There are two passages in scripture that I consider to be two of the most important passages for Christian life. They are Micah 6:6-8 and Matthew 22:36-39. Of course, that's just my opinion.

For my Christian friends - what do these verses mean to you? How does your particular "brand" of Christianity help in accomplishing this on an individual basis? How does it hinder? What do these verses tell us about the motivations behind our actions? What are some practical ways to incorporate these verses into our lives? Are there verses that you consider to be more significant to living a Christian life?

For my non-Christian friends - based on your experience, how likely are those publicly recognized as Christians to follow these scriptures, i.e., how do the Christians you know measure up to this standard? In what ways would you, as a non-Christian, suggest that these principles could be better expressed in the lives of Christians you know? Do you think application (or lack thereof) of these premises has impacted your concept of God in general or your perception of the "Christian" God or Christians in general?

I look forward to discussing these with you!

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jester  - Two very interesting passages   |2008-04-22 20:04:07 I have to say that whilst I disagree with him, I can see where he is coming from as I see the two as being intertwined. It is my understanding that I am saved by faith alone, with that faith witnessed to by my life (James 2:1-26), and that what I do in this life will have implications and effects for the afterlife (Matthew 6:1-34, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). However, my faith and my life are very much driven by my doctrine. How I live my life is very dependent upon my understanding of God, the church, and the world and my rights and / or responsibilities connecting me to all three. Two very interesting passages Regarding the Micah passage, over my time served, I have generally linked it in with the following passages: 1 Samuel 15 with an emphasis on v10-11, 22-23 and 30 (where Saul says “The Lord, your God” – not my God), .also with Psalm 51 (emphasis on v16-17) and Amos 5 and Amos 8 (emphasis v4-10), well actually the whole of Amos really. These speak to me of God saying that it doesn’t matter what you do for me, if you are unable to do the same for those around you. It doesn’t matter what you do for me, if you don’t do what I have asked you to do. My kids show me the application of this all the time – don’t tell me that you love me then make my day hell by spending all day fighting with your sister, don’t draw a really princess for me if that time was supposed to have been spent doing the dishes. Love the thought – would have loved it more if it was done as well as the things you were asked to do, not instead of. The Matthew passage places it into context – in y experience at least. Left to my own devices, I’m a selfish sod, unconcerned with the trials and tribulations of others. However when I focus on God, my perspective changes, and some of the understanding of who He is and what He has one for me tends to overflow into how I then act with others. When I place God first and what He has asked me to do, everything falls into place and I am enabled to do for others. Of course, easier said than done which is why I’m a grace junkie

jester  - ooops   |2008-04-22 20:05:10 ignore the first 2 paragraphs - I write in word first to identify spelling / grammar issues and forget to delete an earlier post

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-22 22:16:10 if you use firefox it has a built in spell-checkimajob (which clearly doesn't like a lot of what I write)

emperorbma   |2008-04-22 22:34:08 The spell-checker also has the problem that it doesn't know about some perfectly valid words like "Christology."

patronpeter   |2008-04-23 15:31:43 Quote: checkimajob firefox let this word go through, but not something else? interesting...

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-23 21:53:49 it lets them through, it just underlines them while you're writing to show its displeasure.

patronpeter   |2008-04-23 22:03:54 Quote: to show its displeasure. oh crap, i upset firefox? what are the repercussions of that i wonder? heehee...

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-23 22:05:18 not a problem unless you happen to have firehens that you're fond of.

patronpeter   |2008-04-23 22:11:06 i do love the way you think sometimes webby. :-)

grizzly   |2008-04-24 01:09:56 nah, then you can just have iceweasel guard them. :)

patronpeter   |2008-04-24 10:45:28 heehee

SasyMomaCat  - Third time is the charm   |2008-04-24 15:23:39 Okay, I'm going to try to reply for the third time in three days. Seems I get a long reply partially typed and hit a wrong key every time. Grrr. I see what you're saying - it's like when Jesus said (paraphrased) how can you say that you love me when you don't do what I say? For me, the Micah passage speaks to the fact that all the "good stuff" and rule following done doesn't matter if one does not have a heart that is humble before God and loves justice and mercy. This is further expressed, to me, in the Matthew passage, where Jesus says that all of the directives in the law and prophets hinge on the concepts of love of God and love of neighbor. Following a set of rules misses the point. Doing "good things" because it is the right thing to do misses the point. Our actions should be motivated by love of God and love of our fellow man. Not for pitty, not to make ourselves look good, but because we love God and we love what He loves, which is people. I'm going to quit while I'm ahead for now - I'll come back later and finish out my thoughts. So far, I haven't wiped out this posting, so I better hit send before I do ... more on this later :) smc

patronpeter   |2008-04-24 17:41:11 your doing a very good job so far, and i can't wait to read more about what you have to say. :-p

WebbedFeetOfClay   |2008-04-24 06:17:55 I only wish I could live in this iceweasal fantasy of yours, but it simply ain't so. (never trust an iceweasal to watch anything of yours but a cold.)

grizzly   |2008-04-24 09:39:28 i find the whole iceweasel fork funny.

emperorbma   |2008-04-25 00:45:35 Very necessary though because Mozilla Foundation has a restriction on who can use their TM.

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