When most people think of religion, unbelievers and even some who claim to believe alike, many tend to believe it is some kind of prison where you must strictly obey all the rules and if you disobey just one, you're out. You don't deserve to continue worshiping your god. "And she calls herself a Christian, haha..." Well let me ask the Spirit to open your eyes today and give you a shocking truth that Christianity is not of this such at all. It is not some kind of military school or torture center where you make one mistake and your life is over. I believe this is one reason why some unbelievers choose not to even attempt to learn about Christ and why they avoid anything to do with him. Because some of us believers have made Christ come across as one mighty dictator during World War II who executes anybody who makes one mistake, by judging our fellow Christians when we see them slip up and commenting that they are very obviously not a true Christian. May I ask you one question, who made you the judge of a man's heart?

It is very sad that Christ is being portrayed by some in such a hateful way when in truth we know that God is love as 1 John 4:16 says. There is a story in the Bible that takes place in John 8:2-11 where a woman is caught in an adulterous act and is brought to Jesus as the Pharisees - those who claim to be righteous - want to know if Jesus says if it is right to stone her as the law of Moses says. And you know what Jesus replies? "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." (John 8:7) Jesus is saying to them, whichever one of you, you who claim to be righteous, that has never once sinned against God or done contrary to God's commandments, throw the first stone at her. And surprise surprise, none of them are able to cast the stone so they all begin to walk away in shame. I think in this generation, Jesus would still have to do the same thing to some of us believers who do not speak to others in love or look at them in the eyes of love but instead judge them. If you are so frustrated by their sinful acts, why don't you preach the Gospel to them?

A very common mistake that is evident whenever people think of Christians is that they think of people that are supposed to be perfect in every way and never make mistakes and never commit sin and indeed we strive to be like that but the thing about Christianity is we know we are not. We know we are nothing. We are empty vessels, broken instruments in the hands of our Creator. Being a Christian is being able to admit that you do sometimes sin, you do sometimes act out of love, you do mess up, you make mistakes, you get in trouble, you are not perfect - but, you are aware that the God you serve is perfect and forgiving and that if we confess our sins to him from a genuine and willing to repent heart, he is faithful and will forgive us. This does not of course mean we can sin however we like and abuse the grace of God because if that is what you think is acceptable, then Christ died for nothing. And if you are nullifying the death and resurrection of Christ, boy do you need to reevaluate yourself and test yourself to see if you actually are in the faith. (Read the book of 1 John where it gives the qualities of a true believer and ask yourself honestly and ask the Holy Spirit if there are any parts of you that do not match to what is shown there.) Romans 6 answers the question of why we should not continue in sin now that we have Christ.

Now, what makes me say Christianity may be a relationship, you may ask. Well, let me ask you a question. If you have a friend who gossips and you are around them for a certain amount of time each day, you will find yourself beginning to gossip sooner or later whether you like it or not, you become like them. If you have a friend who smokes and you are around them for a certain amount of time each day, you will begin to smell like smoke and you will be affected after a while by the things that accompany smoking, you become like them. Such as so, if you have a relationship with Christ, you become like him. There's no ifs or buts about it, if you have a relationship with him, you will become more like him. Jesus tells us in John 15:14 that we are his friends if we do what he commands us to do. So he's telling us that friendship with him is definitely possible and all you must do to be able to be called Jesus' friend is to obey his commandments.

How do you develop a relationship with Christ you may wonder? Well how did you develop your relationship with one of your friends? You talked to them often, you spent time with them and you tried to learn information about them. It is very much the same thing. You must pray to him often, and you can talk to him all the time. Many people think you can only speak to Jesus when you are locked in your room on your knees or when you are in church. That is not at all true. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. We can talk to God throughout the whole day, while you're in school, while you're in bed, while you're on a journey somewhere, on public transportation, anywhere. Either with your mouth or in your mind because he hears both. What I like to do is whenever I need help, no matter what it is, or I'm worried or upset or happy or excited about anything, I say it to Him. And I believe that is one reason why my relationship is growing with Him. Because I am trying to learn to tell him everything. E V E R Y T H I N G.

Another factor is learning information about someone. And how else can we learn information about God other than his Holy Bible, that is, his Word? Yes, you can listen to preachers but how will you ever know about the references and the stories about God that they speak of if you never read the Bible? Or how can you know if what they are saying is even true if you don't read the Word? It is extremely important for us in these last days to know this precious word of truth because this Bible of ours is the only truth we have left. Deception is running mad in todays world and if we are not careful and are not rooted in God's word, we will be deceived too. Now don't be fooled, reading your Bible doesn't make you a Christian any more than eating a burger makes you obese. The real question is, are you studying it? Are you applying it to your life? Are you asking yourself if you follow these commandments and then trying to actually do them? Jesus tells us in Luke 6:47-49 that whoever hears his commandments and obeys them is like him who has built his house on a solid foundation. When storms and floods come, you will not be shaken. Why? Because your foundation is on the word of God and Jesus Christ. It is time for many of us to wake up and read his Word! You can spend 3 hours on your phone but you can't spend even 3 minutes in his Word without getting tired or bored? What does that say about you?

Why I am so sure that having a relationship with Christ can and will change your whole person is because 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." This means that all your old sinful characteristics and traits and your filthy mind and even your perceptive of things are going to die and you will be made brand new into the person God has called you to be for you were fearfully and wonderfully made. I remember when I decided I wanted to take God seriously, I told God that I give him full permission - not that he needs my permission at all - to ruin my old life and indeed he did. He killed the part of me that hated others and gossiped and wanted to hurt others and opened my eyes and gave me new sight. Who needs laser eye surgery when you have God! 

One emphasis that is made throughout the New Testament and one thing that Jesus always, always stressed was that we must love one another. If you love somebody, will you steal from them? Will you gossip about them? Will you want to get revenge on them, or lie to them, or be unfaithful to them? No. That is not love at all if you believe any of these things are right. For the Bible tells us that love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It is does parade itself and is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not offended easily, thinks no evil. It does not rejoice in sin but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Now I want you to insert your name into where the word "love" is and see if you fit that criteria. I myself am still trying and learning to be as it is described so you can too. Jesus tells us in John 13:35 "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." He is telling us that people should know you are a Christian by the love you have for others.

However, love is not just limited to people. Of course, we must have love for God, even above others. John 14:15 says "If ye love me, keep my commandments." This was a Bible verse that changed my life. I was once questioned on if I really love God by a man of God and I was deeply upset by this because I thought I did but the Bible said different. He said different. And he knows all. It made me evaluate myself and I realised, if I really love him, I need to obey his commandments. And that's where it begun. 

So I encourage you today to stop being so afraid of being a Christian because of you think you will not be able to enjoy your life again or you will lose friends. First and foremost, if you are afraid that you will lose your friends because you become a Christian, you have the wrong set of friends. Secondly, enjoyment does not stop once you're saved. It only gets better. My life has never been more happy and joyful. Yes, I had to sacrifice some things but I do not regret even one of the things I had to leave behind to follow Jesus because that's when the door of happiness and love and joy and true purpose came into my life and flooded me in. There is something indescribable about being in God and it changes your life. I can never go back. Ever. I used to be a backslider but now, when I am just one day without Jesus, I can definitely feel it. My mood alters, my perception changes, I just become ugly to be honest. It's like the don't judge me challenges except when I cover the screen and take my hand back, I just become uglier. 

I challenge you today to open your heart to Christ and ask him to change it. It's not like you must begin on the top level where you can pray for hours and read the Word for hours but start small and grow. Not start small and stay small for the rest of your journey. Start small and GROW. 

I pray that the God of love will help you in this start with Him and that your life will change where the results will be better than you could ever imagine.

Thank you for reading.

Have a lovely day.

Make sure to leave a comment or contact me if you need or need to ask anything!

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

1 John 4:16