teachings of jesus

[andy b]

im looking for guidance...i believe that that the teachings of Jesus which are basically love compassion forgiveness and equality are lost on the world in general including large parts of the so called Christian community and its causing me massive heart break do any other Christians feel the same...i believe with all my heart that we are all equal in the eyes of god and that no cause is worth a life but the world around me seems to think the opposite and i feel so isolated...

 

[writtenword]

Hi Andy,

This world is very much a messed up place. What exactly is it that has you so upset tonight?

 

[andy b]

Hi Andy,

This world is very much a messed up place. What exactly is it that has you so upset tonight?

at 44 years of age its dawned upon me that the message of jesus has been lost....its crazy but the simplicity of his teachings has vanished...love is all that jesus preached but its a word that seems seldom used

 

[andy b]

Hi Andy,

This world is very much a messed up place. What exactly is it that has you so upset tonight?

p.s im sorry for not thanking you for replying

 

[parsley]

We all need reminders to be more loving.

I also find that Jesus did some battling out of love -- defending the oppressed, and we also don't seem to grasp that either. It gets twisted into religiosity instead.

 

[andy b]

We all need reminders to be more loving.

I also find that Jesus did some battling out of love -- defending the oppressed, and we also don't seem to grasp that either. It gets twisted into religiosity instead.

i visit sites and see alot of messages about theology but the message of Jesus was love pure and simple ...no killing no hatred just love

 

[Epecho]

"Jesus answered them and said, 'My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.' " - John 7:16

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” - Matt 4:4

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. - 1 John 5:3

(Jesus speaking) If you love me keep my Commandments - John 14:15

(Do some introspection with 1 John 5:3, how much do you love God? I'm not looking for an answer but it is something we all need to be looking at ourselves and testing ourselves)

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. - 2 Corinthians 13:5

5 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:5-11

 

[iambren]

God is also a god of justice,wrath,and punishment. More will be destroyed by God than will be saved. People need to see the judgement on their head,and their need for Jesus who has saved us from that judgement. What I see is a world all loved and peaced out,unaccountable to any one--marking the broad way that will lead to destruction. It saddens me that the "no absolute truth" crowd are anesthetized to their true need but will feel the loss for eternity.

 

[Pal Handy]

im looking for guidance...i believe that that the teachings of Jesus which are basically love compassion forgiveness and equality are lost on the world in general including large parts of the so called Christian community and its causing me massive heart break do any other Christians feel the same...i believe with all my heart that we are all equal in the eyes of god and that no cause is worth a life but the world around me seems to think the opposite and i feel so isolated...

Heart break by taking on false burdens will only paralyze you
and cause you to lose heart and live a defeated life.

God asks us not to look upon the failures of others which will lead us to defeat and hopelessness but
to instead keep our eyes on Christ as we seek to surrender our lives to Him so that we will love
others as He loves us.

Do you see the trap of the devil?

The trap is that you are looking at the probelm and not the solution.

The trap is that you are seeing the selfishness and defeat of other Christians
and allowing that defeat of others, to instill in you a hopelessness for them and yourself.

If you see the problem of a lack of love, then pray and ask God to take
all of yourself and to make you person who loves others as Christ loves.

Once you get it, you can then share your success with others.

First, you have to have it before you can share it.

When you believe that Christians should love one another, where do you
draw the line in the amount of love you will give to those who do not love?

You cannot change others but you can surrender your life to Christ and
see the love you so desire to experiance, being expressed out of your own life.

If you loved like Christ, do you not see that others would want what you have and
so then you could share your unconditional surrender to Christ and encourage them to do the same.

It has to start somewhere.

Why not with you?

Are you willing to surrender your life completely to see the love of God expressed through your life?

This is what it takes, absolute surrender because as long as we are
in control, we will never make room for Christ to live in and through us.

We are to die to self as we invite Christ to come into us and live His
life in and through us so that many will come to know that He lives and He loves, through us...

Hope this helps...

A good read is called Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray...

 

[Ark100]

Many people feel the way you do. Even Jesus weeps for His people a lot. Many who call themselves by His name do not do what He asks of them and their love for Him is only by words...not much substance to it.
You can't change the world, but you can always try to make a difference to the people around you and in your community by preaching the true message of Christ to them.

He has already said "not everyone who calls me 'Lord' will enter the Kingdom of God

 

[andy b]

thanks there are a lot of points here which help me

 

[Philpy1976]

Many people feel the way you do. Even Jesus weeps for His people a lot. Many who call themselves by His name do not do what He asks of them and their love for Him is only by words...not much substance to it.
You can't change the world, but you can always try to make a difference to the people around you and in your community by preaching the true message of Christ to them.

He has already said "not everyone who calls me 'Lord' will enter the Kingdom of God

This is what holds us back all too often.
We see the size of the problem before us and lose hope that we can make a difference. Reminds me of some spies that lost their faith when realized they were like mere grasshoppers compared to the opposition.

We won't reach everyone, that much is confirmed by the Bible, but through us God can reach as many as He wills. But the point I want to make is that if we compare a problem to our ability or power, then the problem will nearly always be too big and cause us doubt. Don't compare the size of a problem to yourself, compare it to God and see how small it really is.

Sometimes, we only need to do a small thing and God will make it BIG.

Faced with 5,000 hungry people, it would be easy to think "this basket of bread and fish is worthless" and "What real difference can I make?"

But God can and does use them to His glory!

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

im looking for guidance...i believe that that the teachings of Jesus which are basically love compassion forgiveness and equality are lost on the world in general including large parts of the so called Christian community and its causing me massive heart break do any other Christians feel the same...i believe with all my heart that we are all equal in the eyes of god and that no cause is worth a life but the world around me seems to think the opposite and i feel so isolated...

to me, the teachings of Jesus fall into two categories: teachings for those whose heart is set to know God, and teachings for those whose heart is set to justify themselves.

Joh 17:3 KJV
(3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.


Mat 7:21-23 KJV
(21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
(22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
(23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

many Christians see spiritual rebirth as a second chance; once they have an encounter with God that they can recognize, they focus on 'stopping that sinning' (focus on themselves). they lose sight of the fact that all wrong actions have been paid for and tend to think in terms of judgment and punishment. they focus on reducing wrong actions (sins) rather that focusing on reducing unbelief (the conception of all wrong actions). i would call them 'legalists'.

some Christians realize that they can never 'stop that sinning (wrong actions)' on their own, and that focusing on keeping God's laws is actually focus on themselves, and this will take their focus away from knowing God; they focus on hearing and following His leading according to His timing through fellowship (focus on God, which reduces the core sin of unbelief and as a consequence reduces worng actions - 'sins'), which effortlessly leads to a reduction in wrong actions as He will never lead anyone to sin. they lose sight of God's laws a standard they must keep, and see God's laws as instruction on how to recognize God's leading, and loving correction that communicates no fear of punishment, but rather confirmation of undeserved favor. most if not all in this group started out as legalists, but realized that simply stopping wrong actions by 'gutting it out' on their own strength does nothing to change their heart (where sin originates as unbelief) and the more outwardly 'holy' one becomes on their own strength, the more they become 'puffed up' and move away from fellowship with God. i would call them 'disciples'.

it's not people's wrong actions that separates them from God, it is their focus on themselves instead of focus on God. the legalist is ultimately focused on themselves - their outward performance - and no matter how well they meet the standard of outward holiness, they will never know God based on their outward performance (no one can). the disciple seeks to know God and be led by Him, and therefore come to know Him in spite of their outward un-holiness. the legalist is blind to this truth, and therefore hearing this truth usually enrages the legalist.

trying to minister to a legalist is pointless once you've told them the truth unless that truth causes them to despair of ever keeping all of God's laws on their own strength (or even knowing how to apply all of God's laws in any given situation), because they still aren't focused on God (they are focused on themselves - their actions), and don't hear His message of performance through relationship, but rather live by the deception of relationship through performance (the legalists' approach). Jesus, as our example of a man led by God through relationship, expressed this in Matthew 15:14.

what is causing you grief is that you are seeing people in the moment; but God sees people as they will be at the end of this life. 'step over the (spiritually) dead who won't hear to minister to the (spiritually) living who will'; and trust God to change the hardened hearts of legalists; this will end the grief you're feeling over people who will not yet receive the truth and freedom of the gospel.

 

[parsley]

Jesus taught us to give to our enemies, even if we didn't want to support what they were doing. Love has to start somewhere.
Be the agent for change!

 

[Emmy]

Dear andy b. The teachings of Jesus are easy to understand and Not Hard to follow. Jesus tells a Lawyer in Matthew 22: 35-40: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: Love thy neighbour as thyself." Then Jesus points out: " On these two Commandments Hang all the Law and the Prophets." Simple and straightforward, a bit alien at first, but it will soon be our biggest weapon. Love is very catching, and Love will change us into the men and women which God wants us to be. We start by asking God to give us His Love and Compassion, ( Matthew 7: 7-10 then we thank God and share all around us. People will notice and treat us the same, we will see Love
and Compassion and Joy, will surround us. God will see and bless us.The Bible tells us to " Repent," also to become " Reborn," to stop being selfish and unloving, and be as Jesus told us: " Love God and love each other, selflessly and joyfully. Jesus also will give us His Love and Joy, and the Holy Spirit will empower us with His Love, also. We keep asking and receiving, and watch an unfeeling world change into a Loving and Caring world. Jesus our Saviour will lead us onward, day after day and every day.
A Christian`s great sword is Love, Love will overcome all enmity and selfishness. Jesus will help and guide us: " ask and receive, ask and thank
and share." We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God
to forgive us, and carry on Loving and Caring: JESUS IS THE WAY. Let us
follow Jesus, and spread THE GOOD NEWS: " Whosever will May COME.
God is Love, and God wants loving children/sons and daughters, to have around Him for eternity. I say this with love, andy. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[sunshine456]

According to scriptures he show no favoritism. But I would not profess beyond the grace he has given me through his son JESUS. The world is saturated in the opposition to love, and as I stated many times before...

"The enemy is roaring around us like a lion; seeking whom it can devour."

We all have fallen short and at times have betrayed one another, and not represented the ideals of JESUS CHRIST which is love. We are living in the spirit if we genuinely as the "word" of GOD states are truly loving, the flesh nature by it's operation is in opposition to the spirit.

Romans 8

King James Version (KJV)

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Praise be to GOD the heavenly father and his son lord JESUS CHRIST forever>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[Peripatetic]

One of the things I like about this forum is that it makes room for diverse Christian ideologies. It gives us a chance to see different perspectives (which is certainly healthy), but we can also find like-minded folks that help us to feel less isolated.

Andy: you may want to spend some time in the Bridge Builders subforum. It's one of the places here where others will share your heartbreak for the world and long for healing and unity.