Wednesday, August 13, 2014

How IS a Christian Identified?

Yesterday went with my friend/sis-in-Christ Aurora to pass the day visiting, and go with her to her church, Santidad a Jehova to receive prayer for my knee and hip. It was a... DIFFERENT church experience. The Body of Christ has many expressions. In this one, the women had LONG (un-dyed) hair and skirts. Well, I wore a skirt over my fuzzy pants so as not to offend. And in the chill, I had the combo hat-scarf that Psa. Hilda gave me, which hid the returning white, but could  not hide the fact that my hair is short. I did get some hairy eyeballs, but others greeted me. Towards the close of the service, the pastor invited me to say who I was as a visitor, where I came from... so I explained I was a missionary, had been visiting churches in Lima and Chiclayo. So he invited me to come up front and share a little more. I'd left my Bible at Voz, but I could at least testify that, despite various tragedies I listed, I always had the joy and peace of the presence of the Lord; had been walking with Him since just before my 18th birthday; that life in Christ was far from boring; encouraged the youth to follow Him - that they'd never regret it...like that. 

Freedom From Human Rules

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  Hm, doesn't say anything about skirts or hair...

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