Sue, you said: Surely passages like the following are there, not so we can judge whether others are Christians or not, but in order to challenge *us*.
Your use of "surely" has a force to it as if I'm missing the obvious. Perhaps I am ... sorry. Also, I am reading what you say as if I am judging others about the integrity of their faith. If my reading is correct then I have not expressed myself well. I am referring to myself ... not anyone else. I guess what you are seeing is process not conclusions. The questioning method of your comments suggests the answers are obvious to you and that they should be to me. I guess I had thought that in the past. Lately I have been a bit shaken into thinking I should have a little more humility in my self appraisal. Yes, at the moment I am feeling uncomfortable. Hopefully that means the "Holy Spirit" is working on me. Tom that the text should be challening >Having said all that I have a problem. Jesus is not here physically to >follow so I don't know if I am following him and when I read Mark's gospel, >I'm not sure I am. At the risk of getting into trouble for using 'religious speak', surely the Holy Spirit is our guide here? I don't mean by that that we should merely pay lip service to the work of the Spirit, but experience the Spirit's guidance by prayerful Bible reading and by praying together in a receptive rather than formal way. >So, I have to ask myself, am I >following Jesus? I'm impressed by what he says, but so probably was Hitler. Surely passages like the following are there, not so we can judge whether others are Christians or not, but in order to challenge *us*. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7: 21 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. John 15: 10 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! James 2: 19 Aren't we meant to feel uncomfortable so we develop a deeper relationship with God and our fellow human beings? To put it another way: I don't believe there is any external checklist to prove whether we're following Christ or not, precisely because relating to Jesus is all about trust and not about rules. Sue Sue Bolton Sydney, Australia ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
