Do you believe in God?
Really think before you answer that question
I didn't ask if you go to church.
I didn't ask if you if you sing in the church choir.
I didn't ask if you prayed before you ate.
I didn't ask if you were baptized.
All those questions besides the first were all questions that you could have
answered yes to because it describes the actions a person that believes in God
would do, but you could have also answered yes because you were forced into
doing it. Not because you have a relationship with God, but because someone
made you do it or you felt the need to do it to please someone other than God.
Initially growing up I went to Catholic
School until senior year of high
school. I went to church every Sunday, prayed before I ate, went through the
sacraments of initiation, was an alter server etc. I knew growing up that God
exists but did I truly believe it. I told everyone I did. They saw me praying
when an ambulance passed, before I ate, at church, in front of a statue of Mary
and the Santo Nino with my family. They saw me wearing my cross, my scapular,
my bracelets and ashes on my head on Ash Wednesday. How could you doubt I
believed in God? In Jesus Christ? I rep him around my neck wherever I go.
Let me ask you another set of questions:
Do you look at a girl lustfully? (Imagine hooking up with her, watch
pornography). Having premarital sex?
Do you eat until you can't move? Food coma? Drink until you get faded?
Do you not share? Do you always want the best clothes, shoes, hats etc?
Do you sleep in all day? Not because you've worked all night, sleep in
because you know you can?
Do you hate on someone right now? And talk smack about them because they
piss you off?
Do you wish you were living someone's life? Wish you had what they had (job,
materials, relationships)?
Do you boast about what you have that others don't? Putting other people
down for not having something?
Do do know what sin is?
Do you know what the seven deadly sins are: (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth,
Wrath, Envy and Pride)
If you believe in God you believe in Jesus, who God sent in order to teach
us how to live. You also believe then that he was betrayed by his friends,
beaten almost until the point of death so much so that there was no blood left
to flow out his body when they pierced his side, and nailed to a cross naked
all so that we might take God's message seriously. It's not a story. It's
something very serious. Let it marinate. Every time we sin we are ultimately
saying "thanks for dying but no thanks." "Thanks for going
through all that, but I'd rather keep doing what I've been doing."
Note: Catholics should be reading the New American Bible. King James Version
is the Protestant Version
Matthew22:36-39 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the
greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the the
greatest and first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."
Galations519-21"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of
envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you as I warned you before ,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom
of God.
1 John2:4-6 Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his
commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his
word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know
that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live
[just] as he lived.
God set up these rules because he knows that if followed life would be
better. Not to restrict us from enjoying life. If you don't get drunk, you
won't kill anybody on the road, you wont lust over someone's significant other
and break up a family, you wont be tempted to injure anyone because of pride
and so forth. If you're at peace with what you have you'll want to share extra
supplies. You won't want to damage or steal property because of jealousy.
God strategically made it impossible to follow his commandments on our
own. We need him for help. The whole point of God creating us was to enjoy what
he created and for us to give me the props he deserves. Even though we fail a
majority of the time, he's always going to be there to forgive. He doesn't hold
a grudge on you. He gave us the gift of free will. You can decide for
yourself to what to do with a negative situation, either be bitter and infect
everyone with your negativity, or be positive and thank God for the tools that
he gave to deal with the hardships. He always provides something whether you
take notice of it, it's up to you. He always provides a way out. It's not God
that puts you in hard times. Sometimes it's your sinful decision or decisions
that you've made in the past that set you up. Think about it. Go to confession.
Be right with him. If you believe make an effort to avoid sinful behavior.
Honestly for me I've realized there is so no way you can go to a club or be
in an environment where there is a lot of alcohol and woman dressed immodestly
and not be exposed or tempted by sin of that nature. He died for me. So I'm
going to try my best and do what he wants of me.
How can you say you believe in God but go against what he stands for? It's
definitely hard. It's a daily struggle but if God is real, heaven is real and
so is hell, I want to live my life to avoid hell completely. Matthew 16:24
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