I am a Christian, but my family isn't?

[Dung Ho]

First of all, I'd like to introduce myself.

My name is Dung Ho, and I got baptized last month. I came from a Buddhist family. I started to believe in God when I was an international student of a Christian school. After that, I made my decision to get baptized in front of my former classmates.

I'm proud to call myself a Christian, but it seems there are so many troubles for me. My dad stopped sending me money for my tuition (which has been solved), my sister began to look at me aggressively because I cannot laugh at her non-Christian joke (blasphemy) anymore. I began to pay attention to what my sister and my family are doing, and I was not comfortable.

My question is How could I be obedient to my parents and still be able to worship God? and How should I treat my non-Christian family? because one of the commandments says "Honor Thy Mother and Father".

More information:

- I'm living with my sister while my parents are living in another country because I'm an international student.

Thank you.

 

[sealacamp]

This is a tough position to be in and I am not sure that anyone is more qualified to give you guidance other than the Lord Himself. Honoring your parents is not difficult from my perspective. All that is required is to be honest and do what is right, harm no one and you have honored them, all man kind and the Lord as well. I have no doubt that there will be many small issues that will come to you. All we can hope for in a situation like this is that the Lord will bring you to the place where He wants you. Remember what the scriptures say "They hated me without cause", and Jesus warned us that when we follow Him we will be hated as well.

I hope God grants you strength and guidance in your walk with Him. May His blessings lift you up and empower you to live a life that glorifies Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sealacamp

 

[DIANAC]

Praise God, Dung Ho for your salvation!
Good Lord knows what he is doing by saving you as you can be as a firstfruit in your family. Perhaps good Lord will use you to bring many in your family to Christ.
Pray for wisdom how to handle unfriendly situation that you are in. How to honor your Mother and Father? It's acting honorably. Do not act in dishonoring way. Answer them kindly, but stand up for Christ. Sometimes, when times are difficult the best honoring thing that you can do, is not to answer back. May Grace abound in your life!

 

[Dung Ho]

Thank you so much for your advices. They are very helpful.

Two more questions?.

How could I deal with my non-Christian friends and relatives?
Are Catholics non-Christian?

 

[DIANAC]

Be yourself and true to Christ. Pray for a wisdom when to wittness and when let your life be a wittness. Are Catholics christians? Some say yes, and some say no. They believe in Christ, but their theology is a bit off. It is my belief that there are saved souls amongst Catholics. However, it is up to the Lord to decide. Just grow in your knowledge of Christ, let your light shine and the rest is up to the Lord. But do not be surprised that some of your friends would not want to hang around you.

 

[Dung Ho]

Thank you DIANAC for all of my heart.

As a new Christian, I have a lot of questions to ask. If you don't mind, may I ask you few more questions?

- I currently work at a restaurant which requires working on Sunday. Is it sinful to work on Sabbath? I don't want to work on Sunday, but I have to because Sunday is the day that people go to eat more than normal days.

 

[DIANAC]

As a born again believers we are no longer under the Law but under Grace. The only law that remains is to love the Lord and love your neighbor. Rests are fulfilled in these two.
Now working on Sundays is a debatable question. I can not tell you what to do, but can tell you what I did and am doing. As a young new believer I used to go to church on Sundays and after that do my shopping, laundry, and all the chores. Life was busy for a mother who also worked full time outside the home. Sometimes I was even called to work on Sundays to meet certain air dates. As I started growing in my knowledge of the Word, I decided that one of the things that I should do is to limit my activities on Sundays. One of the things that bothered me is that I am not a good testimony for my neighbors. Here I am sharing the Good News with them but at the same time doing all this work on Sundays. Everyone, even the smallest child knows the Ten Commandments. So, eventually, God honored my desire and many of my Sunday activities fell away. But the other side of the coin is this: people who live in this society sometimes have to work on Sundays! I have heard of one rather large Chinese church that comprises of people who work in a food industry and can not meet on Sundays. Besides they live far away from each other. So, they do a conference call church service on Saturday (I think I am correct)!

Main thing is to grow in your knowledge of the Word, your love for our Lord and walk obediently. The rest will fall into place. One by one....

 

[Dung Ho]

This is an amazing story. Praise the Lord!

Thank you Dianac

 

[Phanari]

My advice is for you to read James 1. It talks about Christians and how when we undergo trials and all that stuff, how we should stay strong, and hold tight to God.