06/22/2024
The world hates Jesus? HMMMMMM So I had a total knee done on the 13th of June. Needless to say I'm very bored. I can't get out and do things like I normally do. With extra time on my hands, I'd like to make a comment regarding some post I'm seeing from well-meaning Christians which, in my opinion, are out of touch with the condition of the young people in America. I'm going to declare that young is age 15 to 45. There are approximately 70 million young American adults in this group. They are referred to as millennials and Generation Z. What I see is people saying that the “world” hates Jesus. This is simply not true. When they say the “world” they are referring to people outside of the community of Christianity. The largest religious group in the world is the Muslims and they love Jesus. They will tell you that Jesus is one of their main profits. When they say the name Jesus they also say praise be to his name. The eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism acknowledge Jesus as a wonderful human being and teacher. They do not hate him at all. We don't know how many Christians are in China but I can tell you that there are far more people in China that love Jesus than those who don't. Gandhi is quoted as saying “your Jesus I love it's your Christians I hate.” The problem area is the United States of America. I say this because having been a pastor for the last 10 years I've had the opportunity to do countless hours of study on the condition of Christians And the church in America. The truth is the generation I referred to earlier, the 70 million young American adults, do not hate Jesus at all. As a matter of fact they would probably tell you he was a really nice guy and they'd like to be his friend. They just don't know who Jesus was and is today. They don't understand that having a relationship with Jesus is something that will change the life of any human being regardless of where you live and what culture you were raised in. In my opinion what we have in the United States of America is people that are in different toward Christianity but have the ability to hate one another with a growing fervency. As evil becomes more and more pronounced in America and the indifference and ambiguity (the quality of being open to more than one interpretation, inexactness) grows to a point of no return we are going to discover that young adults in America simply do not know who Jesus Christ is. They don't hate Jesus they just don't know who Jesus is. How can you hate someone you don't even know. One of the bad qualities of self-centeredness is Hatred toward others. What I'm saying is that the world doesn't hate Jesus, the world (an American term for people who are not Christians) has no idea who He is. If you have read this and you want to know who Jesus is find a church that teaches the Bible, not motivational speeches and rock concerts, a church that teaches who Jesus Christ is. A church where the pastor opens up the Bible, reads it, and then helps you to understand what it is saying. As a side note, This is why God gives the gift of teaching to people who are to educate themselves and have the ability to explain what the scripture says and means to those who do not do so themselves. If you'll do this for one year you will discover that Jesus is worthy of our love because he gave his life for us to be in heaven one day with him. Heaven is not like the three doors in the show the price is right. There is only one place called heaven where God the father God the son and God the Holy Spirit reside. Yes there are other choices and you are free to make whatever choice you wish. In the book of John and the third chapter verses 16, 17 and 18 you will discover that God in fact gave us a choice. Giving people a choice is, in itself, an expression of tremendous love. Helping them make the right choice is an extension of the love that was offered to us in the garden 6000 years ago. Adam did not make the wrong choice because he hated God, he made the wrong choice because he listened to the wrong voice and because he was given free will to make decisions. If you'll read the Genesis account you'll discover that mankind was made in God's image. Body soul and spirit. Dear friends the world doesn't hate Jesus, and a vast majority of human beings don't hate each other. We just don't know who Jesus is and we certainly don't know Each other very well. When I was a young man the calling to minister to people was constant in my life. One day I went to my mentor who was a missionary to the Philippines and told him that I knew what God wanted me to do. God wanted me to go to the Philippines with him. He looked at me and smiled and paused and then asked me a question. “Bill do you know your neighbor?” Thank you for taking the time to read this. You can find Michelle and I and a small group of people meeting at the Hampton Inn in Parkersburg WV every Sunday morning at 10:30. You can also listen to other brief messages by going to YouTube and entering the signature of our page: look for the word Thrive written in gold letters with a purple V in the middle of it. I welcome your comments. Pastor Bill
