Hard Things of Faith

  Judgmental, Hateful, Hypocritical These are just some of the things American Christians are known for.  First, can I just tell you that I am sorry? I am sorry for every person that has misrepresented Christ and hurt you. I am sorry to those that I have hurt in the name of Jesus. Some of us have distorted the Good News of the Gospel; we have given a false representation of who the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit really are. We have shown you a God of Judgment and not a God of Love.  I hear a lot of people say that God is all-loving and that is correct, and there is a lot more to God's character that does involve judgment, it is just a matter of how that is presented.  We have given people a bunch of "moral" standards and consequences for failing to meet those standards.    We have not acted like Christ at all.  We are supposed to be people of grace and truth, yet we say some of the most hateful things people have ever heard. We have called out the sins in your life, and the

Friends, my confession to you is this:   To know who our Triune God will take more than a lifetime to learn. This series,  The Character of God ,  The Love of Christ ,  and The Power of The Holy Spirit is only a brief picture of our Triune God.  Our Godhead is far more than my words could ever describe to you.  My greatest hope in this is to give you an introduction, or a new perspective of who our Triune God is.  He is Father, He is Savior, He is Helper.    It is tempting to start out telling you about all the reasons I love the Holy Spirit.  This is not about me though; this is about Him and who he is.     Each person of the Godhead has a unique quality about them in regard to who they are, even though they are of one person.  The Holy Spirit is different than the Father and Jesus because He is Spirit that not only surrounds us but has the ability to live within us. Scripture tells us in several places that those who accept Christ will be given the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 8:11, 1 Corin

  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all the things have become new.        A few months ago I woke up and before my feet even hit the floor, I was struggling with sinful thoughts.  I knew immediately that I need to go to the Lord in prayer and then get into scripture.  The Lord was faithful to meet me where I was and help me in my struggle.   Being so taken with the Lord’s willingness to meet me where I was that morning and help me, I shared this with a dear Sister-in Christ.  Her immediate response was “What do you mean you woke up with sinful thoughts.  You are a Christian, you shouldn’t struggle with sin like that.”  Then she recited the above scripture to me. I was definitely taken aback by her statement.    Now you must understand that this woman is a dear friend of mine who loves the Lord.  She had no idea that she was helping to perpetuate false teaching that has been used to cause great harm to many people.     The