Hey friends! You're beautiful!
Tonight as Sam was at church for worship practice, I was at Barnes and Noble to finish my Genesis paper! However, my full expectations of finding a chair and table to sit at complete with an outlet within arm's reach so that I may plug in our laptop, which dies within minutes without direct electrical input, was in vain!!!
I mean, it's Barnes and Noble...they have a Starbucks. They have a whole used book section. They sell 34342 calendars and all the leather journals you want. There are toys and candy for the kiddos. They have it all. But they don't have more than TWO outlets for public use in the whole huge place!?
I walked around the whole store like a fool for half an hour until finally a lady who was sitting next to one of the only outlets moved. I grabbed the chair and sat down to plug in my laptop. However, my search for a chair, outlet, and TABLE never really was a success at all....where I sat had no table, just me in my chair in the middle of the bookshelves, in the middle of people's path, right next to an employee desk. Awkward! Plus, to make matters worse, I never got the internet working.
But all was NOT lost! I finished my paper (2 months in the making), and picked up some cheap books!
#1. Persuasion for $6. I've never read it but heard it's ok ;)
(don't mind me as I show off my spiffy ring a little...lol!)
#2. Cooking for One & Two for $4!!! Sam and I are tired of always having leftovers from meals designed for four people. Win.
#3. Three for $5! I saw the movie back in 2006 and totally don't remember anything about it. It should be interesting. (I'm holding up three fingers in honor of the title, in case you didn't know :)
In other news, I'm going to get kinda controversial all up in this place! Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8vENZwp1rk
What are your reactions?
This was played in my Media and a Christian Worldview class on Tuesday. A very interesting heated debate arose from my fellow classmates.
Side #1:
It is admirable to stand up for Jesus and what you know is true. The Christians who stood up in the video were perhaps listening to the mourning Holy Spirit inside their hearts, deeply distressed that anyone would offer prayer in a public setting to anyone but the true God. Jesus (our ultimate example of how to live) and Paul, Peter, and many mighty men and women of God in the Bible repeatedly stood up against the wrongful teachings of their day. It says that Jesus always was offending people. But if it takes some people to be offended by the Truth for the sake of others to be set free after realizing the Truth, it's worth it for more lives to be saved from eternal hell.
Side #2:
Those Christians were totally out of line. They had no respect for the Indian man or the religion. They were not showing love at all. They can say what they want perhaps privately with the Indian man, but not in front of the assembly.
Side #1:
The American mindset is to be loving and accepting of all; true. But are we over-compensating here? The example of Jesus' life is right there in the Bible; He wasn't overly nice and accepting of false religions at all. So is to be politically correct and nice to other religions at all times therefore an attempt to be NICER than Jesus? Do you want to strive to be more ACCEPTING of Jesus? More LOVING than God, who IS love?
Besides, this video concerns our nation, it was in a setting with leaders of our country. The United States was firmly founded BY God FOR God. We are one nation UNDER God. Americans everywhere, let alone Christians, should frankly be a little more than concerned that prayers on behalf of our country in such a setting are really not being prayed to the one true God of this nation.
I was one of the main contributors to side #1. Our professor spoke in favor of our side. It just literally makes me sick and very sad to think of how many Christians there are that try so hard to hide their true convictions and beliefs of what is wrong and right for the sake of avoiding offense.
In reality, hiding your faith in effort to show more love, is an act of hate.
You know the truth of salvation. You know you are going to heaven. You know that whoever follows after false religions that do not follow Jesus will die and go to hell.
By not warning them, you are hating them. You are consenting on their eternal death.
Scary, eh?
"But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in Heaven." Matthew 10:33
HOWEVER.......!!!!!
I DO believe in being gentle and respectful in most situations when confronting or speaking with a person who does not know Jesus. In the case of the video, perhaps the Christians were acting out of their righteous anger. Righteous anger is okay, it is getting angry on behalf of seeing God being disrespected.
Jesus got righteously angry when God's house was being used for buying and selling merchandise.
However, "righteous anger" gives no excuse for those who go to extremes, such as screaming the on a street corner the warning of fire and brimstone upon all who don't repent right now. That is NOT the way people will get saved. That is NOT what I condone or view as true witnessing or Christianity.
Salvation is through faith in Christ Jesus. It's seeing Him work in the lives of others who happily share their faith. It's God revealing Himself to your heart. It comes from your spirit being moved after seeing His grace, not just being scared into Heaven.
"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people." Titus 2:11
I am not a fire and brimstone-screaming Christian. But if need be, I will stand up for Jesus, not matter the cost. I will not see God's name and truth defiled or disrespected.
Sorry if this was jumbled and confusing.
I encourage comments and questions. Perhaps it is true that I am not fully correct on some things, or need to explain myself more :)
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