What is a Christian?

Christian

 by Matt Slick
A Christian is someone who follows the teaching of Christianity, a monotheistic, Trinitarian religion which was founded by Jesus of Nazareth 2000 years ago in Israel.  Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah, performed many miracles, and claimed to be divine.  After Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, his followers continued the teaching ministry begun by him.
Basically, to be a Christian means to acknowledge who Jesus is, receive the atoning sacrifice, to repent of sin, and to try and live according to what the New Testament teaches.
The term Christian comes from the Greek cristianon (Christianon) and is found in Acts 11:26; 26:28, and 1 Pet. 4:16.  Cristianon is derived from the Greek cristos which means "Christ" or "anointed one" the equivalent of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ "Messiah".

100 Truths About Jesus

This article was taken form www.carm.org

1. Jesus claimed to be God - John 8:24; 8:56-59 (see Exodus 3:14); John 10:30-33
2. Jesus is called God - John 1:1,14; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8
3. Jesus is the image of the invisible God - Heb. 1:3
4. Jesus abides forever - Heb. 7:24
5. Jesus created all things - John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17
6. Jesus is before all things - John 1:1-3; Col. 1:17;
7. Jesus is eternal - John 1:1,14; 8:58; Micah 5:1-2
8. Jesus is honored the same as the Father - John 5:23
9. Jesus is prayed to - Acts 7:55-60; 1 Cor. 1:2 with Psalm 116:4; (John 14:14)
10. Jesus is worshipped - Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6
11. Jesus is omnipresent - Matt. 18:20; 28:20
12. Jesus is with us always - Matt. 28:20
13. Jesus is our only mediator between God and ourselves - 1 Tim. 2:5

What Would Jesus Do?

If you can remember, around year 2002 – 2003 I guess, blue magic (a gift store in the Philippines) are selling these bracelets with an acronym W.W.J.D. Its made of thick cloth about quarter of an inch wide. It is available in different colors: Black, white, blue, pink, green and etc.  I got a blue one.  During that time, I can see almost everyone wearing that bracelet. Maybe because it is the current trend or maybe this is also their personal motto. When I got that bracelet I would admit that it is combination of both. How I really wish they still sell those bracelet because nowhere in the Philippines I could find that kind of bracelet. Thank God, that one of the Christian bookstore here sells these kind of bracelet. Not a bracelet but a baller ID used by basketball players. Again, I got a blue one. 

God vs god

Why God vs god? I thought I'm just perfectionist when it comes to grammar or in writing when it comes to this. I always write God capitalized. There maybe some instance where I forget but consciously, I always make sure that it is written properly regardless of the situation.

Many would say, they are the same  Yes they are if a computer would analyze it and would case-sensitivity is not an issue..  I'm afraid they are not. A capitalized God refers to our one and only God. The Creator of Heaven and Earth. The Almighty God. On the other hand, god in lower case "g" is something that refers to

Do you really know the true meaning of Love?

The title sounds cheesy but this is not about a love where you can feel butterfly in your stomach or where you can see fireworks. Before I go on further, I would like to define what love is. According to wikipedia, Love is an emotion of a strong affection and personal attachment. Love is also a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection —"the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another". Love may describe actions towards others or oneself based on compassion or affection. We often say, Love is Blind. We can define it the way we feel According to the Holy Bible, Love is patient, Love is kind…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) For me, the ultimate meaning of Love is God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8). He gave us the greatest gift that we can ever have and that is salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that everyone is familiar with John 3:16 but let me reiterate, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God “SO” love the world not God love the world. It means an intense love of God for us. 

Is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse?

Question: "Is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse?"

Answer: It is definitely a sin to swear (curse, cuss, etc.). The Bible makes this abundantly clear. Ephesians 4:29 tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." First Peter 3:10 declares, "For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." James 3:9-12 summarizes the issue: "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

Manny Pacquiao's 1st loss in 7 years

Manny Pacquiao won his last 15 fights since he lost to Erik Morales on 2005.

The whole Philippines (if not the world) was shocked with this loss. We didn't expect this. We get used to see Mike Buffer announcing the Name of Manny Pacquiao with the word "Still" before his name. I would admit I was also shocked. At first, I can't believe that he lost. I thought everyone is just kidding around but when I verified that it sure, it made me sad. I was anxious about the fight and of course I would want him to win but I am also not confident about this fight.

As you could notice, Pacquiao became closer to God after his last fight against Juan Miguel Marquez and the transformation on his life is already evident. Starting from his vices down to his preaching. I really appreciate it what he is doing. He is hungry for the word and God is using his popularity so that he can be a God's messenger.

The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon for a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly.

He took a pair of scissors and snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.

Something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly.

Away from Temptation

We are all being tempted according to our weakness. First of all, let me just say that when we are tempted, it is not God who is tempting us but the enemy.  According to James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” The devil is the one who tempts us. He (satan)even tried to tempt Jesus but he failed.  (Matthew 4:1-11)

Imagine if satan have the guts to tempt Jesus, who are we to not be excused. Sad to say that we are his target. He wants us to sin against our God. Remember when he tempted Eve at the Garden of Eden?  When we fall to temptation, it will lead to sin. On the other hand, every temptation is an opportunity to do good.

Luck Defined

I don’t believe in luck. There is no such thing. It is a word that someone uses to describe an event that happened to their life. According to wikipedia, luck or fortunity is good fortune which occurs beyond one’s control, without regard to one’s will, intention, or desired result. Dictionary.com says that luck is the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person’s life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities. Luck could be either good or bad. Anything good that could happen to someone’s life could be consider “Good Luck” and of course, “Bad Luck” is the exact opposite. The difference of what is good and bad would depend on how someone will see a situation.

Don't leave it on the desk

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States.

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution.  Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery.  Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve.  Steve was only a freshman but was studying with the intent of going into the seminary for the ministry.  Steve was popular, he was well-liked and he was an imposing physical specimen.  He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the Professor's class.

Minced Oath

A friend of mine from  UK share this to me because while we are exchanging emails I've mentioned the word "Geez" so he told me that word is a spelling variation of the word "Jeez" which is used as profanity.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Jeez)

A minced oath, also known as a pseudo-profanity, is an expression based on a profanity which has been altered to reduce or remove the disagreeable or objectionable characteristics of the original expression; for example, "gosh" used instead of "God," "darn" instead of "damn","heck" instead of "hell" and "freaking" instead of "f*ck*ng". Nearly all profanities have minced variants; the words that are most taboo give rise to the most.[1]

4 Years Wasted - A personal testimony

4 Years... 4 years wasted... Within 4 years, you can already construct a new highway, grow a few centimeters, finish your masters degree in short you can accomplish many things. Have you accomplished anything for yourself in the past 4 years of your life? If yes, then good for you. I just wasted mine.

My parents raised me as a christian and taught me everything they know about God. They taught me how to fear and love God. I did. It's just not enough. We often say that we are a God-fearing person. We say that we believe in God. Well that's nice but do you know that the devil also believe and fear God? James 2:19 (NLT) says "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror." Well, I was like this before. I fear God. I believe in him but I continue on committing sins. INTENTIONAL! Why? Simply to satisfy myself. To make me happy. Believing in him and fearing him is not enough. We should love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind. (Matthew 22:37)