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 K.I.S.S.
Keep it simple, stupid. A little abrupt perhaps, but an effective
way to make the point that sometimes we just need to focus on the key
points and not get lost in the details. Somehow we need to
apply this concept to religion, which has become a source of
confusion and conflict for many people. Christianity,
like other religions, has become splintered into hundreds of
divisions or denominations, each based on different interpretations and
beliefs, but much of what they are divided over isn't in the Bible.
What? That's right. If it were in the Bible it would be easy to agree on, now wouldn't it!
And the rest of the disagreements are over minor things that shouldn't
even matter if you understand the Bible's main message.
 So
what's in the Bible? It's the story of God's relationship with
mankind. It holds insights into God's nature, incredible wisdom on human nature, and
countless examples of how far we stray from what is right and true
when we chose to live apart from God. And although the Bible contains
dozens of books and thousands of pages, Jesus reduced it down to some very
simple "K.I.S.S." principles. When one of the religious
leaders of the day, an expert in religious law, tried to test Jesus, he
asked this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the
Law?" Jesus replied:
"Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments." (Matthew 22:35-40)
And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:
"So in everything, do to
others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and
the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
In these simple commands, we find the foundation and summation of
everything in the Scriptures. God just asks that we love Him and love
others enough to treat them as we would like to be treated. Why is
that so hard to understand? Maybe if
people would actually read the Bible they'd realize there's nothing in
God's name to
fight about. He'd prefer that we just KISS, that is, keep it super simple.
"I pray also for those who will
believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the
world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory
that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and
you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know
that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 17:20-23
"And the Father who sent me has
himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen
his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one
he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by
them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about
me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. "I do not accept
praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of
God in your hearts."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 5:37-42
''You hypocrites! Isaiah was right
when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings
are but rules taught by men."
Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 15:7-9
"I tell you the truth, anyone
who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never
enter it."
Words of Jesus Christ in Mark 10:15
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