I saw three politicians talk about God and prayer this week. Honestly, I don't believe any of them. Why, you might ask? If someone tells us that they pray and they talk about their religion and God, aren't they religious?
Let's get one this straight. Being "religious" is NOT a good thing. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were religious in Jesus' day and Jesus spoke AGAINST them often. He called them snakes.
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” - Matthew 12:33-37
Mitt Romney is a Mormon. Mormonism is NOT a form of Christianity. Yes, they talk about Jesus. Yes, they use many of the wonderful Bible verses we Christians know and love, but they are NOT Christians! Many consider them to actually be a cult. They follow the teachings of Joseph Smith and have their own Bible - The Book of Mormon. It is NOT the Bible!
Nancy Pelosi said this week that she prayed for the president. I'm sure she did. However, Nancy is Catholic. If she is a woman of faith then why does she support the killing of babies and same sex marriage - two things clearly spoken against in God's Word AND by the Catholic Church?
And Donald Trump, he is probably the closest to the Kingdom of Heaven but I don't think he truly believes either. You might say, "How can YOU judge what is in a man's heart?" And you would be right in saying that. I can't. But Jesus told us that we ARE to judge the fruit of others claiming to be Christians. There is much work to be done yet in Trump's heart. SOME fruit is present but it is hard to separate true faith from a faith of convenience. If Trump were a Christian I would think we would see humbleness, mercy, grace and forgiveness.
"Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:26-27
But I also must look at myself. I am a sinner too. I also profess a faith in Christ. Am I telling the truth? Is there evidence of my faith in the way I live MY life? That is for others in the church to judge. And, ultimately, it is for Jesus to judge when I stand before Him one day.
I sin every day. All of us do. That's why Jesus, the true Jesus, is our only hope. He has said that if we believe in Him we will be saved.
None of us can claim to be perfect. We are ALL sinners. Apart from Christ we all are lost and without hope. Worshiping a false God is hopeless. Saying we are Christians is one thing, actually living it is another.
The Holy Spirit that dwells within in us is the only evidence of the TRUE Christian. And how do people see something that is invisible? Look for the fruit. The Fruit of The Spirit as defined in Galatians 5.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." - Galatians 5:22-26
Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5
We all must pray for one another, in love. And we must live out that love. There is love and truth to be found. It is found in the One True God and we have access to it through His Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us show our love, not only in prayer but in the way we live our lives. And let us never stop searching for the truth because the truth, THEE Truth, will set us free.
"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6
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