Being a Christian does not mean that I am perfect, it simply means that I have accepted a PERFECT God to save me from myself.
Being a Christian does not mean I follow a set of rules, it means that I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me to make the right choices.
Being a Christian does not mean I am better than anyone, it simply means that I know that its by God's grace I am who I am.
Being a Christian does not mean I will not go through trials, it means that I will remain joyful through the trials because my hope is in the Creator of the Universe.
Being a Christian does not mean I will not be tempted, it means that I will rely on God to help me through it and not my own strength.
Being a Christian does not mean I will not sin, it means that I will always repent but I will not take God's grace for granted and continue sinning.
Many people confuse religion with Christianity not knowing that religion is us being bound to a set or rules of dos and donts and Christianity is us being in a relationship with Christ Himself. So Christianity is NOT a religion its a relationship. So what does it mean being a Christian?
It means that I choose to die to myself daily and be spirit led, meaning when I find it so hard to forgive, I will forgive anyway because I no longer live by my emotions but by the Spirit, that when I want to lash back because someone is rude to me I will instead be kind to them, that when I am tempted to wish the worst for those who mistreat me, I will instead pray for God to bless them, that when I am tempted to go along my day angry because of the problems I have, I will choose to be a blessing to others. It means that I will always push to not live by my emotions (die to my flesh) but be led by the Spirit.
Gal 5:16: If you are guided by the Spirit you will not obey your selfish desires
Romans 12: 14: Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask Him to bless them and not to curse them.
Romans 12: 18: Do your best to live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12: 21; Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
It means that the old me is gone and I have been made new, that its no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. Meaning my life should reflect Christ's life, that I will love relentlessly, that I will be selfless and put others before myself, that I will be a Servant and humble myself and know that this life is not about me but about Christ, that I will accept others as they are and I will not judge them by their physical appearance but their hearts.it means that I will love the least of them and reach out to the outcasts as Christ did.
Math 20: 28: The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master but a slave who will give His life to rescue many people.
Romans 6:6: We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done so that our sinful bodies would no longer be slaves of sin.
It means that I should walk in love, meaning my love should be sincere and true just like Christ's love for us. Meaning that I will choose not to gossip but always speak good of others, that I will not keep a record of wrongs of what others do to me, that I will choose to rejoice with others that when a friend or someone else gets what I wanted that instead of being jealous, I will be happy for them and wait for my time, It means that I will be patient with others and show them the grace that God has shown me.
1 John 4:8: God is love and anyone who does not love others has never known Him.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7: Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud or rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do, love rejoices in truth but not in evil, love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful and trusting.
It means that I no longer do what the WORLD says but what His WORD says, meaning I no longer do what is popular so I can fit in instead I live in purity in a day and age where sex has been idolized, I choose modesty when the world says "less is sexy", that I choose not to have "fun" in the world's ways instead my joy lies in Christ and doing His work. That I no longer care of other people's opinion of me but God's opinion of me. That I no longer focus on this life but on how I will spend eternity. That I live radically for Christ risking to be laughed at, mocked and considered foolish because I know that in the end the world will pass away but His WORD will remain.
Ephesians 4:17: As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people.
Ephesians 4:23-24: Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God and so you MUST please Him and be truly holy.
