Jesus He Knows Me
A lot of people know about my faith. They know I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior. I believe that Jesus is my Lord and savior. Ever since 1996, I have known this. But, I feel that I owe people a much more deeper explanation in regards to my faith and it's progress since the "early days". And this includes the "Ned Flanders" era, pre-9/11.
Everyone talks about how they found God, or found Christ. I didn't. He found me. He found me cowering in my bed, immensely afraid of death even at the age of 16. It was at that time, and that night, that I asked Jesus to enter my heart and asked him to give me peace. To say the least, he has...even if I haven't sometimes shown it.
From there, I received some of the best teaching that man could give, in the form of a pastor from my old hometown. He's now in the Philadelphia area, and he's someone who I still contact in regards to spiritual questions and needs. Needless to say, his teaching helped me to understand who Jesus was, why he did what he did, and what his death meant to my life. And trust me, it meant a lot.
The problem was, alas, that I was starting to get too self-righteous, which is where I turned from ol' Sailor into "Ned Flanders". This was also the time when I started really getting into Anime and the anime convention circuit. To say the least, it was not my best performance...and nearly alienated me from someone who I consider a really good friend (Yes, V...that's you.) At any rate, my self-righteousness caused a lot of issues...a lot of things that could be seen at different places. Didn't help that I had a self-righteous pastor who I was learning things from. Needless to say, Oregon is not exactly the most believer-friendly place. There are a lot of charlatans out here, and there are a lot of good pastors and teachers out here, who are stuck in a place where they have to do what the money-givers ask. Including my old pastor, who is probably a great believer, yet his teaching is exceptionally harmful.
For note, what I said above is my own opinion of people, and may not be what you all get from him or her. Take it with a grain of salt, please.
So, that brings me to where I am right now. Jesus saved me from death. He has given me life, and I am not forsaking it. The main issue is where He wants me to go next.
For those of you astute, you know that the title of this entry refers to a biting and sarcastic song by Genesis called "Jesus He Knows Me", about all the televangelists out there who have swindled people out of millions while they live opulent lifestyles that are way beyond their means. People like Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton, Paul Crouch, and others. There are some good people out there who do make millions, but yet teach well. And those people I don't fault at all. It's just the ones who are out there who have issues, major issues.
That is why I am always looking to find someone who is what I like to call a "Teaching Elder". That is, someone who does the job not for financial gain, even though he may live on a pretty good sum of cash. But someone who loves teaching what Jesus taught, because that's what the calling is. And there are a few people out there who are following in the example. Those are the type of people that I commend. And one of them is a frequent livejournalist. You know who you are, Rabbi. ^_-
Anyhow, there's my discussion for the day. A little entreatise about what I truly feel. I have changed in my outlook on life and faith. I believe that God has me bound for a place that is truly where I'm called. I just pray that I can be humble, unlike how I was in 2001, and that he will give me the strength to be a humble man.
Everyone talks about how they found God, or found Christ. I didn't. He found me. He found me cowering in my bed, immensely afraid of death even at the age of 16. It was at that time, and that night, that I asked Jesus to enter my heart and asked him to give me peace. To say the least, he has...even if I haven't sometimes shown it.
From there, I received some of the best teaching that man could give, in the form of a pastor from my old hometown. He's now in the Philadelphia area, and he's someone who I still contact in regards to spiritual questions and needs. Needless to say, his teaching helped me to understand who Jesus was, why he did what he did, and what his death meant to my life. And trust me, it meant a lot.
The problem was, alas, that I was starting to get too self-righteous, which is where I turned from ol' Sailor into "Ned Flanders". This was also the time when I started really getting into Anime and the anime convention circuit. To say the least, it was not my best performance...and nearly alienated me from someone who I consider a really good friend (Yes, V...that's you.) At any rate, my self-righteousness caused a lot of issues...a lot of things that could be seen at different places. Didn't help that I had a self-righteous pastor who I was learning things from. Needless to say, Oregon is not exactly the most believer-friendly place. There are a lot of charlatans out here, and there are a lot of good pastors and teachers out here, who are stuck in a place where they have to do what the money-givers ask. Including my old pastor, who is probably a great believer, yet his teaching is exceptionally harmful.
For note, what I said above is my own opinion of people, and may not be what you all get from him or her. Take it with a grain of salt, please.
So, that brings me to where I am right now. Jesus saved me from death. He has given me life, and I am not forsaking it. The main issue is where He wants me to go next.
For those of you astute, you know that the title of this entry refers to a biting and sarcastic song by Genesis called "Jesus He Knows Me", about all the televangelists out there who have swindled people out of millions while they live opulent lifestyles that are way beyond their means. People like Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton, Paul Crouch, and others. There are some good people out there who do make millions, but yet teach well. And those people I don't fault at all. It's just the ones who are out there who have issues, major issues.
That is why I am always looking to find someone who is what I like to call a "Teaching Elder". That is, someone who does the job not for financial gain, even though he may live on a pretty good sum of cash. But someone who loves teaching what Jesus taught, because that's what the calling is. And there are a few people out there who are following in the example. Those are the type of people that I commend. And one of them is a frequent livejournalist. You know who you are, Rabbi. ^_-
Anyhow, there's my discussion for the day. A little entreatise about what I truly feel. I have changed in my outlook on life and faith. I believe that God has me bound for a place that is truly where I'm called. I just pray that I can be humble, unlike how I was in 2001, and that he will give me the strength to be a humble man.