god

Heaven

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I am a believer in God. Many of you know this. However I think many of my fellow Christians are going to be surprised when they get to Heaven where they will see faces they didn’t expect to see. A frustration of mine is how much God is put in a box. Jesus has been made to be something He never said he was. For me Heaven is a big place and there are a lot of people headed there who might not have gone the conventional route. I suppose I have a little Universalist mixed in with my United Methodist.

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The Message

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I think the message of God needs to be a part of the universal truths that should be accessible to the believer and non-believer alike. There should be an individual decision on ones belief system but that doesn’t mean that the good things God offers should be exclusive to those who believe in Him. I hope I am making sense here.

In the same way I think other faiths have some great stuff I can glean wisdom from.

Hospitality For Everyone.

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Hospitality is the practice of God’s welcome by reaching across difference to participate in God’s actions bringing justice and healing to our world in crisis…Letty M Russell 

Friends, being welcoming is important. Being a friend means being willing to put aside some differences to get to know someone as a person. We are all in need of being connected as neighbors in community. People who seek to live in such ways are what make the world better. Hospitality is important. Making people feel comfortable, wanted and appreciated would help the world be a better place. A church, a home, a hotel, a restaurant all are places that being kind and welcoming are expected. As a blogger I hope to emulate that here. Hello, I am Tony, its nice to have you here.

Family

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In life sometimes the only thing that truly matters is the people you love. Your family by birth or by choice are there to help give you identity and to sustain you and give you belonging. It’s those people that help you make lasting memories both good and bad. No matter what, be sure that you love those people and live together in a peace that knows no bounds. God, the universe, circumstances gave you those connections and community to enhance your life. Treasure the time you have together. Lord have mercy and thank you for giving me such people.

A Reaction To What I See on Facebook

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A good number of my Facebook friends are southern, evangelical folks who seem to think that God seems to favor our Country above all others. We are way more blessed than other folks from around the world.

It can be scary when we wrap Jesus up in an American flag and claim our way of life to be a divine gift. Christ is way above any nationality and His agenda is not one of prosperity, greed, selfishness and the like. He is beyond human politics. You can’t put Him in a box. Jesus would NEVER take up arms and perhaps his children should follow his example.

The Potential and The Power

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We all have the potential to do amazing things. Every one of us is gifted in some way to make the world a better place. The one thing about potential it must be released in the form of kinetic energy that is a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Every believer has been empowered by God to use their gifts to make the world a better place. We don’t always use that potential in such a way that is life and world changing.

No matter if you are a spiritual person or not the potential you have is amazing.

People seem to need to be a part of something bigger than they are. We all have potential to do something that can be powerful to those we know and love. You have an opportunity to go out there and do some good things. Do good, always.