Thoughts, Stupid Machines, and Heaven's Front Row
Posted: Saturday, June 21, 2008
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
I have a confession to make. I have issues with fax machines. Everyone in my office knows this is true. It's quite comical, actually. It takes three to four times for one fax to go through. I am convinced the fax machine hates me! I mean really, I type the numbers in correctly each time-I never make a mistake and if the number turns out to be wrong, it is because the machine refuses to accept what I type in….stupid machine.
What I am about to share is quite personal and puts me in a very vulnerable position and I would hope that you would refrain from doing what the average human being would do…
Just like every other time, I walked over to the machine, put my forms in and began to type in the numbers… What is the deal, stupid machine, the keys must be stuck…wait a few seconds and try again…. I was just about to call out to someone to share my frustration with the stupid fax machine when suddenly the machine miraculously begins to shout, "You stupid, stupid girl, I am the copy machine!"
You can imagine how embarrassed I was. Did anyone see me? I can play it off and no one will be the wiser…No, I didn't have it in me. This is just too good to keep to myself. After all, the girls in the office have come to expect such behavior from me and who am I to disappoint?
~~~~~
Unfortunately, for me, this story is true. Nevertheless, I hope it serves as a practical lesson on how most of us think when we find ourselves in any kind of confrontation. Consider your last tiff--what was your first thought? Were you quick to accept responsibility? In all honesty, we tend to spend more time defending our position than we do in listening to the other party's point of view. Why is this? I believe it comes from our desire to be right. It somehow makes us feel important and strong.
There is no greater example of the "I'm right and your wrong" attitude than in the Christian community. All we have to do is look at the countless denominations within the Christian church to know it's true. They fight about who has it right, why their particular denomination has it better, and they act as if they believe that they will get to sit in the front row in heaven. In many cases, Jesus is left out of the equation completely. It has become a fight for religion instead of helping others to build a relationship with God.
When people ask me what religion I am, I respond with, I am not a religious person. It usually throws them for a loop. I explain that I am a Christian. Christianity in the biblical sense of the word has nothing to do with religion at all. (At least not man-made.) It is a way of life. It is exchanging my life for a life with God.
The name Christian was given by people who did not follow Christ, but noticed that those who claimed to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, actually followed him and their changed lives were evidence of that profession. The name stuck and is recorded in the Bible just three times (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16.)
Most often, those who surrendered their lives to God by trusting in Jesus for salvation were simply called, Believers.
So why did it all change? Sadly enough, the answer is quite simple. It started with the Catholic Church becoming the first self-proclaimed one true church. It set up rules and teachings that were never taught in the Bible. The word of God was spread throughout the regions by way of letter and as we slow down and read the little words, we see that they were always addressed to the church in such and such a place, not the church of such and such a place.
Though man made it necessary to split over important biblical doctrines of Christianity, we have really gone off the deep end. Churches split over stupid reasons that have nothing to do with salvation and living a godly life. "You have to wear a dress to church." You can't smoke." "You have to be baptized in our church or it doesn't count." etc..
Paul says it well in the letter to the church in Colossi:
"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head [Jesus], from whom the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that comes from God. Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, which all perish with the using-according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom and self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh." Colossians 2:16-23
Need I say more? So while we are fighting amongst ourselves over religious do's and do not's, the world is sitting back saying, "I want no part of that".
There will be no pew reserved for the Pentecostal, nor the Baptist, nor the Catholic, or any other for that matter. The only pews reserved in heaven are for those who are followers of Christ, those who have made Jesus their Lord, not a man made denomination. After all, what we claim is who we are. If I claim to be a Baptist, then I am putting myself under the flaws of the Baptist name. The Bible says there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, then the name of Jesus the Christ. This is with whom I identify myself.
Why do you believe as you do? Do you stand for something you have never researched for yourself? Are you willing to change your thought if the bible told you otherwise? These are important questions. Yet, if we are going to be professing faith in Christ, we must have a heart for his word and not be sold out to our denomination just because it's a family tradition.
We have left the simplicity of a relationship with Christ and replaced it with self-imposed religion. Isn't this why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees? The church has become nothing more than an ineffective modern day Pharisee.
However, we do have a model for true biblical religion; this should be our aim as Believers:
"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:26-27
What a novel idea! Can you imagine how life would be if we did more practicing than preaching?
If our hearts were truly in the right place, we would take the time to learn from one another and perhaps give up our front row pew for the sake of another. God help us.
~~~~~
Stupid Machines.
© Teresa Ortiz
This Article has been viewed 784 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsYeah, this reminds me of how I struggled with this binding machine at work. That thing just frustrated me! Somehow I was able to sweet talk the copy-center guy to work with me, (I was actually the only person to stop by and speak to him in during the day; he didn't forget that). However, just by showing a little kindness to othersHi Carmellita, good for you. It's not that hard to stop and say hello. Everyone needs a smile. Unfortunately, we just get too busy sometimes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I am glad it worked out with the binding machine :-) Many blessings to you!
I always like your writing and your lesson. I for one have quoted Paul but in a different verse. Also, I feel we should remember all churches have root in the Catholic church and bible which was there for 1400 years before the reformation, one bible one Universal Church the definition of Catholic. That said it was man and man again who cannot see fit to unite in a common belief. I believe what Paul said is correct but also as he stated, to paraphrase, that all have varied means of worship and what difference does it make, same God? Some need differnt things to worship God. Now here is one from a friend to a friend that no protostant has ever been able to answer to date. In fact they persist in giving me their belief but no answer to the Literal Word. Reading John 6 from any Bible we see Jesus telling all about the Eucharist. [something defined by Paul and the other Apostles and the church since day one. If we use the literal Word and the Words Christ used we have a problem of contentioin immediately. Protastants say that Christ was saying to eat is symbolic, I see no reference by Jesus to that, except later when he says Do this in Rememverence of me". Yet if one studies the words there is no contridiction. Since it is both symbolic and also to consume [regardless ] of the language of that day. In fact in John 6 Christ Himself say's many shall flee from this teaching. As Manna in the desert so is He the Bread of life. He repaeted it over and over and over. Unless you eat [consume] and drink [His blood] you have no life in you. Hence the root of the Catholic faith. So as you have written here is just one example of contention yet the same God. Can you share any belief here? Best regards. Robert.Hi Robert, thank you so much. I always look forward to your input. And I agree, what Catholic meant in its original intent was universal, the invsible church. i.e the body of Christ and the word of God. What I was refering to is when men changed it's meaning by creating doctrines that are non-biblical. I think you know what they are- Praying to Mary, Praying to saints, praying for the dead, purgatory, and their selling endulgences to raise money for the church. Just to name a few. Now, many catholics are not aware of this and to be fair, as you stated, many, many protestants don't even read the bible for themselves either, they just follow the tradition of what they are taught, never investigating it for themselves. And let's consider for a moment why Protestants got their name..just men searching out the word of God for themselves and finding that salvation is by grace alone and trying to bring that to the attention of the church leadership. But they would have nothing of it, in fact, they had these men silenced-permanantly. Again, man's arrogance and wanting to be right no matter what the cost. I am so glad that we can have these healthy and loving conversations because I believe it promotes understanding and opportunity to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as for your question regarding the Eucharist--here is my Biblical response and belief I hope it helps and gives you something more than what others have provided for you in the past. I will leave my commentary til the end :-) As you know the first rule of interpretation is context. What is the subject of John chapter 6? Would we agree Jesus is discussing what the will of God is? We see that the will of God is that all believe in his Son, Jesus Christ. We see that the jews who were questioning him were using literal and physical examples while Jesus was bringing them to the next level and responding in Spiritual meanings. In Verse 52 The Jews ask "how is it that he says he is going to give his body as flesh to eat? Remember, that they manna was an something that God had to provide everyday, so their first thought could have been, how is he going to give himself every single day?...hold this thought.... Jesus goes on to be very descriptive about having fellowship with the Father and that is only by way of eating of Him. Complete surrender and abiding in Jesus. Of Course the jews were offended at this because they did not believe Jesus was the Messiah.... Secondly--if we look at the entire chapter, Jesus is not even refering to the Eucharist (communion) at all, he doesn't mention that until later, just before his crucifixion. And in that he says do this as a memorial. I believe that Jesus clarifies his meaning in verse 61-63, when he says "what, does this offend you...It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh prophets nothing, The words that I speak to you are Spirit and they are life." Here in lies the answer, I believe to the entire context of Chapter six. He is not refering to eating him literally, he is speaking of a spiritual drinking and eating--being filled with him completely and taking in his every word. But there are other issues to consider while interpreting this statement. Remember I said the Jews were wondering how is it that Jesus would offer himself to eat? Well, lets look back at the old testament and new testament laws on eating flesh--first of all, it was an abomination to eat flesh and drink blood, God was very specific about that law, for the heathens did that. The disciples were also aware of this law and knew that Jesus did not mean literally, for remember that Peter said that nothing has ever touched anything unclean. So the first thing we need to ask ourselves is , if God was very specific about not drinking blood, why would he tell these people to drink his blood in the literal sense? He would not contradict his commands. One conclusion after careful study is that Jesus was talking about his approaching death-the giving of himself and then he talked about giving us His Holy Spirit, we are told to drink of the Holy Spirit and in this we will have everlasting fellowship with God. Consider this as well: The sacrificing of animals was constant because it was a temporary sacrifice. But Paul and Peter tell us that Jesus offered himself once for all. He was the perfect sacrifice--we are complete in him. In fact, Jesus himself said "it is finished" just before he died. There is now no more need to sacrifice, he is seated at the right hand of the Father until the appointed time of his return. Let's also consider the Catholic Eucharist--the priest believe that they are calling Jesus down from heaven and that he is literally comes down and is a continual sacrific (Mass). two problems arise here. First, does it seem logical that sinful man can call Jesus down from heaven? Secondly-and more importantly, this goes against the teaching of the Bible-namely the book of Hebrews were we are told with Christ, there is no longer the need for a continual sacrifice, that is like saying Jesus dying once was not enough. It is like putting him on the cross over and over again. To quote a Catechism of Christian Doctrine: "The Holy Mass is one and the same sacrifice with that of the cross, inasmuch as Christ, who offered himself, a bleeding victim, on the cross to His heavenly Father, continues to offer Himself in an unbloody manner on the the alter, through the ministry of His priests. - Catholic Truth Society, revised addition 1985. Again, this goes directly against Hebrews chapter 7. In fact the entire book of Hebrews. So for me and many other believers, this Roman Catholic teaching does not line up with the bible and that is why we (at least, I ) reject it. There is much more to say about this, but I hope this at least gives you a good place to start and a better understanding of why many of us do not accept this doctrine. If you would like more info, let me know. I do also believe that we do serve God in different ways, but ultimately, if we call our selves believers, then we need to be careful not to worship in such a way that goes against his teaching. We are told that this worship is not acceptable in his sight. Thanks again for asking, much love and respect, your sister in Christ. Looking forward to your response.Wow, I just new you would state your position with facts and a well thought out reply. Now I will weigh all you wrote very diligently and I thank you for your excellent position statement. You are a very knowledgeable lady and a real believer. not just one who quotes. You study. All the best regards RobertHi Robert, I do appreciate your comment. I am in a constant state of learning and always pray the God would give me a teachable spirit. My views have changed over the years as I learn more and more and I love those like you who are open as well. As a teacher, I always pray that my delivery is in such a way that it causes others to think and dig and consider for themselves, I try not to ever 'tell someone like it is", but rather show them and ask them questions that will cause them to think. Above all, we must continually rely on the Holy Spirit and never let our knowledge puff us up. Jesus warns against this and in fact, hates this kind of attitude. I will ge working on part 4 of baptism this week and hope to have it posted by Friday. What are your thoughts? How do you see it? Thanks again for keeping me on my toes!!oopps, one last thought. If Jesus meant eat my flesh literally, why would he tell them the flesh prophets nothing? I be he is making the point that his flesh isn't going to get us anywhere, but rather who Jesus was in Spirit. The point is flesh is corrupt, and though he himself was not corrupt, he came in the likeness of sinful man. That is to identify with man and pay the price for sin, by putting to death the flesh and living in the Spirit. So again, Why would we want to partake of his flesh which was only temporary? Anyway, waht are your thoughts on this? Have a blessed day!
This was a great article. An interesting connection between 'stupid machines' does and don'ts and the treatment of your fellow man. As always Teresa always brings out the best in any situational article. Great Job. SandraHi sandra, thanks for your kind comments! I'm so glad you caught the connection. Sometimes I wonder if its just my warped way of thinking and that nobody will get me. God bless you and may you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hi Teresa! A well-written article. As Sandra stated, a crisp segue into giving up pettiness, taking responsibility and living a life Christ would be proud of; one that nonbelievers would secretly desire and be curious enough to ask questions. I must admit to being 'religiously correct' for a few years now by using Christian. It was not a word I used for me. I'd say, I am a born again believer and not Pentecostal, even. You are so right about no front row seats in Heaven for any denomination. You did a wonderful job with this message. You should be very pleased. And the fax/copy machine, I thought that was the norm. (I laughed, though.) Our minds are over crowded at times and we operate on autopilot. He looks after us. Blessings and love, my sister.Hi Avis, thank you for your input. When I first gave my life to the Lord, I was very zealous. I stood up for things I new nothing about. One day someone asked me why I believe "that" he was a Godly man and instead of "correcting" me, he asked me to explain my view. WOW! What grace and it God used it to open my eyes. I had been a believer for 2 years at that point. Boy did that send me on a mission! I studied and studied and was face with a tough decision: what will I believe and what kind of witness will I be? I chose to follow my Bible study teacher's lead, because he followed Christ's lead. Sometimes I have to most amazing conversations with those that come knocking on my door. Other times, they get frustrated with me and leave angry, but its okay, because I learn all the more. As far as the fax/copy machine, well they are in two opposite sides of the office.! And you are right, I did have a lot on my mind that day :-) Love and hugs!
Hi Teresa, I enjoyed reading your article. I am certain that others will find it enlightening as well.Hi , nice to meet you Ted. Thanks for reading and leaving your kind comment. Blessings to you! Teresa
Great article, Teresa!Thanks Bruce!! Enjoy VBS week, what a previlege to be a part of. May the Lord work in the hearts of these young ones!
Teresa, as always, you made me laugh, think and pray. Thanks. When I see your face at the top of an article, I know it will be a good read.Hi Lorrie, how are you today?? Thanks for the wonderful comment and encouragement. You blessed me. My goal and prayer was just that; to give someone something to laugh at, think about and encourage them to pray. It is my desire as a writer, to combine humor with biblical truths. God certainly gives me plenty of opportunities to make one laugh, I'm still working on the writing part. You and many others inspire me to keep pressing on! Blessings to you! Teresa
Any article that causes us to take a moment in self reflection and see what our shortcomings are is worth its weight in gold. Thank you.Thanks David, what a beautiful thing to say! I appreciate the comments. Have a blessed day!
I've always believed that parking lot justice is reasonable when the machines rebel, espescially if it leads to divine inspirations. We live in an age on the verge of the rise of the machines, let us take up our arms against them and beat them back into submission! It's time to take that evil fax machine out to the parking lot and give it the 'what for' with a nice aluminum baseball bat. Whatever religion or belief system you follow there is no spiritual doctrine in place, that I know of, that has any commandments against flailing machines whenever necessary.Ha! I love the way you think!! I wouldn't mind taking a sledge hammer to the fax machine a time or two and you are right, there are no doctrine's in place that prohibit the beating of machines, so...I'll be back, I've got some business to take care of. And yes, I suppose there is some benefit to these kinds of problems when they lead to divine inspirations. So glad to have met you. Blessings to you!
You hit the nail on the head again Teresa! Wonderful. I guess now would be the time to tell you that I too have made some pretty silly mistakes. Especially when my twins were five and my youngest was 2 weeks old. I had taken my youngest to the doctor and found that he had heart problems. He immediately was put on Lasix and to stay on it until he had heart surgery and the doctor said to discontinue. I am sure that this definitely had me upset and sidetracked. To make a long story short, I locked my keys in the car with my baby when leaving the pharmacy. My twins and I were standing there after I threw the keys with my purse on the car floor after buckling in my son. My jaw dropped, I cried hysterically and then I asked a couple next to me if they had a coat hanger. They said no but that I could call 911 since a baby was involved, and so I did. Next thing you know here comes the San Leandro FD. Of course they had to sound the siren for my twins on a very small downtown street, and then of course everyone looked and waved. Two firemen came over to assist and calm me down, with slim jims for the window. They said they would jimmy the best side to avoid damage. At this point, the man on the driver's side told his partner that his side would be easiest and he would gaurantee this. Everyone including my twins all looked and asked why. He sheepishly grinned as he stuck his hand inside my OPEN window and released the lock. Okay, so I had a little panic attack. I was so relieved, but I cried all the way home. Today I look back and laugh. It wasn't such a big deal. BTW, Praise the Lord that my youngest is now 16 without signs of heart problems or medication.Okay Michelle, I give, you win!!! Oh My, my heart was beating so fast as i'm thinking of your pour little baby and then...wow! thanks for the laugh. You know, I guess its just good to know that our men of uniform will come at a moments notice! I can tell we are going to get along just fine :-) Thanks so much for sharing.
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