I'm not Ashamed of my Faith, and you Shouldn't be Either

Yesterday night our church had a Worship Night. This is the second one that I have been to and it always pumps me up! It makes me focus on why I believe and what I believe in a world where there are so many that don't think like I do.

Faith to me is more than just believing in something. It is a feeling you have. Faith is something that fills you from the inside out and changes your life. It changes the way you do things and think. It is a whole body process. It makes you want to be a better person and live a more fulfilled life. It gives you a purpose.

I feel very strongly about my faith but that hasn't always been the case. I have faltered and had times where it was really hard for me to keep on believing in God. I will be honest when I said that most of those times that I have faltered was because of people who were Christians. The people who were supposed to lead more people to God almost led me away from him.

 Also my own personal thinking had made me falter. I love science so it was hard to believe in a world of science. It is okay to do research. God wants us to think and be wise. James 1:2-4 states " Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Knowing that when my faith is tested that it makes it stronger helped a lot. When I had questions, God led me to people that would help me.

I am a sinner. I will be the first to say that. I have done things that I am not proud of. I have been a person that did awful things and hurt people because I was hurt. I didn't save myself for marriage and had a child out of wedlock. I have had completely un-pure thoughts. I have wanted bad things to happen to those who have hurt me. I did not show love or forgiveness freely. I held on to things and it made me bitter.

I am saying that because I know that everyone has done things that were not by God. Sin is not exclusionary, in includes everyone. When you go into a church and they treat you like some sort of disease then your faith is really hard to hold on to. I get it. If these people are from God, then why are they not acting of God. Jesus spent time with thieves, prostitutes, and other unsavory people and showed them love, not hate. That is the type of Christians we need to be.

I am not ashamed to love God. Even if his people are not perfect. I am not ashamed to believe in something more than me. Even in my sin, God had shown me grace. He gave me a beautiful and smart little girl that means the world to me. If God can use people like David who not only got another man's wife pregnant but had that man killed, then he can use me. He can use you too.

Never be ashamed of what you believe in. If you don't believe in God, I know that doesn't mean your are a bad person. If you do believe, I know you are not naive or stupid. We all have a right to believe in what we chose for whatever reason we choose. Don't be ashamed in that. Keep searching and open yourself to everything this world has to offer. The most important thing we can do as people (not just Christian vs non-believer) is love one another. Show compassion and help as many people as possible.

Faith is very important to me. It forms who I am and who I want to be. It makes me more kind, more forgiving, and more loving. Even in my times of doubt I have always turned back to it. If you could see a timeline of my life you would be able to tell the times where I have had doubt. It always made me into the person who I knew I wasn't on the inside. God's love changed me and gave me peace in a world of darkness. It slowly filled up that pit I was in and turned it into something beautiful.

I love God. I will continue to love him for all eternity. I will keep on striving to be someone who would make him proud. I am not ashamed of my faith, and you shouldn't be either.

Peace and Love,