I became a Christian when I was four years old. I was in my Pre-K class learning about the letter I, "Itchy Ivy" was the character on the letter. My teacher told us about Jesus and I accepted him in my heart. I even remember going home and telling my mom all about it.
Do you want to know why I am a Christian? I could answer that I have had a ton of encounters with Jesus in my own life. I could answer that I was raised in a Christian home, which would also be accurate. I could also answer that I believe in the Bible, which is correct. Even though all of those are answers I could have, they aren't the reason I am a Christian. I am a Christian because its true. Sure I've gotten caught up in a worship night filled with Cory Asbury and Hillsong, but I've also researched beyond the feelings.
My life has had its hard times and it has forced me to question God. At one point in my life, I even told God, "I was going to take control of my life," and I did - the results were NOT good! Feelings aren't enough to sustain a faith in God, more specifically Jesus Christ. You need more. It has to be more than the overwhelming emotion after a moving set of worship music. Without substance, it wouldn't work. It wouldn't last.
I have studied the historical data and discovered for myself that the facts point to Jesus being who he said he was. History proves he was a real person. He made claims he was God and the evidence that is out there, shows, he truly was (and is) God. If you want to know more, let me know. I am happy to answer more questions or point you toward some resources that have helped me over the years. For now, because this month's topic is "back to the basics" I will just share some hallmarks of the Christian faith.
We were born into a world that degenerates. People aren't naturally good. Just look at the news and see things are getting worse, not better. Christians call this bad thing, sin. Sin separates us from God. The best picture for me of this is two people trying to hug while holding suitcases. The baggage gets in the way. Sin is sin.
Sure, you may go to prison for more years if you murdered someone than if you stole a drugstore candy bar, but wrong is wrong. Too often we get caught in the trap of justifying what we are doing wrong because we see the person next to us doing something we deem far worse. Missing the mark is missing the mark. If I jump from one cliff to another, and I miss the other cliff by a mile or a millimeter, it doesn't matter, I will be plunging to my death in both scenarios.
God (including Jesus) made us. He wanted a relationship with us and when sin got in the way of that, he made a way for us to still have that relationship.
Christians believe in one God (its called monotheism). We do see him in three persons that we call the Trinity. Many look at the Trinity and think we are polytheists and that Christians believe in 3 Gods, but that isn't true. Nabeel Qureshi, shared in his books and in this video that best way for him, a Muslim converted to Christianity, understanding the Trinity was simply about "what" and "who." God is one being in three persons. Being is the what and persons is the who.
It can be hard to understand because I am Carrie and I am a human being, which means that I am one in being and one in person, but God is actually one in being and three in persons. We call them God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus was God sent to us in human person. He was still God, and the Holy Spirit is the person of God that stays with us once we accept Jesus. Jesus came to the world to be a sacrifice for us. He gave his life in exchange for us. If you owe $10,000 on your credit card, and you didn't have it, someone pays the bill so you don't have to.
After Jesus died on a cross, he came back to life and wants a relationship with us, his creation. He offers us life if we believe in him as God. This is much like someone who falls off a boat is offered a life raft to help them swim to safety. God didn't come into the world to condemn but to save it.
The number one rule of Christianity is love. If you want a definition of that word check out I Corinthians 13. We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Part of that love is sharing the good news of Jesus with others and helping them connect with him and grow closer.
Being a Christian means admitting you don't know it all and receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, which just means we will live serving and following him. We do have to surrender our lives to him, but like I said before, doing life on my terms, actually produced worse results than when I followed God.
Baptism isn't necessary to be a Christian but its a great faith step that helps us to not only publicly acknowledge we are serving God, but also is a great symbolic act of being washed by God's sacrifice on the cross.
Its a step by step walk through life with the Creator of the Universe and beyond. He isn't out to make you someone you aren't, but instead to show you how to be the you he made you to be. The best version of yourself and the person who can best love the world around them. I am in awe how God continues to reveal areas I can still grow. I love it. I want to be the best me, I can be. I spent years of my life ashamed of who I was, but God actually made me with purpose. He made you that way too!
If you have questions on any of this, let me know. If I forgot something, I want to hear about that too. I tried being concise (which is not my strong suit) and also share all the basic points. So here you have it. If you have gotten complicated in your religious views, maybe its time to simplify. Study why the Bible is true, get to the core beliefs and understand what God wants to unfold in your life.
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