How do you have a "personal" relationship with Christ??? (page 2)

funkyderek

Vernon Williams:

Jerry, when we last talked, I mentioned I was the "simplest minded
Christian" you will, probably, ever meet. I had stripped my
Christianity to three bare essentials:

I believe the Story.

I trust the Promise.

I believe we should move toward and do those things that nourish us
to
the Will of God.

That's exactly how to do it. Simple minded belief.

To be fair, it's actually a little more difficult than that. In order to have a relationship with Christ, you have to not only believe the bible stories without evidence but actually imagine that when you close your eyes and say certain words in your head, the words you then think to yourself or the emotions you feel are a personal response from this Christ. Some people find practising this form of self-delusion easier than others.

Pioneer Spit...oh, i mean Spirit

We used to do lunch on Tuesdays, it was nice--we'd sometimes go bowling after lunch. It was funny at first-- Christ would order an Oriental chicken salad with ranch instead of the Oriental dressing and ask for croutons. After a while I'd say, 'Christ! Can't you just order a regular chicken salad!' Then he's get all perturbed if they put a lemon wedge in his iced tea, one time he actually scolded a server, 'For God's sake, it's just a beverage order and you screwed that up, I can't wait to order lunch. . .' It was these little things that started to wear on my personal relationship with Christ. It was like he was cracking up on the inside and I felt for him for a time, but it became embarrassing.

The last time something like this happened, they put the Oriental dressing on the salad and brought him a side of ranch and he lost it. Well, I couldn't have this anymore, you just don't mistreat people for making a mistake, especially in food service. So I laid into him - 'Jesus Christ', I said, 'you can't talk to people like that, especially since you've never done food service in a restaurant--AND NO, feeding multitudes with just a few fishes and some loaves does NOT qualify you--you do not understand people and you're certainly not practicing that forgiveness 77 times thing you talked about, so enough! You're either going to get a second job as a server or go to anger management classes, or we just can't have a personal relationship anymore.'

I had to break it off.

Vernon Williams

funky,

This is the starting place....not the whole explanation....

V

exjdub

You have to study the Bible and it is a very complex process of coming to the close relationship with God Yahweh and Jesus Christ.

That's funny OBVES...Didn't Jesus say that his load was light?? Why would something be hard and "complex" if the load was meant to be light? I am so thankful that I don't believe this crap anymore. Although I don't believe anymore, I do observe many, like you, that would like to take the words of a man (albeit a great man if the words about him are true) and twist them to your own ego seeking needs.

Jesus, The Buddha, Ghandi, and all of the other sages and wise people throughout mankind's existence were very simple men that had love for people. If Christians, or any other religion/faith in existence, spent time caring about people and helping them, instead of debating when the End Times were coming (OBVES) or trying to interfere with how people live their life through faith based intolerance, we could acheive peace in the world.

exjdub

quietlyleaving

I really like your thoughtful post, bluesbreaker. Especially this part

I personally believe you should try to be the best person you can be each and everyday of your life on this planet. Help out your fellow man when you can, and love those special to you unconditionally. Why do you need to go to a church to have someone tell you about "prayer requests", "church announcements", certain "ministries", "singing songs"??? Can't you just follow the Bible, if you want??? I don't feel that I'm any closer or further from God, Jesus, or whatever when I'm at home, church, work, kingdumb hall, etc. I always feel the same distance.

Because of a post I made yesterday I've been thinking a bit about my own spirituality and wondering if I have any. Your description above is more or less what I believe, and I'm concluding that is what being spiritual is.

I think its really good that in our day we can openly say how we feel about God and Jesus and keep on challenging religious ideas and myths and not feel that we are somehow going to be damned out of existance.

Superfine Apostate

ah, that's easy: you need to go out in service, attend the meetings and not forget your personal study. did i mention field service?

hmike

A "personal relationship with Christ" is an expression we hear in the modern Protestant evangelical church, especially in the non-denominational, non-traditional type. Obviously, we cannot have the same kind of relationship with an invisible deity as with another person, but there are different kinds of relationships. I think the reference to a personal relationship with God/Jesus is meant to emphasize that Christianity is not a philosophy, not simply a set of rules—"do this but not that"—not performing acts of service, or not living solely for a carrot at the end of a long stick and avoiding an eternal horror; and that God is not distant and unconcerned, or is not an impersonal force, or is not some kind of universal consciousness. A personal relationship with God is a contrast to how people in many religions, and even some Christian denominations, learn to relate to God because they promote fear and duty rather than grace and peace.

Octarine Prince

First, by knowing his name.

Christ is a title.

His name was something closer to Yeshua (similar to Joshua) than Jesus.

How do you have a "personal" relationship with Christ???

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