FAKE CHRISTIANS

We all dislike FAKES.
I recently bought a small used laptop computer
on line for a specific purpose.  It had a "new"
Windows 7 O.S. installed.  That was fine with
me.  Would you believe it, the O.S. that was
installed was a generic Windows 7.  That
would be O.K. with me - if it worked right.
BUT IT DON'T.

We all dislike, and suffer, when a "FAKE" is
involved.  Whether it is fake money, fake
merchandise, or, fake people.

Let me share with you about a fake car that
reminds me of a certain type of fake people.

My best friend bought a cheap used car
knowing that it lacked perfection.  But
he knew that as a retired [That's, real
tired.] Lincoln, Mercury technician I would
do anything I could to help him.

The day he brought it over for me to look
at it I found it said it was a 24 valve
double overhead cam engine.  See, it says
so right on fender.   Great.  I liked them.

But when I opened the hood I found what is called

a OHV engine.  Now thy were fine engines, BUT

that is not what it says on the car.  See the image below.

It simply is not  the engine that the car says is in it.

Some one had put a different engine in the car.

HE HAD A FAKE CAR

and we have not found the end of the troubles

yet, and might never work all the problems

out.

That is how it is with multitudes of so called

"Christians".  They carry the name, but the 

power inside of them comes from a different

 source.

"They claim that they know God,

but their actions deny it.

They are hateful and disobedient,

not fit to do anything good."

(Titus 1:16 GNT)

Being good, nice, helpful, generous and

all those things do not make a person a

Christian either.

The very creator of the universe it's self,

Jesus Christ the Son of the living God

was talking to an extremely "Religious"

man when he said;

"I am telling you the truth:

no one can see the Kingdom

of God without being born

again."

(John 3:3 GNT)

All of us have been born of the flesh.

But only those who have submitted to

Jesus Christ allowing him to become 

our very "BOSS" and have His Spirit

living in and powering us or Christians.

The rest of mankind who do not have

the Spirit of God in them and powering 

them are  only "FAKES" if they claim

the title of "Christian."

JOY IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com    

It has been rainy all week long.  A time when the arthritis

and a gloomy attitude want to take over.  A time of longing

for spring and some sunshine.

Yesterday when I was finishing up a project on a piece of 

equipment my wife pulled up to the shop door in her car

to speak to me.  About the time she rolled her window down

we both begin to smell something electrical burning.  At first

we did not know if it was the equipment I was working on,

or her car.  It was her car.

It ended up that the problem was the compressor for the 

air conditioning system had locked up.  This "fried" the

clutch [cause of the smell] and broke the serpentine belt.

"O joy"  That was a play on words.  That was anything but

good news to me.

I have the equipment to repair it.  But, I burned out on

working on cars twenty years ago.  That was not a task

I was looking forward to.  I wanted a break from problems.

However,  last evening I noted something.  A joy, a real

honest to goodness joy was springing up in me.  Not 

something put on trying to put on a happy face and pretend

that everything will get better.  But a real joy or happiness

that I did not have to generate.  I knew what it was, I have

experienced it before.  We call it the joy of the Holy Spirit.

This joy that comes from God himself does not come from

going to church, or joining a church, or having the correct

doctrine or theology, saying a certain pray, or doing some

ritual, but simply being in relationship to God himself.

When we yield ourselves to Jesus Christ and have him

come in and take over our life his Spirit - the Holy Spirit -

moves into our life and that is the source of the joy that

springs up in us when things are tough.

That joy has strengthened me and given me the confidence

to dig into this problem - ready or not.

Thank you Jesus.

I'M A CAR. I'M A CAR. I'M A CAR. I'M A CAR

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com  

I'M A CAR.  I'M A CAR. I'M A CAR.

I spend several hours a day in the garage so

I'M A CAR.

Lady, it don't work that way.

I one time knew a man who apparently had a 

different outlook on life than his wife.  So,

she lived in the house, and he lived in the garage.

BUT, it did not make a car out of him.

You may go to a church.  But that does not make

a Christian out of you.  The creator of mankind 

said:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is

born of water and the Spirit he cannot

enter into the kingdom of God." 

(John 3:5 NASB)