Welcome to my newly opened blog!

The reason behind me opening this blog is that I have been on a major spiritual journey as of late. Until recently, I refused to submit to God and dive head first into the deep waters of Christ that seem to be life changing and redefining. Well those days are now over. I am hoping this blog can be a public diary of my growth and submission, whatever the cost, to live everyday running towards the ends that God seems to be leading me towards

To summarize what "those ends" might be, let me explain the name and hopefully that will connect some dots and provide you with a fresh perspective on what it is to be a Christian.

The name of this blog is a word smash-up of two separate words:

CRUX

The basic, central, or critical point or feature: the crux of the matter; the crux of an argument.


JUXTAPOSE

To place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

CRUX + JUXTAPOSE = CRUXTAPOSE

Essentially, over the past 3 years I have been struggling to reconcile my previously held CRUX of Christianity, with Christ's CRUX as revealed to me through scripture, when I JUXTAPOSE the two, side by side! In layman terms, what I thought was the central theme or focus of Christ and his work seems to be the exact opposite of what he lays out to me in the bible.

You see I previously held to a CRUX that focused on a Christ who loved ME so much that he came to earth to die for ME, in order to save ME, and ultimately grant ME to live with him in heaven ever and ever AMEN! You starting to get a common theme of my previous CRUX? Pretty ME centred hey?

You see those things are true, but they aren't the whole story, nor are they the CENTRAL CRUX! Those facts are simply the start of the story, the beginning, not the end!

As I started to honestly JUXTAPOSE (or compare) MY CRUX next to CHRIST'S CRUX, I started to see my life and its purpose slowly crumble and lose its meaning.

The prominently promoted CRUX of modern day Christianity which centres on INDIVIDUALS claiming salvation and their own PERSONAL spiritual growth and INDIVIDUAL expressions of worship are all well intended. But this kind of CRUX leads to an incomplete faith and a sad, inaccurate and counterfeit faith.
Don't believe me? Well lets take a look at Christ's CRUX as HE intended it to be and outlined in his HIS WORD:

For example, I read Acts 1:8 NIV ...

8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

And I am troubled because it seems like Christ's last words before he ascended to Heaven seem to focus on his disciples becoming HIS witnesses to in their hometowns, their states/countries and to the ends of the earth! I have never heard this verse spoken of or preached on ever in whole Christian walk. I think it might be kind of important, as they are Christ's last words to his Church! Yet this has never been the priority in any church I have been involved in.

And add this verse to Matthew 25:31-40 ...

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

So again, this seems to me to be a pretty important and critical lynch pin in Christ's CRUX! Yet when I go to church, I hardly ever hear this verse referenced in its entirety or in its proper context. Sadly, most Christian's will tell you that they hope someday to be found at the right hand of Jesus, counted as one of his sheep, not a goat. What they can't tell you, is what Jesus identified as the key qualifier or attribute that will define who sits on either side of him!

Here is what I know about this verse:

1. It is Christ speaking to his disciples about the final judgement
2. It is an end times verse, not some nice parable
3. We AREN'T judged on sin check lists or how many sins we master in our lives
4. We ARE judged by whether or not our hearts become synced with Christ's and our actions become the same as his, focusing on the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick and jailed

Again, this isn't even close to the CRUX I had held to or been exposed to during my walk with Christ. This is the one verse that twisted my heart and forced me to have to JUXTAPOSE my CRUX with Christ's CRUX. And after 3 years of struggle, I am starting to realize one thing. Either I embrace my CRUX or I embrace Christ's. I can't hold to both, because they are polar opposite.

One CRUX says Christ is all about ME, and my personal relationship with him. The other says that Christ is about me and him and the world.

One CRUX says look within and focus on SELF. The other says that Christ looked at ME first, so that I could look to OTHERS to help him complete his mission.

These two CRUX aren't compatible and are exclusive to one another. So the choice is mine and the choice is yours!

Are we as Christian's going to remain chained to counterfeit faiths based off of faulty views of Christianities CRUX?

Or are we going to fight our established dogmas to cling to Christ and his CRUX as revealed to us plainly in his Scriptures?

I know the choice I have made, what will you do?