Dear Christian…

A Christian is so much more than a fancy title or a convenient title to use when you want to appear somewhat religious. Being a Christian is more than just being a church-goer or social media scripture poster. Let’s be real…because that’s the only way that God deals with us… “IN-THE-REAL.”  The Christian life is not a joke and should never be lived as one.  Yet we make it out to be joke every time we live in a way that has one foot in the world and one foot in the church. Lukewarmers…aka Christians that want to be worldly will not inherit the kingdom of God. God expects us to be fully devoted to living for Him because He has been fully devoted to us.

God calls us to be peculiar, to be aliens in this world (1 Peter 2:9). Yet it seems as though we try to make ourselves as comfortable as possible down here. Nowadays there is no difference in a Christian and someone who is not. They look exactly the same. How backwards is that? We live however we want and partake in the pleasures of the world and then as soon as something goes wrong we want to call upon the name of the Lord. Yes God is merciful and loving but God HATES sin and will not continually accept a life of sin from one of His children. We have to stop making excuses and start truly living the way God has called us to. How can we carry the name of “Christ” yet live the very opposite of Him? We walk like the world, talk like the world, live like the world, and expect to reap the benefits of a heavenly reward? Um…no ma’am and no sir. We wonder why our churches aren’t growing, why attendance is declining, and why we aren’t reaching people? IT’S BECAUSE PEOPLE AREN’T CONVINCED THAT WE TRULY LOVE THE GOD THAT WE CLAIM.

People can smell a hypocrite a mile away. And people respond more to what they see rather than what they hear. We can talk a good “Christian” game all we want but if people don’t see any actually godly fruit in our lives…they won’t believe us! The greatest ministry of Christ was HIS LIFE! And the greatest ministry of any Christian will always be their LIFE. We must truly LIVE THE GOSPEL and not just SPEAK THE GOSPEL. The problem doesn’t lie so much in the world. It’s not that there aren’t people that are seeking truth. It’s not that there aren’t people that don’t want to be saved. The problem comes when a Child of God is trying to deliver a message that they themselves aren’t truly convinced of.

For example, say you went to a store and a salesperson approached you about a certain product. You never heard of this product before and sought to inquire about it. When you ask the salesperson about the product, its features, and what it’s made of, the salesperson is unable to answer any of your questions. The salesperson becomes flustered, confused, and replies, “I’m not 100% sure.”  You go on and ask the salesperson, “How about you just tell me the benefits of buying the product.” Unenthusiastically, the salesperson says, “Well I actually haven’t fully tried or used the product myself I just heard it was good to have.” How likely would you be to buy the product? Not very likely huh? This is how uncommitted Christians or Lukewarm Christians appear to people of the world when we try to tell them about Jesus.  How do we expect to save souls and deliver the message of Christ if we don’t even open up our bible to read and fully know what the message of Christ is? How can we claim Christ if we have yet to truly obey Him and His word in our lives? How can we tell someone how amazing God is and how He changed our lives if they see no evident spiritual change in our lives? How can we teach and spread the gospel and the knowledge of God’s word if we don’t even study ourselves? How can we say that coming to Jesus was the best decision we ever made if we aren’t truly convinced that it was because we’re still trying to hold onto things of the world?

Cold and Hot… God says NOT

How can we sell them God if we haven’t truly tasted of Him and experienced Him for ourselves? If we truly understood the amazing power of the gospel, the amazing love of the Father, and the amazing treasure we have in Christ…IT WILL CHANGE US. And that change will be very evident.

There are so many Christians that “know the name Christ” and have knowledge of Christ…but don’t really “KNOW CHRIST.” Knowing Christ is so much more than just quoting a bunch of scriptures and saying God is good. Knowing Christ is so much more than going to church and being in church ministries. Knowing Christ is so much more than just knowing He died on the cross for our sins. Knowing Christ means truly knowing Him on a personal level. It’s knowing His heart. It’s knowing Him to the point that you actually live for Him. It’s knowing His message, His purpose, His love, and allowing all those things to truly transform you from the inside out.

Knowing Christ is ACTUALLY LIVING Christ

If we want to carry the title of Christian we must truly live as a Christian. A title is used to represent a certain characteristic, quality, trait, or role a person serves. “Christian” encompasses Christ, which means we represent Him and as a result our characteristics, qualities, traits, and lives should be of those that represent Him. How can we as Christians save the lost, if we are lost ourselves?  We have to stop. We must stop making excuses. We must stop living worldly and truly start living a life based only the Holy Word. We say we want to bring lost souls to Christ but we’re the same people turning up in the club with them. We say we love God but yet we watch shows and listen to music that depict and portray the very things that God hates. We say we love God but yet can’t forgive one of our sisters or brothers in Christ. We say we want to carry out God’s work but we’re so concerned with getting attention and fighting for power within our congregations. We say we represent Christ but we wear skin tight and provocative clothing.  We say God changed our life, yet we live exactly the same or even sometimes worse than how we were before we came to Christ. We say, “God is working on me” but yet no godly fruit is ever seen because we refuse to allow God’s word to truly have a work on our hearts. We praise God on Sundays and curse like sailors Mondays-Saturdays.

Many Christians today are taking physical steps forward, yet spiritually not moving at all. So many Christians are achieving in this world, yet making no achievements with their soul and spirituality. So many Christians are saying with words they love God but in fact are becoming more hypocritical with every hour. Christianity is not some hat we put on and choose to wear whenever we want or whenever we’re in an environment that we feel is conducive for it! Christianity is more than something we wear. It’s more than something we talk about and more than something we fake about. Christianity should be who we are and exemplify WHOSE WE ARE! Our lives are not a game. There is a heaven to win and a hell to miss. Every day we live is either bringing us closer to heaven or closer to hell. We have to do better. God calls us to live pure and holy lives before Him and before all men. How dare we live as enemies of the cross of Christ, if we once found and obeyed the hidden treasure..THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

Repent…

My encouragement to every Christian reading this letter is to REPENT and truly live the way God has called you to live. The bible says, “they will know us by our love.”- John 13:35 If we expect to save souls we must show love, live love, and be love. It first starts with our relationship with God and loving Him in truth and in sincerity. When people see a person’s true, authentic, and fervent love for God it will draw them. They will see something different and it will compel them to ask, “What is it that causes you to be so different?”

Remember…

My friend, do you remember when you made that decision to obey the gospel (1 Cor 15:1-4). Remember when you heard about how God loved you so much and gave His one and only son for you (Rom 10:17)? Remember when you heard how Christ took on EVERY SIN you ever committed on the cross of Calvary. He took on every secret, disgusting, and reckless sin you ever committed. There was nothing in you that should have caused Him to love you, yet He loved you anyway (Rom 5:8). Remember when you heard about how a perfect and sinless Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day to never die again? Remember when you believed and confessed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Mark 16:16). Remember when you repented of your sins and made a conscious decision to commit your life to living for Christ (Luke 13:5). Remember when you were immersed in a watery grave of baptism, where your sins were washed away and you rose to become a new creature in Christ (Acts 2:38, Rom 6: 1-8). Do you remember how amazing that moment was? Don’t forget that moment. The moment you obeyed the gospel you became saved and you now have a heavenly home waiting for you. Why throw it all away for some temporary pleasures on a temporary earth? It’s not worth it. Ask the Lord to restore the joy of salvation within you. Let people see how thankful and grateful you are for this precious of gift of salvation by speaking and living the gospel of Christ out every day you live. Let people see and feel the love of Christ inside of you. Your old man was crucified and now you are new creature in Christ (Galatians 2:20). Don’t try to resurrect that old sinful man. Kill all the worldly passions and desires with the word of God. God loves you. He wants you to stay saved and He wants you to spread the gift of salvation to as many others as you can. Don’t let your testimony of Christ be in vain. Live for God and show the devil that He will not win.

Press Forward Toward the HEAVENLY Mark

I will leave you with this. Like Paul told the church in Corinth, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers no male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy no drunkards nor slanderers no swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” -1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul stated, “And that is what some of you were.” Every Christian has a past. A Christian is a mere sinner that Christ found and saved. Let your past be your past and press forward toward the heavenly mark. What a shame it would be to ALMOST live a Christian life and ALMOST make it to heaven. Don’t almost live for God. Live for God wholeheartedly and entirely. Be encouraged my friend!

Sincerely,

Ashley Moneet

Your Sister In Christ

Fearless. Faithful.Following.