Christianity is ?

I have been a Christian all my life. I was born into a Christian family with both of my parents being active within the church.

As I grew up I learnt about being Christian, the morals and ethics of being a Christian, the actions and aspects of being a Christan and the promise of being a Christian.

Apart from my foolish ways of childhood and youth my religion was Christianity. I belived that God was out there and that He should be the center of my attention

But my parents and my church could not save me and make me. I was still my own lord choosing when to abide with the rules of my religion.

But even at the best of times when I was able to abide all of the rules I had learnt, I was not a Christian.

Because being a Christian is not going to church. Being a Christian is not doing good deeds. Being a Christian is not tithing.

Paul says in 1 Conrithians 13:3 'If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body tothe flames but have not love, I gain nothing.' (NIV)

Being Christian is nothing but a relationship between me and God. And a proper relationship is built on love from both sides.

God has already shown his love above and beyond anything I can do. »For God so loved that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.« (John 3:16, NIV)

My part is the second half of that verse : '... That whoever believes in him'. But believing in Jesus as my personal saviour is not something I can do from my couch.

It requires that I know Jesus personally and I can not get to know Jesus without experiencing him and his fulfilment of God's promise. And I can only really do that by trying out life and see if he makes a difference in it.

Now I have tried life just going through the motions without putting my entire trust in Him. Now in my adulthood I have put more trust in God and less self-reliance in my life.

And everytime I accepted to do God's will and to go where he wants me to go, even though it goes against what I think I know, God pulls me through and I get blessed with both wisdom and knowledge.

Seven or eight years ago I was a lonely man who had yet to know how it was to be in a relationship with a woman. My brother asked me a question if I could help him out. And this question was meant as a joke.

But I responded positively, going against my previous convictions about what I would do in my future.

I moved a mere 50 kilometer from my home town and served as a pastor for a year in a small, small local church with 6-8 elderly ladies and one likewise man.

Through this move I grew a lot spiritually and maturity although I did not give my all to this church, If I have to be totally honest.

But I did meet the lady who is now my wife. And that REALLY changed my life around.

I used to be a bachelor basically only concentrating on my own needs. I did provide for my little flock in the church but I feel that I could have given them and God more, and maybe have helped that church to grow new branches and thus survive. As it is now they are down to 3 or 4 old ladies.

But marrying my wife made me see that I need to depend on others and accept their help as well as I have to care for them and put them before me in my priorities.

And here I am now, serving God in Africa, more than 5000 kilometers from my home town.

I still battle with my self-reliance but I achieve more and more by simply letting go and give the control of my life into the hands of God. And everytime I do that he comes through and works miracles through my imperfectness

The christening of the first church - The Day of Pentecost.

This past Sunday we celebrated the Day of Pentecost, the christening of the first church if you like.

The disciples and the twelve apostles had been gathered in Jerusalem since Ascension Day, where Jesus rose back up to heaven. Just before he ascended, Jesus had told them to stay in Jerusalem until they were to receive The Holy Spirit.

They had been gathering every day praying together, eating together, sharing together. They went to the synagogue everyday.

Now they were assembled in one of their houses. Suddenly a mighty wind roared from the heavens and fire came down to them. The fire split into tongues of fire, spreading amongst them so that each of them had a tongue of fire on their head.

And they started speaking in tongues. All the peoples who stayed in Jerusalem heard them speak in his or her tongue and people were amazed.

They new that these men were Galileans and could not speak these languages normally. Some mocked the disciples speaking ill of them by claiming that they were drunk from young wine.

But Peter, who had recovered from his denial of Jesus, took the stand and spoke to the crowd: "These men are not drunk as you suppose. It is only 9 in the morning." (Acts 2:15 NIV). And he continued by reciting the Old Testament prophecies by Joel (Joel 2:28-32) and David (Psalm 16:8-11) about this day.

That day 3000 men were added to the church. Why? Because of the 'fireworks display' - well it certainly had its effect but it was not the real reason.

The disciples were baptised by the Holy Spirit in a very special way because they were obedient of the commands of Christ. They held together, praying, praising, sharing and caring amongst themselves in the spirit of Christ and that is why God poured his Spirit upon them, giving them the ability to speak languages they did not know.

Are we ready to be baptised like that? Are we living a Christ-like life not only amongst ourselves but also among those that despises and ridicules us?

If not (and let us face it - we do not live up to the standard of Christ) then it is time for us to recommit ourselves - not once, not twice but daily and maybe even several times a day. We need to bow down, go on our knees and ask God for forgiveness and guidance in our lives. And finally the Love of Christ against not only those we love but those we least like and even do not like.

Welcome!

Welcome to Jan's Theological Thoughts or Jan's Theoughts for short. This blog will contain thought based upon my readings of the bible with the support of various books I either have read or will read in the future.

Hopefully through guidance from the Holy Spirit through my reading and experiencing everyday life will inspire, intrigue, motivate and even provoke you on how to live a christian life.

I will most likely come across things that baffle and puzzle me - even astound me. I will share those moments with you and just maybe you will have an inspiration or thought that might enlighten me. So feel free to comment, question and clarify!

My plan regarding posts on this blog is to make at least one posting per week. I will probably average at around 6 posts per month but of course this may vary.

When the dust settles and I get into a routine I will try to do regular posts on a fixed week day and then do the more spontanious ones around that.

For the first post beyond this welcoming post i will take a look of the christening of the First Church - the day of Pentecost.

Thank you for your time and prayers. You are always welcome to comment on my posts. Preferred would be public comments that would inspire, motivate and enlighten others but you are also welcome to send me comments to my email address: jan (at) kaddu (dot) dk.