HOW FOOLISH OUR OWN BELIEFS HAVE BECOME!

Paul admonishes, in 1 Corinthians 3:3, not to takes sides: "For you are still carnal. For where there are any envy, STRIFE, and DIVISIONS, among you, are you not carnaland behaving like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?

The same can be said when people say: "My God is not your God," or "My religion (convictions) are holier or better than yours;" isn't "My" an equal statement of carnal distictions and comparisons (divisions)? For Christ did not send us to convert (change people's perceptions, only The Spirit of God can do that) but to preach the good news, not with wisdom of man's intellect superficial words, high understansing and knowldege, or accumulated data from volumes of studies and so many books read, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect (1 Corinthians 1:17) with personal emphasis added

Please stop fighting who knows more, who is closer to the heart of God (even this was a common struggle among the disciples of Jesus), or who is holier than thou; for the kind of good news Christ wants us to preach is only about the cross (surrender); "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (cold and bitter within their own hearts), but to us who are constantly being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).

For the message of the cross is not about making bigger kingdoms, building better churches, increasing a better outreach, or making superior distinctions among other cultures, religions, and competing with the whole human race; but the true message of the cross is about selfless service, real love, and authentic stretching of our own selfs (to the point of surrendering and destroying it - referring to self, or ego), so we can bring oppossites, extremes, controverises, differences, and contraries to a midpoint of surrender in order to embrace real faith, hope, and love.  
    
    
JESUS, made Himself available to teach us how much God loves us, that alone should stir our hearts to surrender whatever gets on the way to love God back! 

 

Faithfully seeking Him, 

Hiram