Let me explain myself

I think there could be confusion when i say that i just became a christian last year. I don't want my family and friends thinking I didn't believe in God growing up. So let me explain a little better.

I grew up in the church. I loved going to church events and I loved hanging out with people from the church but I never quite figured it out what it meant to be a christian. I thought that as long as I didn't sin as much as the next person, that my spot would be saved in Heaven. In  Galations 2:21(MSG) it says that "If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily." So obviously this is not the way that we are called to live.

I started reading the day that I decided that I was going to start a bible study. I knew I was nowhere near where I needed to be to help my peers out. And there seemed to be a recurring theme in a lot of the books i read. A relationship with the Lord is way more important than trying to do things "right." In "the Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel, he labels "rule-keepers" as half-christians. People who know what is right but just have not entered into a relationship with the Lord yet. 

I found that when I established a relationship with the Lord, my life changed. Not because I was worried about doing all the right things, but because I no longer desired to live the way I had before. I "died" to the way that I used to live. 

I never stopped believing in God. I just wandered away for about 2 years. My High School basketball coach told me that the first thing I had to do was find a church when I went to college. I honestly thought that I would be okay and that I could handle myself. I was wrong and he was right. I don't think I have told him this before but I need to call him and tell him sorry for not listening. (Once again, God even works with stubborn people like myself)

The most important thing in Christianity is having other people in your life that will encourage you and challenge you in your faith. Your faith is either growing or getting smaller. 

I'm not at all saying that I have everything figured out. Far from it actually. But it's the people in my life who help me stay focused on the Lord when things aren't going as planned. God has put a countless amount of people in my life just this past year that challenge me every day to continue to grow. I feel like God has opened my eyes to these things for a reason. I know that their are a lot of people that can relate to my story and I hope that this will help some people out. If there is anything I can do to help with your walk with the Lord, let me know. I hope that through this, people will see their calling to something more than just rule-keeping. 

Galations 2:19-21(MSG)What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.