/lit/ - Literature

>>9183379
>believes that drink choices are a factor in defined gender roles

>le apocalyptic hippie man
Seriously? How fucking played out is that, that's not even new in Judaism

Can you still be a good Christian if you do not do exactly as Jesus says?

Jesus Christ taught people not to think about how to feed and clothe themselves. (Matthew 6:52-32) No other "religion" teaches this!

He said that if we worked to build his kingdom, God would feed and clothe us. (Matthew 6:33)

He called labourers to come and work for him, (Matthew 11:29-30) and not to labour for the "food that perishes". (John 6:27)

He said that we cannot work for two employers at the same time, and that making money and serving God are mutually exclusive motives for doing things. (Luke 16. 13)

He said that if we do not leave everything we own, we cannot call ourselves his followers. (Luke 14:33)

Common sense tells us that such teachings just wouldn't work in today's world. So most of us reject outright what Jesus said.

Yet, if Jesus is really the Son of God, then maybe we ought to put more faith in him than in "common sense". Maybe we ought to at least give his teachings a try. God really is active and alive today... Jesus Christ not only knew what he was talking about, but that he had the key to solving all of the world's problems.

Here are some practical tips to practise living by faith:

PRAY

The first, and most important lesson is this: learn to pray. Not long hours of self-torture, or eloquent recitations, but real, gut-level honesty with God and with yourself. If you're going to climb out of a boat and try to walk on water, you can't afford to have misplaced faith. You must ask God to show you His clearly, from the teachings of his Son.

God will us many different means to feed and clothe you, and if you are not brutally honest, you will soon be trusting the means more than you trust God. Prayer will help you to stay honest.

SIMPLIFY

The Bible says to be content with food and clothing. (I Timothy 6:8)

Jesus instructed us to pray only for enough food for today. (Luke 11:3) If God gives you literature, musical instruments, vehicles, buildings, computers, or whatever to use for him, that's fine. But you don't have to have these things. people who think they must have such things are always working for something that they decided they needed, instead of getting to work right now with what God has given them to work with.

If you have hands, legs, a strong back, a voice, and/or a good mind to use to share God's love with others, then you have more than enough to get started... right now!

SELL

When you only need enough cash for your daily bread, it's not so difficult to believe that you can survive at least for a while on the resources that you already have. Start selling things you have, and using funds for the poor. (Luke 12:32-34)

Any time you find yourself without enough food for today, you can classify yourself as "poor", and some of the funds can go towards feeding yourself.

Resist the temptation to give your worldly wealth to family and friends, who do not need them. Make the rich pay for your possessions if they want them, and use the proceeds to help those who are really in need, as Jesus commanded.

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