True Faith

I was talking to a friend the other day about religion. We were talking about God, Jesus, personal faith and more. Although we do not have the same beliefs, we shared in a productive, non threatening conversation. One thing she said about Christianity is that she respects the religion, but not the church. She said that so many people claim the name of Christ, but do not live it. She has her beliefs and she lives them. This is a huge problem.

Many people in our traditional, religious city of Chattanooga believe in God or "god". Many even believe or acknowledge Jesus, but the problem is that many do not truly know Jesus, they know about Him, but do not know Him.

True faith is truly having faith, period, not just claiming it with words. Not just an acknowledgment, but it actually changes the way you live. Its real. It is your life. Many should stop calling themselves Christians or Christ followers unless they are. Its not about being perfect, because everyone fails and will let you down, but its about giving your life up for something that will outlast you. The God of Heaven, Creator of heaven and earth, came into the world in form of a man called Jesus. He lived, loved, taught, impacted and died for the forgiveness of the sin of humanity. He rose again the third day. He ascended into heaven where we who have faith in Him, will join Him one day. This is the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. No one like Him has ever lived or will ever live again. He was God and He was with us. We should follow him and claim him or continue to deny Him with our actions and stop claiming Him. Too many "Christians", are making the bride of Christ look like a whore and turning away those who may possibly be interested in Jesus because of the actions of His "followers". Lets embrace the good news of Jesus and allow Him to impact our lives, friends, church and community.