Ignoring Christian

And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.  And he sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.  And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.  And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.  And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.  And Jesus said unto him, This day is Salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.  Luke, Chapter 19, verses 1-10.

I remember hearing about a church group talking among themselves saying something about not associating with sinners.  That rushed through my mind when I saw a display outside a church that said, “Sinners Welcome!”  Jesus didn’t give His life to save those who are perfect.  (That would mean He had given His life to save Himself since Jesus is the only perfect person.  Now that doesn’t even make sense!)
Jesus died and rose to save sinners like you and me.  He gave His life for those people who were judgmental of others and the people they thought were unworthy of their association.  If Jesus can turn the life of Zacchaeus around who was a self-serving tax collector, then who is to say that He can’t turn around the lives of those people deemed unfit?
If no one invites or welcomes these people into church, how will they be saved?  Do you want it on your shoulders that you had the opportunity to befriend one of these “undesirable” people by being an example of how God works in your life, but being an Ignoring Christian, you ignored that responsibility because you decided that those people didn’t deserve it?  Something I wouldn’t want to have to explain to God on Judgment Day!
Here is a related passage:
*And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?  But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.  Matthew, Chapter 9, verses 11-13.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Proof First Christians

Then He took unto Him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished.  For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third day He shall rise again.  Luke, Chapter 18, verses 31-33.

This passage is soooooo amazing!  Jesus knows how terribly they are going to treat Him, how they are going to mock Him, spit on Him and crucify Him.  Yet Jesus is still willing to go through all that utter humiliation to save us from our sins.  Now a parent might possibly be willing to go through all of that to save the life of their child, but would they be willing to go through all of that for complete strangers, for people who are hateful and rude to them?  No way!!!  Jesus gave His life for us knowing in advance how terribly humiliating it would be, because He loves us that much!
Jesus told the disciples about what was going to happen to Him in advance.  He wanted them to remember what He had told them as another proof that Jesus is the One True Savior of all.  It’s sad that Jesus can be willing to give His life for us, and we Proof First Christians need ALL this proof first before we are willing to believe in Him.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Egotistical Christian

And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.  Luke, Chapter 18, verses 9-14.

This passage is kind of like Biblical irony.  The Pharisee with the higher status, self-righteous attitude and brags about all the wonderful things he has done for others, isn’t justified.  The humble man with the low status, who states how unworthy he is, is justified.
It really opens my eyes.  Sometimes I become very self-righteous like the Pharisee, boasting to myself about all the good things I’ve done.  (Actually it wasn’t me doing them in the first place.  God gave me the instincts to do those things, but I was taking credit for them while boasting.)  I need to be much more humble and not get so caught up in the egotistical part.  That’s how Satan sneaks in and leads Egotistical Christians astray!

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Clipboard Christian

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.  And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.  Luke, Chapter 17, verses 3-4.

I’m sitting at the computer thinking about getting a job when we move instead of focusing on this.  I said a little prayer and asked God to forgive me for being so distracted, and then it all came to me!  God forgives me ninety billion times a day.  He forgives all my distractions, angry, jealous and other human thoughts on a regular basis.  When I ask God to forgive me, He never says, “No way!  You’ve already long passed your quota of times to be forgiven.”
If God forgives me an unlimited number of times, then He wants me to be more forgiving and tolerant of others.  I shouldn’t be there with my little mental clipboard saying, “Well, you’ve done this three times and that’s it.  I will no longer forgive you or be your friend!”  If God treated me as a Clipboard Christian, like that, I would have been “a gonner” a long time ago! I have to start forgiving others and throw my clipboard away!

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
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