the transgression, no matter the crime, no matter the wrong, my God can save you from it. 
1 John 1:9
 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

I'm so glad I serve a God who can save me from my wretched past and lead me into a beautiful future.  :)

Brianna