Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in 
their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.- James 1:27 

So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of 
eternal life.- Titus 3:7.

‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in paradise’” – Luke 23:42-43

 Let Me Tell you About Jesus

If you want me to tell you about Jesus
We have to start at the foot of the cross.
That’s where He gave His life for the world
So our connection to God wasn’t lost.
But it isn’t a miracle until you believe it.
Because it all takes place in your heart.
As soon as God knows you’re ready 
 He will reach down and set you apart.

I can’t convince you I had no plan to follow Him,
Nor, make you understand it wasn’t my choice.
I can’t rationalize how he drew me in,
Nor that He called me but I heard no voice.
I can’t describe my peace in His presence,
Explain the difference He’s made in my heart.
I can’t express my desire to be obedient,
Nor, why I was all in from the start.

I just can’t define the goodness of God,
Nor can I properly praise His name.
I can’t explain all that He offers me,
Like, I’ll never be alone again.
I can’t convey how safe I feel in His sight,
Nor the faith that I have in His love.
I can’t express my desire to please Him,
Nor my joy when He says I’m enough.

When God plants your feet on this path
You’re never prepared for the journey.
Feeling caught between heaven and earth,
You’ll begin the struggle of feeling unworthy.
But you aren’t in charge of your worthiness
Remember the promise we were offered?
We only need to believe in the Son
To find our path to the Father.
Linda Troxell © 10/17/2021

In the years since I’ve become a Christian I have discovered that Christians are not the homogenous group I’d thought them to be when I was a nonbeliever. Many, maybe most, non-Christians believe that all Christians are alike. And perhaps all Christians do seem the same on the surface. And, unfortunately, very few of those forming opinions about Christianity look beyond what they see on the surface. 

We know that assuming we know an individual simply from how they seem on the surface is unwise. Without spending time with someone and learning about  their personal thoughts and feelings, their interests and views, as well as something about how they may have come to those positions, we cannot say that we know them.

Yet, somehow we think we can know an organization made up of millions of individuals by simply observing them in public. The truth is that assuming we know more than we do about anything will result in an incomplete picture at best, and at worst a view distorted by a lens of preconceived ideas. 

One cannot truly understand Christianity without research and diligent study of The Bible. Oh, the bare bones beliefs of Christianity are not complicated. There are just 5 foundational beliefs for Christians: Jesus was born of a virgin birth; He came to earth as fully God and fully man and lived a sinless life; He died on the cross to redeem the sins of humanity; God raised Him from the dead after three days; and He will come back again.  No, they are not complicated, but they are just the bare bones.  

The bare bones of being a good Christian are simple as well. Jesus says that the most important commands of Christianity are: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”- Mark 12:30-31

And Jesus’ brother James gives us the bare bones of accepted Christian behavior:  
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.- James 1:27 

When all of these bare bones are added up, they are not easy to live up to. Christians are often perceived as being judgmental and hypocritical. Perhaps it’s because some of them sometimes judge others for not living up to behavioral standards that they, themselves can’t live up to.

I used to believe that all Christians are hypocritical and judgmental too. And while judgment of others is a flaw found in Christians and non-Christians alike, it is not in keeping with any part of Christianity. Christianity warns us to be careful how we judge for we will be judged in kind.  

When  I looked deeper I found that Christians have as many different kinds of personalities as do non-Christians. I tried to duck responsibility for this by telling myself that I had misjudged because the judgmental Christians are the loudest and therefore I noticed them more. But when I was honest, I had to admit that I noticed them more because I was looking for them more.   

In reality, there are many kinds of Christians and their differences often go far beyond disagreements of creeds, doctrines or liturgies. The differences I’m talking about come from the individual, not their denomination. We know we can not accurately form an opinion about an individual until we get to know them. Well, we cannot know a religious movement until we get to know it.

Because I was older when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my decision to turn my entire life over to Christ was, by no means, done on a whim. In fact, once I accepted that call, I chased God and I worked hard to know Him. Some of you may be thinking that it’s supposed to be God who chase us. Well, as I said Christianity is different for each of us. So how about we settle on we chased each other until He caught me.  Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.  Psalm 139:8-10

For my entire life I thought I was a Christian. Because in my mind to believe in Christ was the definition of being a Christian. What I didn’t understand is that to be a Christian requires far more than believing in Christ. But, first it requires one to know what “I believe in Christ.” means. I was unaware that it meant anything beyond the belief that he existed and was crucified and resurrected.  Well, I was wrong. 

What being a Christian means to most Christians is written in what’s known as the Apostle’s Creed. And it says this:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy church, The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.

I wanted to believe those things. But for me to believe something so beautiful yet fantastical would require that I do a lot of reading and research. I was not going to just accept a belief that was handed to me, especially not one that defies all worldly logic. I was going to have to come to my own belief.

And I did read and I researched and I fought hard to believe. Who wouldn’t fight to believe something so beautiful? Who wouldn’t want to believe that no matter what happens in this life there is another life in which there is no pain or strife or heartache; there is only love. 

Who wouldn’t want to believe that they are loved unconditionally by a God who left heaven to come to earth in order to live a sinless life, be beaten and humiliated before being nailed to a cross, and slowly die in the hot sun simply to personally pay the penalty for their sin? But, I couldn’t quite believe it without doubt.

Because, if I’m honest, for everything I read that convinced me it was true, there was something to convince me that it couldn’t be. I’m an introvert, I’ve always read everything I can get my hands on. So, I don’t readily believe every attractive story that comes down the pike. Oh, I want to. I want to because I am also full of fear. Especially fear of the new and the unknown. And I have a very low expectation of my own resourcefulness and motivation, particularly in the midst of fear. 

For example, if I crashed in a plane on a snow covered mountain you would not be reading a book about my heroism and resourcefulness in getting to safety. No, if you read anything, it would be my obituary after they found my body the following spring. 

So, I wanted to believe those fairytale stories where one can have one’s most cherished dream come true by wishing on a star or by blowing on some magic coins while turning around 3 times and saying some magic words. But I just can’t. And many people see Christianity as just another fairytale.

They think it is immature to believe in an idyllic place in the sky where everything is wonderful all the time. Or, to believe that after we ask some invisible savior to protect us and He agrees, no matter what we do, we cannot lose His protection. They say only a fool believes that no matter how wicked you have been in life, if you repent and accept the Lord before you die you will be saved from Hell.  

I get it, those People think “Wow! Then I will accept Jesus and then I can do whatever I want and I’m covered.” Or they think, “Well that’s easy, I’ll do whatever I want until I’m on my death bed then I’ll confess and accept Jesus and I’m good.” But Christianity is neither that simple nor that shallow. And if it was presented to work like that I would call B. S. too. 

But anyone who knows even a bit about Christianity knows that isn’t how it works. For, in order to reap the blessing others so deride, one must be sincere and truly committed to their acceptance of the Lord. Those who know little about Christianity yet still feel qualified to judge it, don’t understand, or don’t consider in their judgment, that God cannot be fooled. God is omniscient, meaning He knows everything at all times.

Because He is omniscient He knows when your confession and repentance is real and when it’s just one more sin you’re racking up. So, someone who pretends to repent and pretends to accept Jesus cannot fool God. Really, it would be hard to fool anyone who knows much about Christianity. 

That’s because, when someone truly and honestly repents and accepts Jesus as their Lord, Jesus takes their sin and exchanges it for His righteousness. This justifies them in the eyes of God, allowing them to be adopted into God’s family as joint heir with Christ.  So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:7.

For the rest of our lives, as members of God’s family, we are slowly conformed to the mind and image of Jesus. So, if someone has genuinely repented and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior we should see some changes in their life that make them closer to who Jesus was. 

For example, because they know now that they are a child of God, they will feel safer and we should start to see more genuine confidence in them. Because they know they are unconditionally loved by God we ought to see them becoming more loving themselves. And because they now have more compassion we should see them reaching out to help others who need help.

So, you see, it isn’t as easy as waiting until the end and claiming you believe Jesus is your Lord. If it isn’t true, your heart will say differently. Of course, at the end of someone’s life if they genuinely repent of all sins and sincerely ask Jesus to be their Lord, it is not too late. And the key is not belief without doubt, it is sincerity of your repentance and of your desire for Jesus.  

While Jesus was on the cross, one of the thieves being crucified alongside Him came to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and he asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. He didn’t even ask Jesus to take him to heaven with him, just that Jesus remember him. But Jesus could see the sincerity of his repentance and Jesus saved him. ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in paradise’” (Luke 23:39-43).

You see, he was saved at the last moment because Jesus could read the thief’s heart and He knew that he had genuinely repented; he truly wanted forgiveness. So, yes, if at the end you have a truly repentant heart, and ask for forgiveness you can be saved. But many of us will die suddenly without time to repent. Do you really want to gamble on having time at the end to repent? How about when you know your soul is the ante?

Let’s Pray,

Our Father in heaven we come to You in praise and gratitude for the open invitation You extend to everyone, the invitation to join Your family. This invitation is open until the last minute of life. We know that You want everyone to have the chance to say yes right up to their last moment of life. We know You want no one to parish. But God, so many people misunderstand You and Your Son. They fail to see the best parts of coming to you through Jesus. They see Christianity as limiting and judgmental. It’s a common belief, Lord, that if someone gives their life to Jesus, they have to say goodbye to fun forever. We know that is just one of the many misunderstandings that keep people away from Your amazing offer. So, we are on our knees right now, Lord, asking you to anoint us to speak about Your amazing love in a way that inspires others to listen and then give their lives to Jesus, allowing Him to be their savior. Then they will see for themselves what they will gain. We cannot ever truly explain what it means to be part of Your family and how it sets us free. So, Please, Lord, give us the power or the Holy Spirit each time we have the opportunity to tell others about our faith. We ask this in the name of Your holy Son, Jesus, Amen. 

Points for Pondering or for Prayer
Or
Perhaps for Putting Pen to Paper.

1. If you are a Christian, write a bit about how you came to Christ. If you are not a Christian, write a bit about what keeps you from giving your life to Jesus. 
2. If there is one belief about Christianity that most keeps you away, write about it and where it came from.
3. If you are a Christian and you’ve experienced negative reactions from others about your faith, write a bit about those reactions and how they’ve affected you.
4. Have you ever had the opportunity to explain your faith and all it has to offer but declined because you didn’t want to deal with the negative reactions. Write a bit about how you felt about it at the time and how you feel about it now.