Bibles And Churches

No one can dispute Jesus.
It doesn't matter if you are a religious person or not,every one feels Jesus was a good and loving person.
Jesus was soft spoken and easy in temperament,he loved all people regarless.
He knew people before he met them and accepted them for who they were.He suggested and encouraged and most times did not get angry,unless it was necessary and usually that was directed toward the religious leaders whom he felt had ulterior motives and knew better.
Reading the bible is a great way of getting a general understanding of Jesus and his teachings but in order to be a true follower more is required and this is were church comes in.
Most people tend to view church in a negative fashion they see rules and regulations and do not understand why they need such constraints in a nation based on freedom.
After all aren't we are own judges who run our own lives?
Back in the time of Moses God understood that the Jewish people needed freedom from Egypt in order to make them a nation of God.
He understood that man could not serve two masters so he decided that taking his people from slavery to freedom was in their best interest.
Once they gained this freedom the next thing God did was send Moses up the Mountain to get a set of rules called the Ten Commandments,since God made man he understood that he needed laws to make his chosen people different from the rest of the world around them,after all they were not only going to worship him they were going to represent him.
In this country we too are a free people.
As small children growing up our parents instilled rules to help us grow into healthy happy adults who are good members of our society as a whole.
Children may hate having their freedoms taken away but as they mature they understand that most of the things they were taught had a purpose and now make sense as an adult.
A person raised with no rules or disciple is nothing more then a spoiled self gratifying brat destended to be very unhappy at some point in their lives.
When Jesus went out into the world one of the first things he did was choose 12 men whom he could spend three to four years educating before he allowed them to represent him.He understood that what he taught these men would be what would be brought to the world after he was gone so getting it right was key.
A church should be viewed as a family it has a parent,the clergy,and the children,the members, each in different stages of growth.It is the church and clergy's responsibility as good parents to raise its children to be worth wild individuals who they can proudly send out.
Now I know not all churches are run by good fathers or ministers,some are run for the benefit of the clergy but that is why Jesus said that we have to discern the wolves who come in order to prey on the sheep.
True you can't take everything for face value but you are allowed to ask questions and become informed.
Jesus liked questions he not only answered them he asked and encouraged them.
He wanted people to be sure in their minds and hearts that he was the chosen one and no question was off the mark,even the ones he knew were inspired by the devil.
When curiosity is satisfied then loyalty will step in and that is a good thing.
The bible can be interpreted in many different ways depending how you read and translate it.The teachings are mostly pure but the difficulty comes when we have no guidance or direction.
A good priest or minister will give you these correct rules and will check with your direction making sure your on the right path,they will try to purely guide you to the correct teachings of God and Jesus.
In the bible is the story of an Ethiopian in a chariot reading the Old Testament.One of the disciples goes up to him and ask him what he is reading.He tells him about the stories but says I can not understand these things.So the disciple spends time with him teaching the interpretations and explaining to him about Jesus.
In my mind this is a story which shows us that the readings are all well and good but another person who understood the real teachings need to step forward in order to make it clear and answer the questions to help firm the foundation of faith.
God wants from us to understand that we do not live solitary we live in a society and are a social people interdependent on each other.
Church is our social starting point to get us to the rest of the world.If we are not clear in our teachings and foundations how will we be able to correctly pass on the true meaning of what we are commishioned to do for the needs of others?