He still believes in you...

It makes me sad to be an American sometimes. Most of the time this sorrow overwhelms me when I am caught between the rock and hard place of being a Christian with so many friends who are not. I have never been one to shove my beliefs onto others, but I feel that I have reached a point where I am not satisfied to never say anything about my faith and my Lord because it may make someone I love uncomfortable or offended. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 16:24: ~ 'Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."'

It is not easy for me to make stances of faith. In fact I think for many American Christians it is easier to hush up and never say anything, because, after all, Christ says in Matthew 5:38 '"You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."' In Romans 12:18, Paul tells us that as Christians 'If possible, so far as it depends on you live peaceably with all.'

So, we know the scriptures. Luke 4 tells us that the enemy does to. [Can I interject to say calling the enemy Satan or the Devil makes me a bit uncomfortable? I think that referring to him to him by his name makes the battle real, so from hence forth I will refer to him as one of these...] In Luke 4, Satan meets Christ during a 40 day fast in the desert. He quotes scripture to Jesus in the hopes of causing the Lord to stumble and sin, which of  course would take away Christ's blamelessness, making him a less then perfect Sin Offering.

What's my point? Satan knows scriptures. He knows we are commanded to turn the other cheek. He knows we are to live peaceably with others. And the same serpent who had the audacity to turn the Word of God against the Son of God would be more than happy to turn it against the followers of Christ. He, after all, hates us. We are the reason he and his are damned to hell.

Here is the crux of the matter, here is my point.

First and foremost, I believe in Jesus. I believe that, as John 1:1 states, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'. I believe that the bible is the Word, and as a part of God, it is Holy and it is truth. The words of the bible apply to my life on a daily basis.I believe that it will never be out dated or old fashioned.

Secondly. I am a sinner. If my sins were held against me, the list would be long and damning. But I believe that when Christ died for my sins and rose from the dead, his blood was stamped over every one of my sins, marking them paid in full.

Third. This is hard to say. Romans 6:23 says 'For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Jesus says in John 14:6 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.' In Revelations 20:15 it says without a doubt '

You may ask why God would do such a thing. I hear people say "I can't imagine a loving God would do X, Y, or Z." One of the most common ones is "If God was a loving God, why would he damn people to hell?" Here's my answer. He is a loving God. He is also a perfect God, and a just God. He cannot dwell with imperfections. In his flawless justice he must condemn sin, he must purge the imperfections.

This is where His love steps in. Instead of writing us off, not only did He send his son to die for our sins, and freely give us access to Him, freely offer redemption, Psalms 66:10 says 'For you, oh God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver.' When silver is tried, it is purified. It is made beautiful and flawless. It is tried within fire, and all impurities are burned away. In His perfect love, God purifies us.

It is so easy to accept! I recently described it this way to a friend: Could Jesus have been the son of God? If your answer is yes, and John 1:1 says 'the Word was with God and the Word was God' and in verse 14: 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son form the Father, full of grace and truth.'. So if Jesus was the Word, vs. 1 says 'the Word was God.' If Jesus was therefore God, does God not have the power to raise himself from the dead? Romans 10:9 says 'because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.'

All it takes to escape an eternity of separation from God is confessing that we are not enough, and confessing that Jesus Christ is. I will not deny my Lord. He gifted me Salvation, and I will honor Him in thought, word, and deed. I'm sorry if this makes you feel uneasy, but maybe that uneasiness is based on a subconscious (or even fully conscious) realization that this is truth.