When are we gonna start acting like Christians

[StevenFowler]

I have surfed the forums here and read numerous posts. I have read everything from gay marriage rights, to posts on Obama and much more.

But my question to everyone is, What does it mean to be Christian?

Do we have the authority to judge? Are we mad at another Race?

We have spent so much time as Christians trying to look for the negative in people to make ourselves feel righteous.

I said I would never post again, but I ran across this today...once again if I have broken a forum rule...I apologize.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081118/ap_on_...fire_conviction

To some it may not mean much, but to me it screams WAKE UP CHRISTIANS!

Why was this man homeless?

I met a man the other day, I have seen him before, I have never talked to him.

In my town he walks the streets, a backpack tent and 5 gal. bucket with water and soap.

He washes windows. I passed him on the way to the bank.

At first I thought nothing of him, but as I left the bank I felt a sadness on my heart for him.

I walked passed him again on my way back to my store. I asked him, "Are you hungry?" He replied, "Yes."

I asked him to follow me across the street to the restaurant. I told him order what you like.

I sat down to eat with him. As we ate we talked. Turns out his wife and children passed away some time back, he lost his job and everything he had. He then said to me. "God provides for me..I meet people and get to share his word with them. Do you know God and Jesus?", I told him I was saved. As we finished our meal, we walked out. I live in the south...this is suppose to be a Bible belt of Christians. The looks on some of those peoples faces as he and I left......well the looks were anything but Christian.

Why do we find it so hard to put away our pride, selfishness, greed, arrogance....and why don't we start to find it easier to say as a Christian.....I am you neighbor..I love you as myself....

When I asked the man,"Do you need a place to stay?" This is what he said to me.....

"I thank you for the meal and the offer....but I still have God's work to do."

Christians, open your hearts. Let God's love for every man, woman and child fall on your hearts. God loves each and everyone of us, shouldn't we love back?

Love in Christ,

Steven

[Leonard]

I have surfed the forums here and read numerous posts. I have read everything from gay marriage rights, to posts on Obama and much more.

But my question to everyone is, What does it mean to be Christian?

Do we have the authority to judge? Are we mad at another Race?

We have spent so much time as Christians trying to look for the negative in people to make ourselves feel righteous.

I said I would never post again, but I ran across this today...once again if I have broken a forum rule...I apologize.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081118/ap_on_...fire_conviction

To some it may not mean much, but to me it screams WAKE UP CHRISTIANS!

Why was this man homeless?

I met a man the other day, I have seen him before, I have never talked to him.

In my town he walks the streets, a backpack tent and 5 gal. bucket with water and soap.

He washes windows. I passed him on the way to the bank.

At first I thought nothing of him, but as I left the bank I felt a sadness on my heart for him.

I walked passed him again on my way back to my store. I asked him, "Are you hungry?" He replied, "Yes."

I asked him to follow me across the street to the restaurant. I told him order what you like.

I sat down to eat with him. As we ate we talked. Turns out his wife and children passed away some time back, he lost his job and everything he had. He then said to me. "God provides for me..I meet people and get to share his word with them. Do you know God and Jesus?", I told him I was saved. As we finished our meal, we walked out. I live in the south...this is suppose to be a Bible belt of Christians. The looks on some of those peoples faces as he and I left......well the looks were anything but Christian.

Why do we find it so hard to put away our pride, selfishness, greed, arrogance....and why don't we start to find it easier to say as a Christian.....I am you neighbor..I love you as myself....

When I asked the man,"Do you need a place to stay?" This is what he said to me.....

"I thank you for the meal and the offer....but I still have God's work to do."

Christians, open your hearts. Let God's love for every man, woman and child fall on your hearts. God loves each and everyone of us, shouldn't we love back?

Love in Christ,

Steven

Most commendable, Steven, to feed the Brother.

However it is NOT commendable at all to cower from the task of confronting evil. Jesus was not the wimpy figure many Christians seem to think! Just read Matthew 23, and you will see a real "man's man" confronting evil in no uncertain terms. You know what? Salt in a wound STINGS!!! Do not lose your saltiness.

[Botz]

Steven...

Christians, open your hearts. Let God's love for every man, woman and child fall on your hearts. God loves each and everyone of us, shouldn't we love back?

Yes my dear brother...

Matthew 5:13

[Iryssa]

Why was this man homeless?

We can't possibly know why. It's even possible he was homeless by choice (yes, such people exist!), or it's possible he hit hard times and didn't know where to look for help. We just really cannot know.

Look, I know we're supposed to do everything we can, but I also think it's unfair to pick some bad cases and say "look, we're failing!" There are many Christians out there and Christian organizations that do EVERYTHING they can to help the homeless.

Anyway, I do agree with your sentiments, but I also feel it's pretty harsh to judge the Body of Christ based on this instance.

[StevenFowler]

Hello, thank you for the scripture. Yes some prefer to be homeless by choice, but does it matter if that is what they choose? Do we need to say o.k. we'll be Christians to those who we decide need compassion. No we are to show compassion and love to all...regardless of anything else. The question I want the answer to is, How hard is it for someone who says they walk with Christ to actually show it? I pass no judgments on anyone. Only God knows the heart of mankind. I believe the majority of Christians today though.....don't know what it truly means to be Christian.

God's love is for everyone.....not just who we decide need God's love.

Love in Christ,

Steven

From my earlier posts

Something to think on.

"God's message is for us as Christians to wake up and start doing and living like Christ told us too. I am as guilty as the next. Now the Tribulation is on it's way, we have potential famine upon the world, tainted food products, violence and murders more and more, wars and terrorist attacks, we spend time fighting each other when we should be caring for each other. Instead we have molded for ourselves idols of false gods (money), the time we should devote to family and God and each other, we devote to the labor of worship in our money....Churches take money that can feed families and they build for their church recreational centers, they have payroll, they tell us to give unto caesar what is caesar's and unto the Lord what is His.......I tell you now what is God's is in our heart, not our wallet. What about the mother who works 3 jobs to care for her 2 children, or the father who struggles to put food on the table, or the elderly couple who can't afford to have their roof fixed....or the child that may not live because her family couldn't afford medical bills? We pass them over because we don't know them.....Did Christ pass us over?

Instead...he broke bread with sinners, thieves, rich, poor, healthy, sick.....whether He knew them or not...I think what I am trying to word is so simple God just laid on my heart, our hearts have grown cold......We would rather send 5 dollars to a charity or give an extra 25 dollars in the collection plate....when we could just take 1 hour a day to meet the family down the road and say.....Is there anything I can do to help you?"

[Abigailwc]

Why do we spend so much time watching how those around us perform? This is so annoying! Instead, let us focus on our Savior, Jesus, and on glorifying our Father with our every deeds and every words we speak.

Let's not give the enemy a minute of your time. Let's stop the criticism and start loving as He has commanded us!

[kross]

I knew a man named Moses Love. He was a huge mountain of a man. He was a street person. He attended the church I was at.

The pastor and i went through a great deal of effort to find him an apartment with a cafeteria, set up his finances, (he recieved a pension) and established him in a good position. He had the choice of eating at the cafeteria or not and he could come and go as he pleased.

He considered it a prison and preferred to live in the streets. He was a street person. He liked it.

He developed cancer and we had to get him an operation that removed his vocal cords. It would have saved his life if he would have let us continue helping him. He got mad at us and disappeared. I couple of years later we heard he died.

I have helped many homeless folk, some want and need it, some do not.

Moses Love will always be in my heart and a reminder to me that when I had nothing and was homeless, I was the most free I had ever been. Like the song says, "Free is just another word for nothing else to loose".

Peace

[LIVN4JC]

Matthew 25: 37-45

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

I pray we all will remember the Lord's words.

Blessings

[StevenFowler]

Matthew 25: 37-45

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

I pray we all will remember the Lord's words.

Blessings

The Lord is truly the greatest.

[StevenFowler]

I knew a man named Moses Love. He was a huge mountain of a man. He was a street person. He attended the church I was at.

The pastor and i went through a great deal of effort to find him an apartment with a cafeteria, set up his finances, (he recieved a pension) and established him in a good position. He had the choice of eating at the cafeteria or not and he could come and go as he pleased.

He considered it a prison and preferred to live in the streets. He was a street person. He liked it.

He developed cancer and we had to get him an operation that removed his vocal cords. It would have saved his life if he would have let us continue helping him. He got mad at us and disappeared. I couple of years later we heard he died.

I have helped many homeless folk, some want and need it, some do not.

Moses Love will always be in my heart and a reminder to me that when I had nothing and was homeless, I was the most free I had ever been. Like the song says, "Free is just another word for nothing else to loose".

Peace

That is a good story. I did not mean to focus on the homeless alone, but it is a good story. You are blessed for your compassion. It's just that maybe a lot of Christians should focus more on showing people how to be Christians as opposed to just telling them the Word. When I read my Bible, and I read about Jesus, not only did He speak the word of God, He walked in the foot steps of God. Maybe as Christians we could better minister if we not only spoke what we said, but walked in the Word as well. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, am I wrong for these feelings?