Changes are coming!

An update: 

It has been a few years since starting The Curious Christian! 

I hope that you the reader are have a great new year so far!

Upcoming changes are going to be rolled out over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Life

 Life is short

Quicker than the blink of an eye

What is life? 

It is to love. 

Cliche as it is,

Life is not about the possessions we have,

What we wear, or where we live. 

It is about the relationships we build and maintain,

And our placing faith in Jesus' name.

Because in the end,

Nothing matters. 

Our possessions will lay forgotten and in decay

Our lands will lay in waste. 

But we will account to our Creator, 

Who will judge us. 

This is Life - 

Did we love Him? Did we love others? 

Because the end of life is just the beginning -

To life everlasting or to eternity alone. 

This is life.

A New Song

Throughout the depths of this life

Facing pain, Facing Strife

Tested in spirit

Bruised, but not broken (Isaiah 42:3)

At the bottom, 

We reach to God in prayer

And for the Christian, He is already there* (2 Chronicles 7:14)

He knows where we have been

In heartbreak, He binds up our wounds

In pain, He gives us comfort (Psalm 147:3)

How many times can the pains of this life distract us from God?

When we place Him first - Literally Lord of our life (And that means in everything!), Everything falls into place. Quite literally, nothing in this life matters except for your relationship with God, and with other people. When we follow God, especially in the fiery heart of our pain, and willingly place Him first...Everything changes. 

Life becomes not centered around us - and our pain - but instead it becomes centered around God. When this happens, healing begins to take place. Our pain is swept out and replaced with a beating heart of love for God and our fellow man. The needs of others become the priority...and as harsh as it sounds, our pain is quite literally outcast because we are no longer centered on us. It seems like that it is at this point where healing begins to take place. 

Praise God, Thank Him for today and how He has blessed you, and pray from both healing and for those who hurt you.

*if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and  heal their land.

The view of this blog

Recently I posted Simple belief isn't enough, and got some interesting feedback. It was made apparent to me that the original wording of the post, (which has been edited) was seriously misleading, and conveyed a view of Salvation by Works, especially since the original title was 'Belief isn't enough'.

I always keep it at the forefront of my mind when I write that those that teach others the faith will be held to a higher standard (See James 3), and I take this warning very seriously. So with that I am going to say the following:

There is absolutely nothing we can do to deserve salvation. No amount of good works can fix our broken relationship with God, and only by Gods grace, and our faith in Christ can we be saved. 

This is written plainly across the NT - And no matter what I write, or anyone else writes can change this. 

I would like to formally apologize to my readers if I have conveyed anything else besides salvation by grace, through faith. I would also like to thank the readers who have pointed out this point that I was unknowingly making in my works. 

Thanks for reading!

Simple belief isn't all there is to our faith.

(Please see The view of this blog for an important statement on this post)

Simple belief in Christ for salvation isn't all there is to our faith!

I am not going to teach salvation by works, since we are saved by faith alone, and by Gods grace alone...but simple belief is not what is expected of the Christian(1). There is so much more to our faith!

When we make the decision to follow Christ, we literally are called to die to self(2). Our former life of sin is to be put behind us, as we live a life of repentance(3). As so often used in the New Testament, a good tree will bear good fruit(4). You are now a tree....Just kidding, but in all seriousness, a Christian who follows Christ will seek to bear fruit in keeping both in repentance(5), and in following Christs' commands. 

Our faith, which in some ways has been stripped of its substance in the United States, will actually challenge you at times when lived out.

Ask yourself - What is there in my life that is keeping me from God? Pray that He shows you. 

Is it food? Greed? Being kind and loving others? How about sharing the Good News with others? 

Our life here on earth was never designed to be comfortable. There will be trials and temptations(6), but the main question is what do you do with them?

Repentance is to turn away from our former ways, to instead follow the leadership of God. The things that formerly had a hold on us may tempt us later(7), but it is critically important that we fight. 

God offers to us confession and forgiveness when we screw up (8) - but that should hopefully be our last resort. Jesus leads us to instead pray that we will not be lead into temptation. Dying to self can be hard at times, but in a way it is rewarding to know that we are doing the right thing when we follow Jesus' lead.

We must be ready for Him to come back (9); And this entails living here and now for Him.

..."Be holy, because I am holy."...

1 Peter 1:16, ESV

Interested in Christianity? The Gospel in a Nutshell is a great place to start! And Church of course! :)

Cited Verses:

1.) "But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." James 2:18, ESV

2.) "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24, ESV

3.) "And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38, ESV

4.) "So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." Matthew 7:17-20, ESV

5.) "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham." Luke 3:8, ESV

6.) "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33, ESV

7.) "Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly." Proverbs 26:11, ESV

8.) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9, ESV

9.) See Matthew 25:1-13, Parable of the ten virgins