Christianity Oasis Forum

[Taryn]

Hi everyone. I joined because I want to learn more about Christianity. I'm not Christian myself, but I feel called to learn.

[mlg]

Hi Taryn,

Welcome to the Oasis! Yay, you want to learn about Christianity. There are many here who would love to share with you. You have any questions, you would like to ask?

I am so very glad you are here! I hope you find the Truth which you seek.

Take care

[Taryn]

I have so many questions I don't really know where to start.

[mlg]

Ok, well do you have some you would like to share?

[dema]

Jesus came that our joy might be full. The Bible is so huge with so much history. People were created by God and walked with God in the garden. Over and over again there were times when people were close to God and he showered blessings. God likes to shower blessing - if we accept getting blessed. Anyway, the Bible is a story of God wanting us to love Him with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength and love each other. And people just had so much trouble with that. And finally God sent his son to show us how to live in love. And after people killed Jesus, God sent the Holy spirit to connect us with God.

When we, I was going to say work at it - but the main thing is to never forget, are with God, talk to God, praise God and thank him in the name of Jesus for our blessings then we are truly connected and God fills our hearts and comforts us. He doesn't keep us from all tragedy, though I personally know of many times when I have been guided away from it and other times when I was warned but walked into it, but being guided from tragedy isn't the point. Often, usually, we grow in love and compassion and strength more when we have to walk through a fire than when we are protected. But we feel God's love. We know God is there. We know the sacrifice of Jesus takes away any sin we have and should absolve us from self-blame. Sometimes we aren't so good about accepting that gift. Christ accepted being crucified so that we could accept that. He was crucified when innocent in order that whenever we are guilty and have self-blame we can give it to him and he forgives it. The Bible says God forgets it.

Sometimes people say that Christianity causes guilt - but actually it is intended to be a path of forgiveness - to return us to love. I think guilt is a natural human condition for many (most?) people.

We are to follow the example of Jesus and his teachings. But Jesus said the first commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and the second is like unto it - to love your neighbor as yourself.

That is in the Bible twice like that and if you go to Biblegateway or another site and search for the word "love" it will come up so many times. Hundreds. Loving your neighbor as yourself means you have to love yourself.

People talk about the sacrifice of Jesus dying for our sins. I believe it was perhaps a greater sacrifice for him to live on this earth for thirty-something years without sinning. Imagine the sacrifice it would be for you to go back in time without hot showers. Whatever we have, heaven has better. The thought of living in Roman times as a member of an oppressed race and walking around in the dust without a shower afterwards - well, I think that was a HUGE sacrifice. And no ice cream!

I'm not really joking. I cannot imagine putting up with snot from people and knowing I could have a thousand angels throw banana pies in their faces and not doing it. Wouldn't that have been great?

Jesus was born and lived in the time of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. There were chariots but mostly people walked. It was an educated time. I think kings actually sent runners to the mountains to make them snow cones. But the regular people lived pretty primitively. And the rulers could cut off people's heads pretty much at will as long as they were not Roman citizens.

There is so much to history. Marriage customs, eating customs - the Bible is filled with a lot of them. They are boring to read straight in a row but when you think about living with them it is pretty fascinating. Jesus got really mad at leaders who were all about rules and not about people.

I was raised in the church my whole life and have gone to a lot of different ones. I also have a lot of Christian books and history books about the times and books trying to place the events in line with the history of other nations and things like that.

Just like in various times throughout history, many people want a formula. They want to know that if the touch their toes three times every morning and rub their nose three times every night that they will be saved. And they find rules and add on rules and add on rules. But Jesus yelled at people who were like that in the Bible. Jesus came to teach us love. Jesus came to tell us that all we need to do is ask him to lead our lives and he will do it. And when we ask, he does come in and warm our hearts and love us and lead us - until we start getting distracted and ignore him and do what we want.

But as many times as we come back and tell him again that we love him and we want to live in love, he comforts us and fills us again. When you accept Jesus as savior, sometimes it is an amazing, dramatic event that is an incredible high. Sometimes people don't feel anything until later. And it isn't about feelings. It is about love - and love is so much more than a feeling.

Describe the ocean - standing on a beach and seeing the waves come in. How can you fully describe all of it? It is awesome. So is Christianity.

[notforgotten]

Welcome Taryn.

[Taryn]

Thank you all for the warm welcome I truly believe that if we all love each other great things can be accomplished.

[Christianity Oasis]

Amen ... Love one another.


Romans 13:8
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

John 15:12
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

1 John 3:23
And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, AND love one another, as He gave us commandment.

1 John 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we OUGHT also to love one another.

1 John 4:12
... If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, AND His love is perfected in us.


Luv all of ya