Do We Deserve Salvation?

Before I begin - thank you thank you thank you all for over 100,000 views on this blog. That's incredible and crazy and I'm so thankful for all of my followers and those of you who just read a single post and leave. This blog has made me discover a very deep love for writing and most importantly, it's shown me how to be a bold, fearless warrior for Christ while I try to witness.

Originally, this was going to be a post about all of the sermon from this morning, but I ended up leaving my notes in the car and after having a brief conversation with someone, I decided to switch the whole thing up and focus on something my Pastor said that really hit me hard in the middle of the sermon. It wasn't necessarily his whole point, but yes, I related a lot and I feel like it's a thing I've had to deal with a lot, so I decided to do something different...that and I'm too lazy to go get my notes. Whoops.

He mentioned a very popular thing that I hear from 99% of people that I talk to, who don't believe in God. (Either that, or they believe but refuse to give Him their life.) A lot of you have most likely heard this...ahem...

"The god I serve is a loving god, and he wouldn't damn anyone to Hell because of _____!" 

You can fill in the blank. From experience, I have realized that the majority of people end up trying to use His loving personality as an excuse to live in sin. AKA, "A loving god wouldn't damn a homosexual to Hell. After all, it's just love." Or, "A loving god wouldn't damn someone to Hell just because they don't agree with all of the Bible. After all, it was written thousands of years ago." To be honest, I could go on and on, listing excuses, all of which that I've heard. 

These people are very defensive. And like Tim Keller said, "The sin that is most destructive in your life is the one that you are most defensive about." They are quick to judge Christian's, because, after all, we all sin and fall short. So what gives me, a Christian, the right to proclaim that you will go to Hell unless you believe in God, repent and believe on Him? What gives me the right to say that sin is wrong? That abortion is wrong? That homosexuality is wrong? Well, let me ask you this - what gives you (the unsaved) the right to say that murder is wrong? That cheating on a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend is wrong? That sexual immorality is wrong? That lying is wrong? Unless you believe in Bible laws on morality and etc, then you have no ground.

After all, if God doesn't exist, if He isn't our ultimate Judge, then what makes things really wrong? 

One of my biggest annoyances is seeing someone with their nose up in the air, living in sin like a pig because they think God owes them something. As if He owes you salvation. (I say that in a sarcastic, sassy way, by the way. As. If.)  

Sin is from Satan.

Satan tries to destroy His perfect Kingdom.

Satan sent Jesus, His Son, to die on the cross.

Satan is causing His children (us!) to stray far away from Him and His plans.

Satan is causing us to suffer, even if we don't realize it. 

I want you to take a look at yourself, just for a moment. Have you ever lied? Yes? So you are a liar. Have you ever been jealous? Yes? So you covet. Have you ever looked at anyone with lust? Yes? So you are an adulterer. Have you ever hated someone? Yes? Then you are a murderer. 

I could go on, but I don't need to. We have all broken pretty much every commandment in the 10 Commandments. We may not build idols out of gold or stone and worship them, but look at us - our heads are constantly buried in our phones, we watch TV more than we think about God, we put things before Him. That means we have idols. So, if you have broken those 10 Commandments (and there are even more sins, outside of that.) then that in itself makes us not worthy of salvation. 

We do not deserve salvation, but God gives it to us. His only requests? That we leave behind the sin that was previously damning us to an eternity in Hell. You are right, God is loving, but you are forgetting that God is a jealous, powerful, wrathful God. And even if He was purely a loving God, with none of those other qualities, that is not an excuse to live in sin like a pig. God is love, but that doesn't mean He loves sin. If someone were to murder a loved one, would you just forgive and forget, even though they killed him/her for no reason? Even though they made them suffer the most painful death imaginable? You may forgive, but you would never let the murderer go just so they could go murder someone else. Look at this from God's point of view. Maybe if we would stop being so selfish and focused on ourselves, and think about someone else for a change, we would see how sickening we truly are. 

We look at God, spit in His face after He gives us everything, after He dies for us, even though we don't deserve it, and tell Him that everything He gave us? Oh, His gifts aren't enough...so we demand more. 

Oh, thank goodness He's full of grace, or else we'd all be damned straight to Hell. Thank goodness He's so loving, or else we wouldn't be given a single chance. I know for a fact that I don't deserve Him.

To answer the question I asked in the title...

The answer is no. 

Romans 3:20-24 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

God's Desires or Society's Expectations?

Lately, I've heard of a lot of girls who feel stuck in a world where they don't fit in. And up until a few months ago, I could sympathize but I couldn't understand it because I had never dealt with it myself. But now, I've realized that I don't necessarily fit the mold and I won't lie, it hurts sometimes. I'm lonely sometimes. I wish I could fit in better sometimes. Let me be clear on this before I continue - I'm surrounded by a lot of lovely people. I'm in no way better than any of them, in all honesty, I feel like I fall behind so many of them when it comes to my spiritual walk. But I do know this - my desires, my hopes for the future, my convictions, my morals, my way of living...it's very different from the people my age that I'm around. I look around at these wonderful people and I wish that I could fit in better. I wish that I fit that mold better, but then, God reminds me that He made me who I am for a reason. He is the one convicted me and urging me to live differently, so that's what I'll do. It's all about Him, not myself.

I want to marry young. As young as God will allow, quite honestly. I have dedicated this time of my life to God, and I have promised that I will wait for as long as He wants, even if that means I will never marry, but yes, I pray that God brings me someone sooner rather than later. I know that I want to be a wife, most likely a mother eventually. I want to court in the most conservative way you could basically imagine - chaperones, no kissing until we're at the alter, no frontal hugs or hand holding until engagement, obviously no sex before marriage. I want to marry a man who will be the head of my house. I don't want a man who treats me like "just one of the guys" because that seems to be a trend that's becoming really popular nowadays. I'm a woman, a lady, and I do want to be treated as such. I want to live on a tiny farm, in a cute little house, I want to have a conservative home and I want my future children, if God blesses me with them, to grow up in a home that isn't centered around worldly things (television, phones, parties, etc) but around God things. I never really had a desire to go out and play and hang out, I want to spend this time of my life, this sacred singleness, my older teenage years, to bring myself closer to God, make myself into the proper homemaker that I believe He wants me to become, and ready myself for my future.

I don't like the trends that are popular in my generation - I don't like much contemporary music, whether it be considered praise & worship or not. I don't like skinny jeans or this whole metrosexual trend that make men into basically women. (Men, dress like men and act like a man. You aren't a woman.) I don't like those things. And yes, my different taste separates me from a lot of people. 

I am in no way better or worse than anyone, but I was raised differently than a lot of people. I am different, and that's fine. I've decided to follow God's desires instead of society's expectations, and yes, I fail Him daily. There's not a day that goes by that I wonder why on earth God still wants me or loves me.

I choose my horse over a boyfriend.
I choose my farm life over a fancy house.
I choose my heart (It belongs to God) over dating around.
I choose my morals over anyone's expectations of me.
I choose my convictions over what everyone else is doing.

 

 Yes, I turn down a lot of "fun" opportunities. I actually made the choice not to do or attend a few different things in the last 2 years, not because I believe that they are overall just sinful things or because I think that anyone who chooses differently than myself are even sinning in the process, but because I feel like I don't fit in at all in so many of the crowds. I can't help but feel like I'm alone sometimes, and yes, it can get disappointing. I make my own choices based on what God wants me to do (most of the time, I've made a lot of mistakes along the way.) and I still feel stares of others on my back, wondering why I choose not to do things with the crowd. I get teased endlessly for bragging on my horse or riding a lot or posting pictures of him, but that's my passion. Yet if I were to be posting nonstop about, let's say my boyfriend who is non-existent, I wouldn't get a single weird stare or comment. Because that? That is "normal."

I watch young Christian teens like myself start smoking or drinking or even doing drugs, I see them date a huge amount of people, off and on, all the time. I see them start slipping from God, I see them doing so many things that I don't understand, but the moment one of them stands up for Christ, even though so many of their friends disagree? They get stared at like they've suddenly grown two heads.

I suppose I'm ranting and I've babbled on way more than I planned, but I'm tired of youth being allowed to run around like crazy and call things Christian and yes, I'm tired of people (older Christian's) not standing up and YELLING and PROTECTING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. Don't just shy away.

HELP. US. We need the help, I swear! Stand up even though we may not like it, we need guidance. We don't need more retreats or new music or parties, we need Jesus. We need Bible. We need convictions.

Sincerely, a young Christian person. 

Preaching What You Practice

Everyone has heard the quote "Practice what you preach." and that is most certainly good advice, of course. If you are going to talk about things, share your morals and convictions, you are supposed to live by them. As Christian's, we are supposed to abide by God's law and that should be exactly what we preach. But still, many Christian's fail to realize something that is just as important as practicing what they preach, and that is Preaching What You Practice. 

If you choose to become a follower of Christ, one of the most important things in your life should be preaching, and despite what many people think, you don't have to be behind a pulpit at church to do so. Preaching doesn't have to be your paying job. After all, if we are Christian's, we are called to share the gospel, and what exactly is sharing the gospel? It's a longer way of saying "preaching." Most Christian's that I come across in this day and time that are afraid to witness use the excuse, "Well, God hasn't called me to be a preacher..." or they say that they are afraid to witness because they don't want to lose their jobs, hurt feelings, lose friends and etc for their faith.

AKA, they are ashamed of Christ and don't want to look weird, stuck-up, boring, or like a bigot.

big·ot

ˈbiɡət/

noun

noun: bigot; plural noun: bigots

1. a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions.

   "don't let a few small-minded bigots destroy the good image of the city"

   synonyms:

   chauvinist, partisan, sectarian; More racist, sexist, homophobe, dogmatist, jingoist "he comes off as a naïve, close-minded bigot"

And yes, bigot is a very familiar term for most Christian's who are, well, actually Christian's and not Pharisee's.

Look at so many people in the Bible - Noah, King David, Solomon, and so on. These men all had normal, paying jobs. Some of them were ship builders, some of them carpenters, some of them rulers over nations. But the Bible plainly says that they were preachers. As my Pastor put it a couple Sunday's ago, preaching was their most important job, the other jobs were simply there to pay the bills.

I am a preacher. I'm involved in many other things, but, mainly, I preach. And I love it!

Charles R. Swindoll

If you are truly a born-again Christian, you will have a desire to witness. We should be on fire for God, so eager to go out and tell lost souls about Jesus Christ, the Man who saved our own wretched souls. We are in the middle of a terrible world, full of people who are lost and on their way to Hell, but we have the way out. We know the road to go down, we know how to escape these things - how dare we say that we are Christian's, but keep the good news to ourselves? How dare we refuse to preach?

I guarantee you one thing - you will meet at least one dying soul every single day of this week. It's not a hard task, it's not difficult to find someone to witness to. You can be a witness with a single step out of your door, with a quick click of your mouse. You can call a lost family member, text a lost friend, go to houses, help your church, leave Bible's or CD's...the list goes on. We have so many opportunities to witness, yet we look around helplessly as if we don't know how to witness or where to go. But God gives us clear instructions.

Where To Go: Mark 16:15 - And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

How To Witness Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

By simply preaching what you practice, and then practicing what you preach, you can become a bold, strong witness for the Lord and bring others to Christ. Never be afraid to witness boldly and never be afraid to be a preacher. When someone asks you what you do for a living, tell them that God has given you the ultimate job - He's given you the task of sharing His word throughout the world. And that's better than any job out there. And God is always accepting applications.

Stepping Away From Popularity

A few days ago, someone asked me if I felt lonely or too sheltered because I had mentioned that all of my friends were made online - like a lot of people, they blamed the fact that I'm homeschooled. I've never been in a public school before, I haven't even stepped foot into one, nor do I have any desire to. They seemed surprised when I told them that I wasn't lonely and I actually wasn't so severely sheltered that I had no opportunity to make friends. I go to church every Sunday and Wednesday, my church has a pretty decent sized youth group and we have a lot of visitors come and go. Outside of church, I do have other opportunities to meet people. When I was younger, I was in a basketball league. I had a whole team of girls my age, but I didn't have a good friend in the midst. But it wasn't because I'm simply too awkward or shy to make friends. I always joke that I have plenty of acquaintances but not many friends. I can make conversation and enjoy myself, but as far as a good friendship goes? I'm picky. I've made the choice myself - I choose God instead of popularity, I choose my convictions over a large group of friends. While my faith and more conservative views may seem to "rob" me of friends to the outsiders, I have no desire to make friends with people that I have nothing in common with. At this very moment, I'm content.

 

 I know I look odd and I know I seem too conservative to many people my age. I'm quite aware. But the good thing about the world we live in now is that I do have chances to have good friends. Just because I live miles away from them doesn't mean the friendship means any less to me. And those friends that I do have? They drop everything for me in a second if I need them, day or night. They are loyal and they'll pray for me. They see me at my worst and they offer honest advice, even if I don't want to hear it at the moment. We hold each other accountable, we are there for each other.

When I stepped away from popularity and stopped praying that I myself would find friends, when I stepped towards God and asked Him to bring me friends, He did. And He brought me some great ones, too. And I know that I can trust Him in all areas of my life - through friendships, relationships, crushes, love, bad times and good times. I just have to try my hardest to remember that His timing is better than my timing, and that I shouldn't focus so hard on doing things by myself.

 

 All good things come from God, not from my flesh. Not from my ideas. Not from my works.

If you're like me, don't give up. Don't give up your morals just to fit into society. Follow God, follow the convictions He gave you and remember that God will grant us everything we need in His own time.
The days, months, or even years that we are alone and don't fit in, are the most special. Because in that time, we can focus 100% on God and our relationship with Him. We can focus on what He expects from us, and you know what? We can realize how much we deserve as God's children. You deserve better than the worldly friends and boyfriends/girlfriends. You deserve good, Godly people in your life.

Don't settle for anything less than what God would give you.

Love>Tolerance

Well, I'm back.

I'm not going to lie - in the past few days, I've strongly considered either making this blog private or quitting it all together. Satan's kind of been hard on me recently and I've been busier than ever, so it's been hard to sit down and really think. You see, I've been getting a lot of backlash lately. And no, not just online, because I know anonymous people still lurk around, waiting to cause more drama. I want to be clear on something. My last name for this blog was very bold, and I prayed about it very hard before changing it and I felt okay, personally and spiritually, for it to be the name of the blog, but it stirred up too much drama. So, yes, I changed it again after even more prayer and thinking. I do not think that I'm hated by many people, I'm loved and supporting by a lot of people, far more than hated. My church family, my friends, and yes, a lot of my readers and various people I've met online, have supported me throughout my writing endeavors. When I said the world, I meant just that - the world. The world meant the worldly people, typical society. I meant the liberals, the people who hate Christianity, and while I'm not sure why it caused so much drama (considering the quote write underneath my name explained the whole title) it did, so it's gone.

Here's the thing, I'm not here to stir up drama, I am here to share my beliefs, and yes, that's going to cause some drama. I'm prepared. I'm also learning how to witness in the best way, and yes, I'll make mistakes. I'm not perfect, no one is. But I will warn you. The hate, the drama, the backlash? It makes me proud to stand taller. The Bible warns Christian's that we will be hated for Christ's sake, and if one single person hates me (and yes, I know quite a few people who would love to see me wiped off the face of the earth, before you say I'm a drama queen.) or even if a big group of people dislike me, just because I'm a Christian? That's okay.

This is the great part of that freedom of speech thing. I'm allowed to share my beliefs, and yes, I'm going to exercise my right to share Christ before I kick the bucket and He calls me home. I'm more concerned about God loving me than the world loving me, and I want Him to see me and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." more than I want hundreds of comments from every reader that ever lived telling me what an inspiration and loving person I am. I'm not Joel Olsteen or another famous bubble gum preacher - I'm me. And this is who I know God wants me to be.

I love you all. This is why I'm writing. If you don't like it, I won't apologize. I will apologize, however, if I in any way taint the gospel in a way that it was not written. I love you all, but I don't love sin. I don't love the sin that I practice, because yes, I'm a sinner, too. I hate sin as a whole, but I hate no person. There's a very large difference between hate and intolerance, and there's a big difference between love and tolerance.

I love you all.
I hate sin. 
I don't tolerate sin.

I'm here to say that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He died on the cross for all of us because He loves us. I'm here to say that there is a Heaven and a Hell, that no one is free from eternity. I'm here in hopes that maybe, I can reach someone. I pray that I can make a difference with this blog, but yeah, I'm just one person, so maybe it won't happen. Maybe I won't effect anyone. But I'll try. And in the time that I try, this blog will help me grow as a Christian. 

(On another note, I will no longer be publishing Anonymous comments. It's not because of any of the rude comments at all, but Blogger is being extremely glitchy with it and half the time, it says the incorrect person posted the comment and it's just a mess. If or when it fixes, I'll publish them again. Many apologies for people without a google account!)