Ah, faith; difficult to take that leap of faith and believe and difficult to talk about with others. I sit behind the protection of my computer not having to look any of you in the eye. If I offend, I am not always aware. I am in a safe place. Although guarded with some things, I am pretty transparent on my blog. I don't hold much back. It is easy when you are in the comfort of your home sitting behind the computer typing away. Speaking of comfort, I am actually in a pretty comfortable place in my life. Yes, there are unsures and instabilities, but, for the most part, life is comfortable.
Whenever I get comfortable, though, I get challenged. I must admit that I have enjoyed this time. Last year was pretty tumultuous. I feel like if I look the wrong way or say the wrong thing a trial or conflict may rear its ugly head. So, I have remained in my little suburban bubble going about my daily routine not taking risks or stepping out of my comfort zone. Of course this game could not go on forever. So, here is my story.
I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I believe that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light and that He is the ONLY way to get into Heaven. Many of you already know this about me. What you don't know is that I'm not a big "talker" of my faith. I believe and I live, for the most part, what I believe. I hope my life is a reflection of my faith. I am not one to sit on my soap box and shout to the world that you must believe what I believe. I truly feel deep down inside that accepting and believing in Jesus is a personal decision that no one can make it for you. I hope and pray that my boys make this decision independently of Scott and I. I don't want them to believe just because that's what mommy and daddy do.
However, with all that said, I also believe that although someone cannot save another, he or she can share, lead, or guide them to knowing Jesus. This is where I struggle. Christians have such a bad reputation in our society. Much of this has to do with hypocrisy, being judgmental, bad experiences with the church/pastors/congregation, incorrect portrayals by media, etc. I know that as soon as I open my mouth about my faith and what I believe all those stereotypes come into play. Also, I don't want to be that person that says something ignorant or uneducated in my faith because I do not know every answer to questions concerning the Bible/faith. So, here I sit in my little bubble hoping that my life is enough of a reflection of what Jesus has done for me to encourage others to seek after Him.
I know this is not enough. I am challenged to open up and be more confident in what I believe. Am I going to jam it down your throat? No. But I will talk about it when prompted and not feel like the bad guy anymore. I will not be ashamed of what I believe or how I live my life even though it goes against almost everything our society shouts at us. I loved one of the songs we sang Sunday. It talked about living a loud faith; living out what we believe and not just a "religious commotion." I hope I am truly living what I believe and not just playing the religiosity of it all. I will continue to live a loud faith without shame and even open up my mouth and share every once in a while:)
""For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
""For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
Whenever I get comfortable, though, I get challenged. I must admit that I have enjoyed this time. Last year was pretty tumultuous. I feel like if I look the wrong way or say the wrong thing a trial or conflict may rear its ugly head. So, I have remained in my little suburban bubble going about my daily routine not taking risks or stepping out of my comfort zone. Of course this game could not go on forever. So, here is my story.
I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I believe that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light and that He is the ONLY way to get into Heaven. Many of you already know this about me. What you don't know is that I'm not a big "talker" of my faith. I believe and I live, for the most part, what I believe. I hope my life is a reflection of my faith. I am not one to sit on my soap box and shout to the world that you must believe what I believe. I truly feel deep down inside that accepting and believing in Jesus is a personal decision that no one can make it for you. I hope and pray that my boys make this decision independently of Scott and I. I don't want them to believe just because that's what mommy and daddy do.
However, with all that said, I also believe that although someone cannot save another, he or she can share, lead, or guide them to knowing Jesus. This is where I struggle. Christians have such a bad reputation in our society. Much of this has to do with hypocrisy, being judgmental, bad experiences with the church/pastors/congregation, incorrect portrayals by media, etc. I know that as soon as I open my mouth about my faith and what I believe all those stereotypes come into play. Also, I don't want to be that person that says something ignorant or uneducated in my faith because I do not know every answer to questions concerning the Bible/faith. So, here I sit in my little bubble hoping that my life is enough of a reflection of what Jesus has done for me to encourage others to seek after Him.
I know this is not enough. I am challenged to open up and be more confident in what I believe. Am I going to jam it down your throat? No. But I will talk about it when prompted and not feel like the bad guy anymore. I will not be ashamed of what I believe or how I live my life even though it goes against almost everything our society shouts at us. I loved one of the songs we sang Sunday. It talked about living a loud faith; living out what we believe and not just a "religious commotion." I hope I am truly living what I believe and not just playing the religiosity of it all. I will continue to live a loud faith without shame and even open up my mouth and share every once in a while:)
""For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
""For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
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