Who is Jesus?

When questioned about my belief, I must do the best I can to defend what I believe in. So I will try to explain who Jesus is while considering the questions I might be asked. Jesus was born of a virgin mother named Mary in Jerusalem. God made this possible and he protected Jesus, Mary, and Jesus' father Joseph from those who might try to kill them. The reason people wanted him dead was because he was the son of God and the Romans did not want a child to be their King. Jesus managed to avoid the Romans for a very long time. In this time period he performed miracles and showed many acts of kindness, at this point someone might ask if Jesus is a man how could he perform miracles? To answer that, Jesus didn't actually do the miracles himself , God did miracles through Jesus. After a long time of performing miracles, it was time for Jesus to make the ultimate sacrifice. Dying for our sin's. Now they might wonder how could the death of one man forgive the sins of every human being. Well as some know Christians believe in the trinity which means that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one in the same. Some may interpret this in different ways, how I interpret it is that all three deserve equal amount of praise rather than they are all equal in body. Of all three God is the strongest, the Holy Spirit is the most compelling and Jesus is the forgiver. After all it was Jesus and his man made body that died on the cross, not God or the Holy Spirit. But at the same time they are still the same. When you are in church and talking about God, you are also referring to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So Jesus, is a Man, God, and the son of God, and that's how it will always be no matter the interpretation.    

defending your faith

It's always hard to know how to argue with a religion you know nothing about, which is why when creating an argument you should know as much as you can about the other persons belief. So when it comes to a situation where you have to defend your belief, you should see what the other person thinks about your religion before pointing out faults in there's. Many questions about Christianity will be asked like, "My mother worked in the soup kitchen and always helped those who needed but she was not a Christian, so is she going to hell?" or "If God loves us why would he allow sin into the world?" etc... So when your faith is questioned you must be ready to tell them the truth even if the truth may seem unfair. Even with the hard truth there are still the good things in Christianity to point out like the relationship we have with God, the rapture, and just some major historical facts on Christianity. Then listen to their argument carefully and know the distinct differences between your faith and their's. Then point out biblical facts that disprove what they argue. then when all is said and done, tell them about the gospel and the love that Jesus shared with us. and to end it off, if they allow it, ask them if you can pray for them and hopefully the holy spirit will enter their hearts through prayer and they will become a changed human being all because of the faithful and knowledgeable argument you put up to defend Gods glory.        

wealth and how to use it

Before we read James, I didn't realize there were so many opinions on how money should be spent. I personally wouldn't know the struggles of how to spend my money in a rich sense. Now, I have enough money for video games and stuff that I want, but i don't normally think about the people who could really use that money. I know that all of the people at our school are the same way. The money that they have is all for them and for know one else. In class we talked about whether this applies to our personal "needs". Is it okay to go out and buy some food at McDonald's or should the money be spent on those who cannot afford food for themselves. I believe that there is a distinct line on whether it is okay or not. if all you do is spend and spend on yourself and not even consider that there are people who are starving then something needs to change in your life for there are people who are just as important as you who need your help to live. So is it wrong to treat yourself once in a while, no, but if that's all you think about then you need to change your ways. The money you have is not yours, it is God's money. So when spending it you need to spend it as God would want you to spend it.

The right of authority

Over the past week we have talked about whether or not a woman should b able to have authority in or out of church. I'm sure that there are alot of churches that have a woman as the pastor of their church. Some people might find this as ridiculous, that only a man should be in authority. Back in Adom and eve's time, Adom came first and eve came from him. Since then, Man has fought for the authority over others, while some women just let Men have their way. Even so, God has moved the Holy spirit in women to drive them to teach about his word. In my opinion, a woman has every right to teach in the church. Whether it be man or woman, God will speak through them so that they can spread the good word of the gospel. So then, for those who will be sexist about who will teach in the church, I say that they need to get over it and just listen.. After all, even if it is a woman, the one really speaking in church is God and you need to listen to your pastor well enough so that you can hear the word of God from their lips. So should a woman speak in church? I say yes, there is absolutely no need to worry about the sex of the person who is preaching. As long as the lord speaks through them, they have the full right to teach other human beings within the church.

Predestination, true or false

Calvinism is the belief that God has predestined our future. So once a person is born, they are predestined to become a christian, or they are predestined to become an atheist. So they are practically saying that God gets to choose who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Doesn't that sound wrong, that God picks people to go to heaven? If he chose that, then why not let everyone go to heaven? Why make us challenge the world through our struggles if we are just going to end up rotting in hell in the end? I don't believe that God would predestine people to go to heaven, it does say in the Bible that we are predestined by God but it also says that God gives us free will. So in the end, whether we go to heaven or not is through our earthly choices. Now, I do believe that when someone is born God knows the choices they will make,so he knows who will choose sin over righteousness/ hell over heaven, but those are because of our choices not because of the choices God makes for us. So I will stand on the side that is against Calvinism. Still there is the question about Paul's writing sin Ephesians. How I interpret it is that God has predestined us with the will to make our own choices. Also in Ephesians 1:5, it say's: "He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will". Now I don't see where it says we are predestined to go to heaven or hell, it say's we are predestined to always be with him. This can be in either heaven or hell depending on the choices we make. I believe this verse also applies to what the chapter says later on about how we are predestined to be chosen by him. We are all chosen to be with him that is what I believe Paul is saying, whether it be in heaven or hell, God will always be right next to us. So every choice w make is according to our own will, it is not predestined by God. So I stand on the side against Calvinism because I cannot believe in a God who chooses for people to suffer eternally in hell.
                                          

how to compassion

In Romans, Paul talks about the sins of eating the food that will hurt others. He also talks about how important it is to treat others with respect, love, and compassion. He say's this knowing that there are people who judge others for eating from rich food and those eating from poor food. This Passage is to show those that judge others and disobey the laws of authority are only going to suffer from their attitudes. 

This still relates to people of this time, even in christian churches and school's. Everyone has a problem with obeying authority and treating others like they would themselves. Most children and teens go to school to just hang out with friends, not thinking about how much effort the authority puts into them or how what they say can effect the other students in a bad way. The reason we have school is to learn and respect those who teach and to show kindness to everyone around them; but all we can think about is whether that someone likes me, or I wonder if I can say "that" without getting criticized, etc. People who have already made a life of their own are no different. They always complain about how stupid the economy is even if only in their heads. They also complain how their boss at work is to hard on them. They don't realize that their authority has just as any problems as they do, and we don't realize it either. 

This is why Paul teaches us to be kind and humble, because of your selfish attitude, friends will ignore you and authorities will give up on helping you.So as a challenge, for the next month, show everyone around you that you care, don't just say you care show it with your actions. When a teacher is talking, sit up straight and look the in the eye's with the intent to learn. When someone you know is having it rough, show them compassion in any form possible, listen to their problems, bring them a gift, even just showing them a smile can make a person's day so much better. Do this and you will know the relationship that God wishes to share with everyone, and through this kindness God will also show his everlasting relationship with you. 

Pauls roman message

In Paul's message, he describes all necessary requirements to enter the kingdom of God. In his message he references many times the ten commandments. He believes that these commandments must be taken very seriously, for if not he believes you will become corrupt by the wild natures of others and you will not be allowed access into heaven. So he believes that you must repel those who drag you down, and accept those who search for wisdom. For if we do we will be free from death.  "For there is no condemnation for those who live in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." -Romans 8:1-2.
Through these messages, a non-believer might see God as a cruel and unloving God. The reason is because, though Paul speaks the truth, Paul makes it sound like once you have broken the ten commandments, then there is no way to enter heaven. This is wrong however, so in order to make them understand, you should explain Paul's meaning in further detail.
In these passageways, a non-believer might find it easy to understand the factor of staying away from people who commonly break the ten commandments. the reason being is that most of there addictions and bad habit's comes from the friends they hang out with who are non-believers. So when they see this they will know exactly why you should stay away from such people because they have their own personal experiences. So hopefully when a non-believer reads this passage they will relate and fin the truth through the scriptures, through christian friends, the word, and the holy spirit.