Tag: Essay

10 things that Christians believe that aren’t true (part 6)

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This is the sixth installment of things overheard or beliefs commonly held about the Christian life that, upon further reflection, are not as true as they first seem.

Feel free to leave your own thoughts!

Breakthrough Should Be a One-Time Event

Before I introduce this topic, I must first share a little about my spiritual background. I was raised Catholic, but for the better part of my Christian life, I have been a part of churches that would be classified as non-denominational charismatic and even “faith-based.”

When we talk about breakthrough, we are talking about it in the broadest sense. Breakthrough is the act of experiencing freedom or fruit or power in an area of our lives where such freedom or fruit or power did not previously exist. For example, if we turn to the Gospels, we find many people experiencing breakthrough as a result of Jesus’ ministry. They were healed physically, and they were delivered from demons. As scripture says, Jesus went about the countryside healing all who were oppressed of the devil.

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10 things that Christians believe that aren’t true (part 5)

Published on by dpatrickcollins2 Comments

This is the fifth installment of things overheard or beliefs commonly held about the Christian life that, upon further reflection, are not as true as they first seem. Feel free to leave your own thoughts!

We should not dwell on the past

A ministry that I love recently posted the following quote on Facebook: “We do not go forward by looking backward. We are not called to fix an old life but find a new life.” Continue reading “10 things that Christians believe that aren’t true (part 5)” →

10 things Christians believe that aren’t true (part 2)

Published on by dpatrickcollins2 Comments

This second installment continues my thoughts on things often said, or commonly-thought, about the Christian life that sound true but after reflection are not as true as they first seem. Feel free to leave your own thoughts also!

  1. Faith is thinking positive thoughts about God.There are many diverse views in the church body concerning what faith is, but a common one I run across is this one. Namely, that when the Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God, or it is by faith we obtain answers to our prayers, that the thing we envision ourselves doing is concentrating real hard on God’s positive attributes, or even Biblical promises, and this act is what faith is all about.

    There is of course nothing wrong with — and even everything right with — meditating on God’s divine attributes and on Biblical promises. It is one way for us to come to a greater knowledge of God. It is just not, in itself, faith. Nor for that matter is any effort we put forth.

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10 things Christians believe that aren’t true (part 1)

Published on by dpatrickcollins6 Comments

Just thought I would change up the format a bit and provide my thoughts on things I often overhear in Church circles which sound true, but as I think about them later, as not as true as they first appeared. Feel free to provide your own thoughts by leaving a comment!

  1. “I am just waiting on the Lord” means sitting on the couch in front of the television eating potato chips. Or going to the beach. Or hanging out with friends. Or doing anything for that matter that is not, in fact, waiting on the Lord.There is not, of course, anything wrong with sitting on the couch in front of the television eating potato chips. I have found myself engaged in that fruitful activity on many occasion. :)But as my older daughter pointed out to me in discussing this subject, “waiting on the Lord” is an expression that has come to mean “taking no action on a particular situation or opportunity.”

    Which, by the way, there is nothing wrong with, either. Sometimes the worst thing we can do is take action when the action we should take is not clear. Continue reading “10 things Christians believe that aren’t true (part 1)” →

The Woman Who Refused to be Healed

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Pastor Bill Johnson  of Bethel Church in Redding, California, tells of a story of a woman who was suffering from a physical affliction. He asked her whether he could prayer for her to be healed. She answered, “No, God has given me this affliction to teach me character.” To which Bill Johnson aptly replied, “If I did that to my children, I would be arrested for child abuse.”

Like the woman in this story, we may believe God desires that we suffer, even physically. The truth is, however, this is a concept foreign to Scripture. In the Old Testament, sickness and disease are always associated to the consequence of sin, and in the New Testament, they are always an opportunity for God’s miraculous healing power to be demonstrated. It is very difficult from a casual reading of the Gospels to draw the conclusion that Jesus wants us to be afflicted.

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