let's talk about faith

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8

My faith defines me, from the inmost parts of my being. I live my life for God and I strive to show His love to those around me. It's something that nobody is perfect at, obviously, because the only perfect One was Jesus. But, I strive to live as God would want me to. People say being a Christian is hard..but I don't see it that way. It's only hard if you let it get to you when people criticize you. I have so much joy in my life living for my God because He's pretty darn awesome. Who else is available at all hours of the day and night? I can talk to Him whenever I need to and want to. He's so real to me and part of my life that I can't even imagine what it would be like to be without His love. Luckily that's something I'll never know because His love is infinite. Score!

But, sometimes I feel so exhausted by the people at work, school, blogging, and life in general. I feel like I'm supposed to act a certain way, believe certain things because they're "politically correct," or keep my mouth shut when something tugs at my heart for fear that I'll be reprimanded for disagreeing. But that's not what our Lord and Savior has called His people to do. We are called to be different, stand up for what is pure, lovely and admirable. We have been called by name as sons and daughters of a Heavenly King! He's our Faithful High Priest and our lives should reflect this.

I want people to look at me and see something different, something they want..I want to share my love for Jesus with people and help them see there's more to life. My heart hurts for people who don't know my Jesus, my Lord..the only One who can save me.

If we let our hearts dwell on pure and lovely things maybe our lives would be less stressful. Maybe we would be more apt to stand up in circumstances where the red flag stands at attention. Don't let the rules of the world silence your faith. I'm guilty of this just as much as the next person, but I'm seeing a problem with it now. I see the importance of standing up where wrong is clearly endorsed. It feels gross and awful when I see things on TV and in movies that desensitize us. We're so hard to impress these days, there needs to be more violence, more sex, and less morals. I don't understand where we went wrong, but I won't stand for it anymore. There's nothing okay about crude jokes, violence against women or funny dudes on drugs. All that stuff completely clouds the movie industry today and it really saddens me.

I often wonder why people hold back from their beliefs. Why is the fear of rejection more important than the hope of bringing someone to Christ? Shout it from the roof tops that you love Him and live for Him! If someone rejects what you believe..it's not going to kill you. If anything it's planted a seed where later, room for growth might appear. I constantly see this in Christians, myself included and I really don't understand. Our biggest fears are not to offend people or feel rejection, but I think those are lousy excuses. The Lord of this earth created you for something special..He created you for a purpose. That purpose was not to stay silent or be silenced. That purpose was to spread the gospel and show His love in abundant ways. So why must we fear if He's on our side?

Our goal is love. Who doesn't need a little more love in their lives? What's so scary about sharing the love of Christ?

I hope and pray that we as Christians wouldn't be scared of standing up for what's right, that we would voice our beliefs when necessary, and let our Heavenly Father speak through us. If He's the One talking...then what's there to worry about?

Let's spread the love :)