Almost all Christian denominations believe that the Bible is the word of God.  Some claim that the Bible contains the truth of God's revelation to mankind and that the Bible is sufficient for salvation.  Yet, we clearly see more than 380,000 denominations (according to Wikipedia) in the world and for simplicity's sake, let's call these 380,000 different denominations the 380,000 versions of truth.  Most logical person who laugh at a person's claim to truth, especially truth that is contained in the Bible, if it is true that there are more than 380,000 versions of the truth.  It logical follows that about 379,999 of them do not contain the truth.  Thus, logically speaking, Christian is doomed because about 0.99999 claims to have the truth, but, logically speaking, does not.

Most Christians try to resolve this logical inconsistency by saying that almost all Christians believe that the Son of God became a man, lived life in the flesh, died for our sins, and resurrected from the dead taking away the sins of the world.  And, it is indeed true that most Christians believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Holding onto the fact that Jesus Himself told His disciples that He is the truth, the way, and the life, most Christians would call other Christians who believe in Christ their brothers and sisters, and yet, go on their merry way doing things that contradict and oppose each other.  The division in theological perspective and interpretation of the Bible ultimately weakens the Christian argument for truth and for Christ being the way of salvation.

Regardless of what you think, the truth is simple - there are too many versions of "truth" for any logical person to come to the conclusion that Christianity is true.  After all, the truth has about 380,000 varieties (assuming that one of them is truth), a Christian can pick the version that he or she likes and still live the way of salvation - such a conclusion is only contrary to divine revelation that there is absolute truth, but also a mockery of Christ who said that He is the way, the truth, and the life.  To say that there about 380,000 ways is to really say you do not believe in Jesus at all.  There is only one way.  There is only one truth.  There is only one life and that life is through Jesus Christ.

1. One denomination says that it is okay to ordain women while another said it is not.  One of them has to be wrong or is God a God of mockery and a God of confusion?
2. Another denomination says that is okay for same-sexed couples to marry and another says that it is not.  One of them has to be wrong or is God a God of mockery and a God of confusion?
3. Another denomination says that the gifts of the Spirit do not exist today while another denomination does.  One of them has to be wrong or is God a God of mockery and a God confusion?
4. Another denomination believes that God cannot speak outside of the Bible and another denomination says that God can speak directly to His children.  One of them as to be wrong or is God a God of mockery and a God confusion?
5. Another denomination believes that Baptism must be by immersion and another denomination does not.  One of them as to be wrong or is God a God of mockery and a God confusion?

You get the point.  I have already listed five different interpretations which means there are already 32 (2*2*2*2*2) differently denominations based on these alone.  Wow, 32 truths to choose from!  I can go through each of these statements and select the one that I agree with - let's cherry pick only the cherries that I like and want!  Let's create an image of god and worship that instead of the one true God!  Yep, this is a stern warning to Christians - Jesus is the Truth - to love the Truth is to love Christ.  So, if you are worshiping image of god you created, it is idolatry.

So, the question is simply -- how do we know what is the Truth?  Simply, by knowing the One Who is Truth - sincerely repent and accept Jesus Christ your personal Savior and through the Holy Spirit, the Truth shall be revealed to you.  If you do not believe that Jesus exists, just ask God sincerely to lead to you the Truth and He will lead you to His Son.  I was once an atheist, but cannot get over the fact that I cannot find the truth.  And a long time ago, I finally sincerely asked God to show me the Truth, kept an open mind and He personally led me to His Son and to know (have a personal relationship with) His Son is to know Truth.

Do you know the Truth?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

September 26, 2011

The past can be extremely daunting for some of us.  Depending on what happened in the past and our perceptions of the past, we either embrace our past or run away from it, ever striving to reach a future fantasy that we have conjured up and created in our minds.  

Through we may believe that this future fantasy is hope and a dream that when we arrived, could make up for the past that we had lived, this is far from the truth.  The more we run away from the past, the more the past will burden us and keep us from our future.  The past, if not properly interpreted with truth and cleaned up inside, could become a broken down section of a home, a section long forgotten and uninhabited.  Perhaps, the un-visited past is more like a haunted house, run-downed and filled with cobwebs and fallen bricks, a place where we would not like to be.  Regardless of whether we run from the past or embrace it, we know that the past is always there and that we cannot change it.

Some of us believe that we should learn from the past before we can move on in a healthy and productive way.  The world teaches that psychotherapy and/or a therapists' services can help us deal with the cobwebs that form and the bricks that had fallen.  This reinterpreting of the past does not change the reality that there are cobwebs and fallen bricks.  Reinterpretation, which some call a healthy perspective, is just a band-aid as it fails to address the bigger problem, the core and clear out the cobwebs and fallen bricks.  The truth is only thing that works, clearing out the cobwebs and fallen bricks.  If the reinterpretation just covers the picture and makes it seem nice, the truth will come out again and be more devastating than it was before.

When we deal with the past, we must deal with it truthfully instead of covering it up, dressing it up to be nice, and lying about it.  If we have a past that bothers us, denial is not going to help us in the long run - it only creates a fantasy that will one day fall and set us up for more denials and lies to cover up the very things we deny.  Thus, it is clear that to deal with the past, one must deal with it.  But how does one deal with it if it is too painful, too hard, too difficult, and too numbing?  Most of us are happy in the present time and would not rather deal with it, but there are times that we know that the past has affected us, how we interpret a situation, how we relate to others, and other areas of our lives.   The lies or cover up has the power to rule over us and to control us.  Thus, we learn that we must tell the truth.  A recent movie in the theaters, the Debt, illustrates this concept very well.  In the end, the truth triumphed and came out - there was no hiding it or burying it.

What if the truth is too painful to deal with?  What if the past is hard for us and we would rather not think about it?  Some of deal with it one piece at a time.  However, I deal with the disappointments head one with Truth Himself, who is Christ.  I accept the past as it is in Truth and offer to Him on the cross.  He in turn sacrifices that past for me -- there is no more guilt, no more need to hide, and no more need to run.  This is what Jesus does for us through His bodily death and bodily resurrection on the cross.  Through our faith in Him, we have the opportunity to start all over again with a slate wiped completely clean.  That's grace indeed!

Do you want your past wiped clean this Halloween season?  Do you want the reassurance of knowing that the past will no longer haunt you, control you, and/or take you?  In Christ, this is all possible, possible because He gives us many chances through the cross.  And, our failures, though many due to a humanness, are an offering to Him, a living sacrifice of coming to know Him and know His perfection that led to the cross.  This is how an imperfect creature comes to know a perfect Creator.  This one of the ways how we, through the Holy Spirit, come to know Christ and His Father.

How do you deal with your past?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

September 12, 2011

There many fears regarding creepy stalkers on the Internet, who create accounts just to follow someone's blog and see what they are doing.  While I do not know what possesses a person to stalk another person, I do believe that stalker is unhealthy psychologically.  Once the victim finds out that they had been stalked, the feelings of violation comes; it is unnerving.  How could another human do this?  Follow a person everywhere without his or her permission?  What ever happened to privacy?  These are some of the feelings that are associated with the stalker and the person being stalked.

Personally, I believe that I have at least one stalker.  There are people from my past who I know have nothing better to do than to follow my activities and figure out what is going on in my life.  This is sad because they seem not to have a life of their own, but living through another life in an unhealthy way.  What really bothered me about the last two stalkers is that they usually do it under the guise of "Christian love."  They followed me everywhere on the web and justified it by saying that they were doing it out of love.  We should really set boundaries against those who are crazy and demented enough to do something unhealthy and justify it with religion.

Right after I started posting on Xanga more often and after I had cleaned up my subscription and friends lists, I noticed that there a few recently created accounts befriending me.  It is a bit creepy because I do not know if these people are trolls, stalkers, and/or both or even worse.  Maybe, they are legitimate - all time will tell.  Whatever they are, my site is public (www.christenstein.com) and anyone can read it, which they should.  Perhaps, I am enabling the stalkers by making my site public and linking to Facebook.

For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. Ephesians 5:12-14

Are you suspicious that you have stalkers?  If you are suspicious, do you think friends lock and other privacy mechanisms really help?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

Through the Spirit of God, I had learned so much about Ephesians 1:18-24, being into marriage for six months.  It is amazing how this passage illuminates when one experiences the blessings of the marriage life and lives truth that Christ had written into the foundations of creation.  This is the family that Christ wants to build and He wants to start the family with wives being submissive to their husbands just as the church is submissive to Christ (verse 22) and husbands loving their wives just as He loves the church (verse 24).  As I meditate on these verses, the Holy Spirit leads me to the first family on earth with God Himself as a member.

As I look to Jesus and His life with His parents, I realize one thing - that He supports family having Joseph and Mary as His father and mother.  God's Son could have easily came down onto the earth through a single woman, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose up again on the third day for the salvation of man.  However, He chose to incarnate through a family.  This indicates that He not only supports family, but He also supports marriage.  As we look at how Joseph and Mary responded, we see a reflection of Christ and His relationship to His church.  God tells us that Joseph is a righteous man and did not want to expose Mary to public disgrace by divorcing publicly.  He instead wanted to divorce her quietly (verse 19) [side note: In Jewish custom at the time, a betrothed couple is considered binding with each person being referred to has husband and wife (verse 19).  A betrothal could not be broken except through a divorce; this is the reason why Joseph considered divorcing Mary quietly despite the fact that they had not yet been married (verse 20)].  Joseph had a dream, where an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that the child Mary will conceive is from the Holy Spirit and that he should take her home as his wife (verse 20).  Verse 19 mentions Joseph as her husband, yet verse 20 mentions that he should take her home as his wife (the context of the Jewish culture clears up this discrepancy).  Reflecting on these verses and the situation Joseph went through, it is clear to me that God supports marriage and wanted the record to clearly reflect that He deliberately Incarnated into a family.  And despite all logical explanations going through Joseph's mind, Joseph trusted the dream given by God and married Mary.  This trust in the Lord reveals His unconditional love for His bride the church.

Mary demonstrates what our relationship with Christ should be like.  Her submissiveness and readiness to do what God asked of her despite the possible backlash from her husband, Joseph, indicates the obedience and dedication that a true disciple should have for Christ.  When God asks us to do something, our answer should be the same answer that Mary gave to the angel, "I am the Lord's servant.  May it be to me as you have said."  How often in our lives as believers do we truly say "Yes, Lord" to this extent?  How often do we let the Living God inside of us reveal Himself through us, giving birth through more spiritual children of our own?  How often do we let the Father use us a vessel, in whatever way, shape, or form for His glory and His glory alone?  Mary agreed to all of that and more.  She is an example of the vessels that we should be, the willingness and living sacrifice that we should be for Christ, and the submission of a true discipline, wholly devoted to Christ.

This is the ideal family, at least to me, as I read and reflect from the scriptures.  In this family, husbands should love their wives as Christ loves the church and wives should be submissive to their husbands as the church is submissive to Christ.  And, just as the family reflects the glory of Christ, so must the church.  In the church family, the same dynamic should apply, that disciples are submissive to their mentors just as a wive is submissive to the husband and mentors should love their disciples in the way that Christ loves the church.  This is the mystery of the church.  Before I end this reflection, I want to emphasize that both husband and wife should be submissive to Christ following Him just as Joseph obeyed and Mary obeyed the Lord.

This is my idea of family and my thoughts on family as I start to think about the family I want to have and maintain.  God is already speaking to both and my wife and I, guiding and directing our lives in similar ways to Jesus' earthly family.  In the end, the gospel calls us to community with family being the fundamental community.

What is your ideal family?  If you already formed a family, please share about your family.  If you are thinking of forming one, please share what you are thinking about.  If you are single, please share about the family that you are a member of.

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

September 12, 2011

I had been reading quite a few blogs on Xanga.  There seems to be an endless debate between the Christians and the atheists.  While reading these debates, I could not help, but to wonder why each side needed to prove its point and win.  While I am the first to admit that I acted this way in the past and need affirmation for what I believed, I no longer need it or seek it insofar as I am in Christ Jesus.  Jesus Christ is now my identity - He is the one who affirms, provides, and takes care of me.  It does not matter to me if I proved a point or not as long as I love and care for others in the way that He does.  Of course, I still tell others the truth, sometimes not in the most loving way, but I do not engage in endless debates with them to prove that I am right.  I already know that I am right because the Truth Himself is my guide.

After spending some time here, I started to bump into dissenters of my faith.  They present the secular world view and other world views contrary to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to me all over Xanga.  It does not really bother me much - my Savior dealt with a similar situation when He was on earth before the forgiveness of sins is available to mankind through His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection on the third day.  As I bump into these dissenters, I come closer to the love of Christ, feeling what He felt, and experiencing what He experienced.  While I understand that some Christians do not believe that suffering brings a Christian closer to Christ, I live by it.  It is through the refining fire that we are purified and brought closer to God.  And, I practice this by giving up my right to be right and merely putting the truth out there for others to read.  I am not responsible for their response to the truth, but I, as a disciple of Christ, am responsible for preaching the gospel to the nations.

How do you handle dissenters of your faith?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

September 11, 2011

A long time ago, I had a divine appointment with a man, who went to a church that did not believe that Christ rose from the dead.  He did not know it at first and the sermons were great enough; however, as time passed and Easter approached, it became clear to him that they did not believe in the Risen Christ.  He asked the pastor whether they believed that Jesus rose from the dead.  The pastor never answered in the affirmative essentially ignoring the question.  When it was time to dust his sandals, he left quietly.

This conversation left me wondering.....  Has anyone here ever dust his or her sandals from a church and for what reasons?  Are the reasons justified?  How was the process like?  Have you thought about dusting your sandals and for what reasons did these thoughts come to your mind?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

September 11, 2011

I have been thinking about what it means to be a Christian and whether we should be friends to all.  There are many websites that tell us not to be friends with the ungodly and those who are not living according to the word of God.  They cite examples of how we should not be friends with gossipers, drug users, adulterers, and a variety of other things.  While they are suggesting that we should not be friends with people who behave in a certain way, they forget to mention that Jesus hung around the prostitutes and tax collectors.  He even said that the prostitutes and tax collectors were going to the Kingdom of God before the Pharisees were.

When it comes to friendships, I believe that Jesus Himself is the best example.  In the gospels, He blasted the Pharisees, called them names and even told some of them that they doomed to hell.  Some people who are "Christians" cannot believe that Jesus would say this to people, call them names, and tell them that they were going to hell, but He did.  Yes, the Bible does say that Jesus came in the flesh, died for the sins of the world, rose up again on the third day and brought eternal life to those who believe.  And, He also tells some they are doomed with no hope.

Reflecting upon these scriptures, I realized one thing.  Jesus loves all people, but is graceful with honest people.  His Father gives grace to the humble.  Honest and humble people know that they are sinners and have fell short of the glory of God.  Honest people know that they cannot work their way into heaven on their own efforts.  The woman at the well did not try to deny that she had many husbands.  Prostitutes and tax collectors did not try to deny that they are not sinners.  They knew that they cannot live according to the law.  The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed that they have lived according to the law their entire lives and are going to heaven.  They were not honest with themselves and they had not humbled themselves to the Father.  

Jesus is friends with those who are honest with themselves knowing that they are sinners who cannot get to heaven on their own but through God, and sincerely repenting and accepting Him as Savior.  The Pharisees were not honest with themselves and thought they could work their way into heaven by obeying the law - these people, Jesus does not call friends.  Jesus calls us friends because He shares with us all that Father has told Him.  Those who sincerely repent and accept Him as Savior share in His mission as we are co-heirs with Him.  This is the friendship that He calls us to for Himself.

Do you think Christians should be friends with everyone?  Or is it possible to show love by being a person's neighbor?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

September 10, 2011

Today, my wife and I walked the 5K Freedom Run while our friends ran it.  We entered the event with the intentions of raising awareness for human trafficking and enjoying the company of those who support the same.  God blessed us with a wonderful Chicago morning perfectly for walking and chatting with one another.   During the walk, we had a divine appointment with the mother of the coordinator of the event.  The family is very supportive, nice knit, and exhibits God’s love.  The father and mother came from out of state of help their daughter.  I was amazed and very moved by the love that they had for one another.  As I continue thinking about the family I want to raise, I am reminded by this person that love is important and that others will know whether I am a believer or not by my love, not what the world thinks of love, but what God thinks of it.

After the run, we went to brunch.  It was wonderful and I had a great time.  It is nice to be amongst fellow brothers and sisters and to celebrate after the run.   This weekend is indeed blessed – dinner last night with friends, a 5k run to support a cause dear to our hearts, and lunch with friends.  God’s love is in the air.

How should family and friends love each other to reveal the love of God that is in our hearts?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

Friday, September 9, 2011

I am looking forward to the weekend.   It had been quite a long week at work.  Last night, I was able to sleep early and get some needed rest.  I don’t know about you, but I need my beauty rest – or else my fuse is shorter and I am grumpier.  Anyway, the weekend is coming up soon.  There were many unexpected and unplanned things that happened this week and that’s okay.  My wife thinks that I plan too many things and am too rigid with it.  Yes, I use the calendar often, but it is only a tool to communicate and organize information – things happening when, things possibly happening when, and things that I consider.

What is interesting is that there was always a miscommunication because of a lack of communication.  I always want to discuss events with her beforehand and she thinks that my discussion of the events means that I want to attend.  We ended up attended everything that I suggested because of this.  It was not until I communicated that I was only making suggestions that our schedule finally got better and that she is more willing to communicate last minute plans and ideas for the evening.  I am always up for new ideas and change in plans, but it needs to be communicated, not just hoisted upon me especially when I have other ideas for the evening.

Yeah, she does not use a calendar, but she still has ideas for the week, ideas for the future in the same way that I do.  I just put the ideas in my head on the calendar.  She only puts things on the calendar when it is set in stone.  I put things on the calendar that I consider, that I think are interesting, and that I think I may attend.  Depending on my mood and feelings that day, the weather, or a variety of other things, I may not come to the events at all on my calendar.  Of course, there are events that we must attend, like educational seminars and service, but there are some that are optional.

Last night was wonderful, she was free to do her exercising and I was free to rest.  We finally came to an understanding that it is important to communicate our needs to each other, especially what ideas we have about the time.  I had high hopes for the calendar and was hoping to accomplish communication through it, but it just scared her – to see all the events on my calendar and to think that she must be there.   After a few months, we finally came to understand that when I put something on the calendar, I wanted to discuss it.  She usually discusses it when it comes closer to the event and the events are in her head.

I asked her to think of the events on the calendar as what is going in my head for the future just like what she does, but keeps in her head.  I write it down and she does not.  In the end, I am flexible enough to change plans and to move in different directions as long as it is communicated.  One does not expect another to do things according to one’s whim (spontaneously, but to discuss ideas beforehand, whether it be days before or seconds before – your partner should agree to the activities, not be forced into them).  And in order for her do to something with me or for me to do something with her, we both need to communicate that desire somehow.  I use the calendar.  She does it verbally.  In the end, we both accomplish the same thing, figuring what to do with our future time and as long as we are on the same page – our relationship can move forward and flourish.

Are you on the same page with the Father in terms of His Son’s sacrifice for our sins?  How do you get on the same page with the Father so your relationship with the Father can flourish and grow?

Copy 2011 by Christenstein

September 14, 2011

It is my intention to live as Jesus did and do what Jesus did while He was the earth.  One of the things that Jesus did was point out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  Through the Holy Spirit's gift of discernment and divine revelation, I may be exposing a fake among your midst.  You may nor may not believe me, but I am going to tell you what happened (as it was divinely revealed to me that he will hide his past under the rug -- delete his posts).  @quest4god@revelife made some comments to @TheGreatBout post on the "My Racism" post (of course, @quest4god@revelife (I do not know this person is a he or she, but I will use "he" for simplicity) already deleted his comments to the thread, but fear not, there are tags in my reply evidencing that he had commented, which you can clearly see in he post - http://thegreatbout.xanga.com/754995078/my-racism/?page=1&jump=1522729016#1522729016).  The first thing that tipped me off was he did not seem happy that a fellow Christian was being transformed by the Holy Spirit.  Not being able to see the transforming work of the Holy Spirit is one of the big signs.  Instead, he wrote about how @TheGreatBout should let the past be the past and live for the present (we should be living for Jesus, not the present, but this is a side note) (you can see for yourself what he wrote and judge for yourself.  For me, it is clear that he is concentrate on man's work and what man can do instead of how God can transform man).  Another example -- he also stated that "love and acceptance comes from us first."  Beware, folks!  He may write well about Biblical doctrine and may know the Bible well because he had been in Christian circles for a long time, but it says a lot more that he does not know that "God is love and love comes from God - that we love because God loved us first."  For a Christian, who has experienced the love of God and salvation as well as regeneration, such a statement should not have been made at all.  The fact that @quest4god@revelife could make such a comment can only mean he did not experience God's love and if he did, He has denied the love of Christ and preached a false gospel (his is gospel is a gospel of man's  efforts and not one one of letting Christ transform and shine through a person.  If this is true, this means he is accursed as Saint Paul states).  Whichever way you look at it, whether he knew or did not know, his making of such a statement really puts his claims of being a "Christian" to question.  Not to mention that he deleted his comments to the post when I pointed it out (he also attacked me by assuming things that I did not say).  Now, I ask you fellow Christian Xangans, what kind of person deletes comments to cover his tracks?  Even if you do not believe me that he is a wolf in sheep's clothing, you can agree with me that he is dishonest.

Here are his original comments.  As you can see, he points the finger at me for not loving, but yet he does not know that love comes from God.  Would you take him seriously?

I replied to him in love, telling him that he took my words out of context and conjured things out of thin air.  And, through the Spirit, prophesied that he hides things under the rug and that God exposes us to the light (I took screen shots knowing that he will do what God revealed to me he would do).

He replied to me that he won't "belabor" the point as though this was an argument or debate of sorts.  TheGreatBout's post about racism was not about Jesus to him, it was about him making his point.  He stated that "[he] know[s] of no rug that would actually hide [his] past."  This is one piece of evidence that he is treating this entire exercise as a debate and argument.  Note that I tell him the truth about how God is love and how love comes from God first - I was just pointing out the truth to him.

Now, he who "states that he knows of no rug that hides his past" deleted comments to hide his attacking a brother for no reason, to hide his ignoring of the Holy Spirit's work in Travis' life, and to hide his not knowing the basics - that God is love and that God first comes from God.

In his reply to my pointing out his error, he further treats it like a debate (saying that he is not adept enough to keep from a loophole).  Being "adept" and keeping from "loophole" are debating words, not words of love and words of truth.  Brothers and sisters, he preaches the word of God here (and he is held to higher standards because of it).  The word of God is not about being "adept" or keeping from "loopholes," it is about the truth in Christ Jesus.  Then, he admits that he talking about human relationships/efforts and not God relationship/efforts.  He goes onto tell me that I should extend some grace to him like I know him.  I really do not know him other than what he posts here.  If he lies about God, I am going to point it out as is my duty.  Furthermore, God does not give grace to the proud and God exposes the darkness to the light.  His heresy is grave because it is clear that God is love and God loves us first.  Instead of being humble to the word of God and divine revelation given to me by God, he hides in the darkness.  He does not acknowledge that the statement that "Love and acceptance comes from us first" is clearly in contradiction to God's word.

Furthermore, through the Spirit of God, I prophesied that he will hide it under the rug.  He wants me to extend a little grace to him.  The Bible clearly says that God does not extend grace to the arrogant.  God extends grace to the humble.  Suggesting that I allow him to hide in the darkness is contrary to the Christian lifestyle and certain communicates pride and arrogance.  We are plain before God and should be plain to everything as a outflow of our relationship with God.  Not admitting that a statement contradicts God's word and hiding it is not what a child of God does.  The Spirit of God exposes everything to the light.

It is up to you to discern for yourselves if he is a fake or not, or merely dishonest in his dealings here on Xanga.

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein