eXoenix:

A friend of mine asked myself and several others the the questions below. I really felt like I should put my answers online to, if for nothing else, declare what I hold to be true.

This is a survey to all of my friends in which i am curious to see the response to. If you have been tagged in this article then you have been chosen to partake in just a few questions. Please send me a message in my inbox or reply to this with the answers. Thank you.

1. What does it mean to be a Christian?
2. What is love speaking from a heavenly perspective?
3. What does the bible mean to you?
4. How do you view Christmas?
5. Are spiritual gifts still alive today?
6. Do you believe in once saved always saved?
7. Do you agree with organized church?
8. Do you tithe?
9. How do you follow God’s will?
10. Do you hear the voice of God?
11. What do you think of other religions?
12. How many people do you believe (just an estimated percentage) go to heaven?
13. Do you believe there will be a single government or force (as predicted in Revelations) that rules over the earth?
14. Can the bible be wrong?
15. Do you fear death?
16. How often do you pray?
17. Have you ever witnessed a miracle?
18. What does communion mean to you?
19. Is your life focused on following Christ?
20. What is your testimony?

If some of these questions are too personal just respond with a “N/A”. Thank you all for your time.

My response:

1. Being a “Christian” isn’t something I aspire to be. The negative connotations connected with that word are not anything along what I am trying to live up to. However I believe the word once meant to be like Christ.
2. God considers love killing his only son. That to me means love is sometimes being the bad guy with the big stick telling you to wake up you are in trouble. That is agape love.
3. The bible is a good source of information that can really help learn the mind of God.
4. Haven’t liked it for a long time. Thought it was a selfish self-centered holiday were everyone focused on themselves. When I learned it was all a pagan holiday designed to worship satan I really despised it.
5. Yes sir they are.
6. If you take the word “saved” like most people do in the “christian” world do as I raised my hand in church and acknowledged Jesus as my Lord and Savior then not a chance. If you consider the word “saved” to be you are actually standing in the supernatural next to Jesus, then yes because you are already dead and glorified. Essentially I believe your salvation can be lost if you do not continue to follow the Lord moment by moment.
7. No, the way it is centered around sheer numbers and not helping those that come in develop a relationship with Christ that can stand the bumps in the road they are actually causing more of a hindrance and hatred aimed at God, leaving people with no hope.
8. No, tithing isn’t biblical as of the start of the new covenant when Jesus died on the cross. Under the old covenant tithing was giving back to God what was His. Under the new covenant He wants EVERYTHING, your life, your time, your money, your very soul. And if people have a need everyone in the body should pitch in to meet it, just like our example is in the bible.
9. That is a loaded question, without an example for a given situation the answer will be ambiguous. Simply though you need to do what the Lord asks of you moment by moment.
10. Yes, all the time. If I don’t it is because I’ve let my will get in the way and became carnal.
11. Evangelical religions I would say have a bit of the truth that they claim is all there is to know. If you were to put all of them in a pot you still wouldn’t have the full “doctrine” to follow though. If you are talking protestant or catholic religion, I, IMHO, believe they are extremely close if not are in fact cults designed as a rule to lead away from God instead of towards.
12. Jesus spoke of a parable regaurding this in Matthew 24. In verse 14 he says “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Speaking in that light I really don’t think many ever make it to heaven.
13. I do in fact. I also believe on top of a single world government there will be a single religion and monetary system.
14. Well you have to look at it this way, the bible has been translated over and over again into many different languages by men. I sure many, if not all, did not have the Holy Spirit influencing them about the true intent of a passage. Without the Holy Spirit guiding a person it would in fact be very easy for said person to misunderstand the bible and hence be wrong. So I believe that every bible has parts that were not translated properly and are wrong, that is where knowing the Lord’s mind and His intent comes in play so vitally.
15. No, I do not fear what can only take my life. I know where I will spend eternity.
16. Not nearly enough. I get in trouble because of my lack of prayer and it keeps me carnal and selfish. (I’m working on it )
17. Sure have, I even witnessed one happen to me. I was struggling with really bad acid in my stomach that had been really making me feel sick for over a month. It had to be nearing ulcers and a lady I know and trust deeply laid her hands on me and prayed. Instantly my stomach pain was gone and never came back. I’ve also witnessed a man walk away from diabetes.
18. Communion is to remind God of His promise to come back for his body. It also reminds me of what He gave up for me.
19. I would have to say it is. I have walked away from friends, family, income and even am currently walking away from my computer. Essentially walking away from this world and closer to God in everything I do.
20. I received the gift of the Holy Spirit back in 1994, I was only eight years old. A few months later I was baptized in water. For many years I went through the motions at church wondering always why I felt like it wasn’t enough. I would get so exasperated that I eventually just tuned out church and God completely. He never gave up on me and all through my life I always had this little voice nagging me, keeping me from doing something to really jeopardize my life. I jumped through a few different churches after turning 15, even at one point becoming a youth leader for a youth group that claimed over 500 students. Nothing ever fit right, something was always wrong and just before I turned nineteen I gave up. I quit school, parents kicked me out, I quit going to church, and a few months later picked up drinking. Didn’t take me long to become everything I never wanted to be. Even tried getting into a few relationships, which never paned out. In the fall of ‘06 I really hit rock bottom, hard core depression, contemplating suicide regularly. It came to the point were I hardly left my room, almost starved myself to death. Through all of that the Lord kept His hand on me watching out for me. I never went far enough were I couldn’t get out and run if I had to. I was in turmoil, die or live, to die to escape the hopelessness, or to live, but to what end? Shortly before my twenty-first birthday my dad showed up at my door and told me I needed to come back home. I closed my door and almost locked it, if I hadn’t seen the changes the God had been doing in his life I most assuredly would have. But I yielded and moved back home at the start of April. About a month later I felt the call of the Lord telling me that if I was to grow in Him I needed to go to Wisconsin and have an old family friend be my mentor. It took me six months before I finally came and experienced some of the worst emotional pain I have ever felt through a failed relationship that I didn’t want to give up for Christ. Finally the Lord wrenched open my fingers and I packed up some stuff and came to stay in Wisconsin for an unknown amount of time. About a year has passed now and I have changed so much. I never planned on staying here this long but I’ve found peace in the middle of chaos knowing I am right where the Lord intends me to be for this time in my life. I’ve found forgiveness for things I had long forgotten about, I’ve been able to find joy working my hindquarters off doing things I really didn’t like doing and was able to watch the fruit of all that labor. I’ve grown strong both physically and spiritually. Through all this time I have been learning that I hear from God all the time and to know what that voice sounds like. It has been a struggle sure, but overall I know I am winning over my greatest opponent, myself.

Well there ya go, till next time.