Cant think of a title...............

I sit here pondering what it is that we are missing. No one strives to be like Christ anymore, no one wants to give up whatever they have in order to gain a life that is better then any other. Then we have those who claim to follow Christ but are so wrapped up in there own pleasure that they do not even remember what it is like to truly hear from God. Understand that I am guilty of this just as we all are, but that is not what Christ wants from us.

Christ wants perfection from us, and he says that in Matthew 5:48 "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." But yet we are fine with sticking with our sinful nature instead of pursuing perfection. We say it is impossible to reach perfection and that there is no way for us to get out of our sinful nature. It is true that we will not be perfect till we are with Christ in Heaven but yet we can get out of the Sin that holds us back. Look at Paul who went around killing Christians but yet when Christ came to him he gave it all up and pursued Christ and perfection. He followed so hard after Christ that he said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to follow his example as he follows christ.

Why can we not follow Christ in this way. The way where everything we do points directly to Christ and not to us. Why can we not trust Christ and stop thinking we know better. If this world had one person who was willing to step up and just say alright God all i have is yours. No matter if I have to give up a decent paying job or the house I am living in I am willing to lay it all down at your feet and follow after you. The person who steps up to the plate and even though they do not know what will be thrown at them they know God will be with them always. They understand that God will protect them in the way that Paul talks about in 2 Timothy 4:17-18

"But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom"

I hope that I step up in the way that God call us to. To let His light shine through me in such a way where every thing I do they see Christ and not me. I do not want to be like the ones who claim to live for God but stand still and do nothing in His name. This world can be changed with one person and I want God to start that in me. No matter what is thrown at me and no matter if I lose a Job or anything I want all of Christ and not this type of Christianity I see lived out all around me.

Matthew 6:1-4

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.²"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."


I read this and it makes me think a lot about myself and people in general. How often do we do a good act that pleases God but yet we run around and make sure that everyone knows that we did it. As I read this I think about humbleness and start to think that I really am not that humble. If i do something I want to shout it from the roof tops so that everyone can know what I, Brent Phillips have done. The more I think about that, that alone is wrong. I am nothing, nothing I do should give glory to me but it should all point to Christ. If people begin to notice me and not Christ is when i am living more for myself than my Savior that I claim to love.

I just wonder what people would think if we did things with much more humbleness. What if we did a good deed for someone and didn't go off and let everyone off to know as if to gain approval. I wonder if more people would see Christ and want to know more about him if we did something out of our love for God and not for ourselves. Not just for another mark that makes people like us or respect us more.

Just a thought

I think where getting it all wrong............

The more and more that I read and learn about God through the bible I feel like we are getting it very wrong. It seems like everyone has different opinions of what the bible is saying. The thing is most of these thoughts are being sent down from teacher to student for many years. Every book that comes out has an authors opionion of what they think scripture means. But if you are to find the person who taught them they agree with everything they have said in there book. No one has any of there own views of scripture they just have what they are told to believe.

It is like the people who are Calvinist are taught a Calvin doctrine from who they consider to be there teacher or pastor. The same goes for those who have Arminist beliefs. But how many of us have sat down with our bible's and looked at it with an open mind, forgetting all that has been told to us. And we searched it out for answers and its true meaning for ourselves. Some of you may be reading this saying well i have a quiet time so i do this but most of us sit down with a devotional or something that someone has told us to read so we can talk about it later.

I really just wonder what will happen if we sit down and study the bible without anything else to help us. What if we found the answers for ourself instead of just realying on what someone else says or one verse of scripture that agrees with there point.

I think we should try it, and I wonder what will happen. I think for one a deeper love for God will come and a true honest understanding of scripture. And who knows what you believe after looking it up may be completely wrong and you have to make sure your following what God says and not what someone else says.

I do not know if this is making much since at all and I may get in trouble for this but I am wondering what will happen. Who knows maybe someone who follows a very Arminist doctrine will follow more of a Calvinist one. Who knows just try it......