As I was listening to 1 Corinthians today, I believe the Holy Spirit impressed on my heart to speak on the topic of Christianity and how it differs from other world religions.

First off, I would like to put emphasis on the importance of having a growing relationship with Jesus over any religious practices that try to display righteousness. It is JESUS that makes us righteous in the sight of God the Father when we believe and trust in Him. No amount of practicing of righteousness could ever make up for the sins we have committed. We needed a perfect Savior to take our punishment and die a death we deserved in order that the debt of our sins would be paid in full.

Touching on the topic of religions apart from Christianity… As Pastor Andrew Hopper puts it, “Christianity is different than every other religion on the face of the earth. Every religion put in a nutshell is: If you practice righteousness enough, then God will give you the right to become one of His children. Except for the Gospel. The Gospel says: No, there is no amount of righteousness that you could ever practice. The sin problem is WAY TOO DEEP. You needed Christ to come, live your life, die a death that you deserved, be resurrected and IN HIM you are born again. You don’t practice righteousness to get born again. You practice righteousness because YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN.”

How beautiful is that! As John 3:16,17 says, “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” We were condemned in our sin but God the Father sent His son, Jesus Christ, as an atoning sacrifice so that the death we deserved to die because of our sin was put on Jesus.

What sin did in separating us from God in the Garden of Eden, we can now be reconciled to God the Father through the sacrifice that His son made for us on the cross. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, scripture says we become born again and are a NEW CREATION. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them...”

Many of you who know me, know that God has done a work in me the past few years. While I was raised in a Christian-believing household, I strayed away from living out those beliefs and growing in my relationship with God. So thankful that we serve a God that gives second chances! When I gave my life to Christ, I became a new creation. I was not left alone to deal with my sin but Christ sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in me so that I would willingly surrender the bad fruit in my life to make room for God to plant good seeds in my life so that I may bear fruit for Christ. In those of you who have accepted Christ, I’m sure you can agree with me that the Holy Spirit has guided you similarly in your faith walk. For those of you who have not accepted Christ into your heart, may my story be a testament to what God can do with someone that allowed sin to dictate their life.

If any of you would desire to discuss any of these topics further or learn more about my upcoming internship in Kenya, I would love to talk with you over the phone or in person. Just let me know. Love y’all! Blessings!