Christianity

Christianity Which Is Your Choice?
If you want your father to take care of you, that's Paternalism. If you want your mother to take care of you, that's Maternalism. If you want Uncle Sam to take care of you, that's Socialism. If you want some dedicated Communists to take over the government and take care of you, that's Communism (we would say slavery). If you want and are able to take care of yourself, that's Americanism. If you surrender all to Christ, and want God to take care of you, that is true Christianity. Of course, you'll be called a "square" or an "extremist," or a "crackpot," but you will have the best for time and eternity.

How to Start a Religion
Someone said to Bishop Talleyrand, one of the most astute men who ever lived: "The Christian religion-what is it? It would be easy to start a religion like that."
"Oh, yes," replied Talleyrand. "One would only have to get crucified and rise again the third day." In Tune
Have you at sometime watched a symphony orchestra as a performance is about to begin? The musicians sit and stand about, strumming on strings, blowing into horns, beating on drums. There is a lot of noise, but no music. Then the conductor enters. He walks to his podium and steps up onto it. His eye sweeps the scene before him-all the musicians and all their instruments. He lifts his baton, pauses there for a moment, then he gives the downbeat. Instantly there is music; all instuments blend into one harmonious whole.
Our human spirits are a lot like symphony orchestras. Within us there may be discordant elements, warring factions that pull this way or that, and we are out of focus, out of tune-we are just not together within. As an orchestra needs a master control, so do we. When we turn the whole focus of our attention to our Lord and acknowledge that He is in command, our lives will give forth harmonious music.

Back to the Basics
It probably wouldn't work, but somebody ought to start a movement back to the basics. And again, it might be just novel enough to not only catch on, but to flourish.
How long has it been since you walked into a store without seeing "New" or "Improved" written on every bottle? And toothpaste? There's a new ingredient added every week. If you don't have FL-7, Amalgam-58, ammoniate, fluoride, chlorophyll, etc., your teeth are sure to fall out before you finish reading the label. Regardless of how faithful you have been in brushing your teeth in the past, that doesn't count if you have missed out on the latest ingredient.
It's a wonder people ever got their clothes clean in the past. Just think of it! They actually used non-miraculous soap, and often with "non-purified" water. What a world!
Do you recall what happened to Coca Cola when they wasted multi-millions of dollars bringing out the "New" Coke? Improvement went too far and irate customers wouldn't drink the new stuff. Coca Cola almost immediately decided the old drink wasn't so bad after all. This time they returned to the old formula, but gave it a new name (Classic). What a world!
Given the state of our times, it's hardly any wonder that there are countless preachers out trying to sell a "new" and "improved" Christianity. Let us pray that it will have the same success Coca Cola enjoyed.

Today It's "Frozen" Not "Chosen"
It has been suggested that the mark on many church people today is not that they are "chosen" but that they are "frozen."

Finish It
The life of a Christian can be described in one of four ways: as a journey, as a battle, as a pilgrimage, and as a race. Select your own metaphor, but the necessity to finish is always the same. For if life is a journey, it must be completed. If life is a battle, it must be finished. If life is a pilgrimage, it must be concluded. And if it is a race, it must be won.

Christianity-A Religion of Light
The religion of the Lord Jesus Christ is a religion of light. One of the most splendid descriptions of our Heavenly Father is in the words of John: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). James says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). Note James' descriptive name for God, "The Father of light." And the Lord Jesus declares that those who seek to do the will of God are the "children of light" (John 12:36). Our Savior never said a more splendid thing about Himself than when He uttered that sublime declaration, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12; John 9:5). Everywhere in the Scriptures, light is used as an emblem of the righteous character of those who are the true children of God. Yes, the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ is a religion of light.

Power of Indwelling Christ
A Buddhist monk in Ceylon, who was acquainted with both Christianity and Buddhism, was once asked what he thought was the great difference between the two. He replied, "There is much that is good in each of them, and probably in all religions. But what seems to me to be the greatest difference is that you Christians know what is right and have power to do it, while we Buddhists know what is right but have not any such power." This is true, because no other religion has as its founder God, who became man, and in becoming man incarnated the grace and the truth of God. When Christ, then, becomes our life, we will be full of grace and truth. It is not our grace and truth but His, for He dwells within.

Look at Christ
Suppose you were the president of a club. A rich man comes and applies to you for membership. However, for the most part your club is made up of poor people and those who belong to the laboring classes. What would you do? Would you be flattered that a rich man wanted to join and accept him without question? Of course, it would provide a marvelous opportunity to enrich your treasury. Unfortunately, some church leaders are also opportunists. Their bad example leads some men to conclude that Christianity is a religion of opportunism. But don't look at church leaders; in fact, don't look at any person-look at Christ. No Practical Use
Someone gave a sundial to a group of people in the jungle. They regarded it as a fetish and wanted to keep it holy, so they built a house over it to keep it safe. This of course, kept the sun away from it. They had rendered it useless by trying to protect it. They honored the sundial, but they made it of no practical use. That's how many people regard Christianity. It has become something they have enclosed within the beautiful walls and stained glass windows of cathedrals. But, far worse, they also wall off their Christianity from their own individual daily lives. They genuflect to a statue or kiss an icon of a saint, but they fail to follow the teachings of the people these symbolize.