Religion

I often wonder what it means to live in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Recently I had a disheartening conversation with a close friend who had no conception of what it means to know and love Christ in a real way. This friend thought that by following a list of rules and regulations someone was following Christ. Though I do not know my friends heart it saddened me when it apeared that my friend had never experienced the life changing encounter with Jesus Christ that I have. Here are some excerpts from a recent comparison of the Gospel with Religion.

"Religion says, if I obey, God will love me. Gospel says, because God loves me, I can obey.

Religion has good people & bad people. Gospel has only repentant and unrepentant people.

Religion values a birth family. Gospel values a new birth.

Religion depends on what I do. Gospel depends on what Jesus has done.

Religion has the goal to get from God. Gospel has the goal to get God.

Religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. Gospel sees hardship as sanctified affliction.

Religion is about me. Gospel is about Jesus.

Religion believes appearing as a good person is the key. Gospel believes that being honest is the key.

Religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. Gospel has certainty based upon Jesus' work.

Religion sees Jesus as the means. Gospel sees Jesus as the end.

Religion ends in pride or despair. Gospel ends in humble joy."

Joy in the Hard times

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance
and perseverance developes character and character; Hope

and hope will never fail us, for we do not hope in a God made by human hands but a God who has loved us so much that he would send his very son to die a traitor's death, so that we, lost and hopeless, may find peace through the blood of his cross

for when we were lost in our sins and without any hope for a life to come, Jesus Christ called us out of darkness into the Kingdom of the light, that we may be called Sons of God, not by anything we could ever do, but purely becasue of God's great love for us
for we know, that in the dark times, as well as in the greatest joys of our lives, our God will reign in holiness, loving us and preparing us for our best possible life of service to him

In the Name of Jesus Christ the Son of God

Amen

Treasonous

As paul said so eloquently, "I, Paul, am the Chief of Sinner's...
When I was only 8 years old I asked jesus Christ to come into my heart... This was the first step toward full joy and love in my life.
I continued living just as i had before my conversion, not understanding what it meant to give up everything to follow Christ.
When I was 10 I began to get into some distinctly non-Christian things.
Through the grace of God, when i was 14, my parents caught on to my sins and promptly confronted me.
After their confrontation and punishment, i realized exactly how bad I was being and how much i truly needed to follow Christ. I recommited my life to Christ on November 30, 2002.
Since that time, my life has not been easy. i have struggled with many of the same things I struggled with before. In 2004 I moved from West Virginia to Raleigh NC, to pursue an education at a college prep school.
Throughout this time i was still struggling with the same problems that I had for years.
During the summer of 2006 I began to question how to change.
By offering up my sins to Christ and fully and finally repenting of my sins, i have come to a peace that only can be accounted to the grace of God. I have been given a passion for the thousands of American youth who live like i lived for so long.
Not being perfect, there is a daily repentance that i must make for my sins, but i am no longer held under the weight of controlling sin.

if you have any questions about anything I've said, feel free to email me or IM me...

to every tribe and langauge, to every age and race