Identity Part 6: Religious Belief

My faith is so intertwined with my life. It sheds light into the dark corners. Hope when I'm hopeless. Strength when I'm jaded. Leads me onto the path of righteousness when I stray. The standards in which I strive to live by, and what make up my morals. A big part of  why we homeschool, and how we raise our kids.

This is the simplest way I love to share my faith.

ABC's of Faith

A-ADMIT, you are a sinner. We need to admit our sins to God and repent, turn away from them. No human is perfect, and even after we become Christians we will still sin.
Romans 3:23(NIV) 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.'

B-BELIEVE, Jesus is God's son sent to earth to die on the cross for our sins. It takes more faith to be an Atheist (to believe in no God, and no purpose of life) than to believe in God.
John 3:16(NIV) 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'

C-CONFESS, your belief in God (often in prayer). When you trust in God, he will give you a new life.
Romans 10:9-10(NIV) 'That is you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.'
2 Corinthians 5:17(NIV) 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.'

Now if you have done that you are saved, you are essentially a Christian! I compare becoming a new believer to being in a life boat, saved. But now what, what else is there here on earth until we await our divine appointment?!?

Spiritual Growth! I know your next question, how do we do that? You talk to him, in prayer. Listen to him; could be in a prayer, through scripture, in a vision or a dream, or the Holy Spirit (which is inside of you once you are saved) can tug on your heart to make a decision or take an action. Study his word, and follow through when he tells you to do something; like serving. You grow through trials and test. You learn from your consequences from sin, and make better decisions. Think about is like this, how well would your relationship be with your spouse if you only communicated once a week? Or if you are in college and have to take an exam, and you only open your book the day of the exam.

Spiritual growth takes self-discipline. You have to choose to daily spend time in scripture and prayer. Eventually you find yourself making more of the right choices, instead of the wrong. It takes time. God slowly reviles the sin in your life so you can become pure. Holy, set apart from this world. That is why you can read the same passage of scripture and get a different meaning or understanding each time. Through God's revision and trails we become spiritually mature.

1 Peter 2:1-3(NIV) 'Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.'

Colossians 1:10(NIV) 'And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.'

Name: Jamie
Occupation: Mom
Marital Status: Married
Gender: Female
Residence: Small Town
Hobbies: Scrapbooking, Reading, Sewing, and Blogging
Religious Belief: Christian (Christ-Follower)

In going over all of these I hope you claim your identity and find confidence in yourself, where ever you are in your personal life.