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Beloved Conversationalist
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 Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 5:13 am
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:08 pm
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First off, you don't become a Christian by acting like one. Your actions become Christ like because you are a Christian. If you are expecting acting like a Christian will make you a good one then you are relying on your own works for validation instead of relying on God.
Scripture tells us we can tell a person by their fruits. A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A christian must practice good fruits which are called the Fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23
Those are things we must practice all the time, you won't be perfect at showing these at first. We must practice these so then when trials come we can still show these. The Fruit of the Spirit are our greatest form of witnessing to others because it shows how we are different than the world.
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:18 pm
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To be a good Christian in this world, be sure that you put God in your #1 slot always. There is no other way about it. God will always be there for us, and people can come and go from our lives. Even if you are married, God will still come first because he knows both of your needs before you even ask (Matthew 6:8 ). If God is not the center, things can go wrong at times.
Always be studying God's word. The Bible even tells us to meditate on it day and night (Psalm 1:2). Studying daily is what I believe is a must. Do I study every day? Sadly to say, I haven't studied every single day - there have been days I have put it off or thought, "I will do a few chores and then read." and never do. So plan a time to read your Bible. Generally after I get my morning shower is the best time for me to read. I have noticed that reading The Holy Bible will make the day so much more bearable because I feel peaceful and it's easier to be slow to anger. I have noticed when I didn't read my Bible for a week - I was so much more negative than when I did read it. A starved soul is not a happy soul so be sure to read your Bible every day!
Prayer is also something that we should do often - we can pray for others, with others, or in private. It's not weird at all to talk to God about the things that are troubling you as if you were telling your best friend. I'm sure God enjoys it when we communicate with Him.
Spread the gospel to all living creatures! (Mark 16:15). As Christians, spreading the good news is something that we definitely should do when given the opportunity.
I don't have a lot of time at the moment and may add more to this later. However, I will say that you should read 1 Peter and 2 Peter because there is a lot in those books about Christian living. Those two books are relatively short, 1 Peter is 5 chapters and 2 Peter is 3 chapters. Many other books explain Christian living well such as Proverbs and Psalms. We can also learn so much more of reading about how some of those who were great in the Lord lived and what they did for Him!
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Beloved Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:55 pm
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 3:59 pm
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 4:36 pm
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I guess I have some tips to offer based on my own experiences as a Christian, as I converted around age 15 or so after realizing how much sense Jesus made, and how right everything he said was.
Indeed, it is not enough to just 'believe in God's existence'. If you want to be a Christian, you have to believe and have faith in God and the validity of his son. To have faith in God and his son means that you look at Jesus's teachings, and live by them.
It's like the parable of the sower (Matthew 13). God's word falls on a LOT of people, but it does no good to ANYONE if you hear God's commands and then do NOTHING about it. It's similar to if your mom/dad tells you to go to the grocery store, or do the laundry, or feed the dog, and you tell them "Sure I'll do that!" and then you just sit on your hands and do nothing.
Here's the parable:
Quote: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
SO, with that, I'd say that giving most of your attention to the four Gospels is the best way to start acting. A good point to remember is that you are not infallible, you will make mistakes, and just because you're a Christian doesn't mean you're always right (or more right than anyone else). Do not ever let the pride of being a Christian interfere with your interactions with other human beings, ever. If a non-Christian makes a point to bring you down or rebuke you for your beliefs, let them, and turn the other cheek. You don't need to explain anything to them.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Being a Christian means being a follower and doer of the teachings of Christ!
I would say to start reading the teachings of Christ first. Parts of the Bible where he actually spoke and went around and talked and walked with people, and helped them.
If you love his teachings, then you will love him. If you love Christ, then you love God for sending him and having the desire to save at least a part of humanity from itself. And if you love God, you'll listen to his word and act upon it.
There are many different ways to walk in Christ's path, because God has made each human an individual. Some will volunteer at homeless shelters and will simply do acts of kindness such as feeding people on the streets. Some glorify God with everything they say, think, and do and become clergy. Some people go on mission trips to foreign countries and teach villagers how to farm, build, and feed their people. Some go door-to-door and try to spread the word of Christ by handing out pamphlets (though the effectiveness of this is debatable).
But for average normal people like you and me (I don't have a car and I live in the countryside at my parents' house half of the year, so I can't just get up and go places like church or a homeless shelter, sadly) who are just trying to live out their lives the best they can, we can only do our best. Jesus had a lot of details on specific things that can be done to help others, and many are acts of KINDNESS and LOVE to EVERYONE (even people you don't like; God orders you to love your neighbor as yourself), no matter how big or how small... And expecting NOTHING in return. Humility is important, as God can bring even the greatest mountains of people down low, and bring the most humble valleys of people up high. Every good thing you do or say for someone, you are doing/saying directly to Christ. And every bad thing you do/say for someone, you are also doing/saying to Christ. So love everyone and be as kind/generous/caring/helpful as you can possibly be to everyone.
It's hard, but it can be done. No one ever said being a Christian was easy. It's an everyday struggle, and there are obstacles that we can't control sometimes. But do your best, and don't give up. You can make the world a much better place if you follow Christ's teachings. And you may even set an example for other Christians to think about their own actions and try to do better, for the sake of others. smile
Being a Christian is about helping others. People who want to emulate Christ must realize that Christ helped people, and so we must also help people. A lot of may think that being a Christian is Christ-centric, but Christ did not worship himself, he worshipped God, and loved and took care of the people out of pure kindness.
So in short, we must do the same: worship God, and love and take care of all the people of this earth, out of pure kindness and respect for God for doing the same for us.
Jesus said to beware of the many Anti-Christs in this world, and so I will end my comment by asking you to think. If you suspect or are unsure about the validity of someone else's teachings, or something they've said that SEEMS true or nice, reference Christ's teachings and see if they are contradictory to his words or actions. Always be on alert, and always be skeptical and seek truth.
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 4:50 pm
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emorhconom esor First off, you don't become a Christian by acting like one. Your actions become Christ like because you are a Christian. If you are expecting acting like a Christian will make you a good one then you are relying on your own works for validation instead of relying on God. Scripture tells us we can tell a person by their fruits. A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A christian must practice good fruits which are called the Fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23 Those are things we must practice all the time, you won't be perfect at showing these at first. We must practice these so then when trials come we can still show these. The Fruit of the Spirit are our greatest form of witnessing to others because it shows how we are different than the world.
Yes, this.
(But also, be IN the world and stay aware of everything going on! That way, you're not disconnected with reality, or unable to communicate normally with other people, like I see a lot of home-raised countryside Christians are... but be different from the world, too.)
We are all trees, and trees that don't produce any fruit will be cut down in exactly the same way trees with bad fruit do. Only the trees with good fruit will remain standing. So get out there and make some good fruit! |
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