Faith...

I am a very passionate person when it comes to my faith. I have always had a very close relationship with God for as long as I can remember. I brought every question, every desire, and every happiness to Him. When I was about 10 I did hear from God about my salvation. Of course I didn't necessarily know what all it entailed, but that I needed and wanted to be closer to Him. However, due to the fact that my mother was not a Christian at that time and I was visiting my dad and you would join the church (which I don't think it was like an exclusive membership to THAT church but just a joining of THE Church) she thought it ridiculous that I would join the church that I didn't go to regularly - this is an example of just ignorance and whatever was going on with her at the time. I just know that I was very upset that a greater relationship with God was put on hold. I was born again as a junior in high school. Through stupid decisions on my part and not really walking with God I got married and divorced after a yr 1/2 by the time I was 22. However, through my divorce I put everything I had into developing and nurturing my relationship with God. I did however wait to be baptized (in water) until the night before my marriage to the wonderful Christian man I prayed for and God sent me. My husband is Church of Christ- he was afraid I was going to get hit by a car before we got married and I would go to hell. I just consider myself a Christian I am not a denomination. My followings are what God tells me, not what doctrine man has come up with - that is how denominations were originated - different interpretations of the Word. I guess you would call it non-denomination. And in that there have been times when my Spirit is very sad. So many times I feel that limitations are put on God and what Jesus has done for us and how diverse backgrounds cause conflict within the Body. We are all never going to agree (the devil at work) but God does call us to be unified, that we as the Body of Christ, Believers, the Church we are to be unified. Ephesians 4:3-4 says "Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of and produced by the Spirit in the binding power of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as there is one hope that belongs to the calling you received-there is one Lord, one faith-that Jesus is our Lord and Savior-one baptism-into Christ. And 1 Cor 12:25 says "So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation but the members - the body- all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another." I tell you these scriptures were given to me after much prayer. I had seen Christians setting themselves apart from others of the body because of denominational differences. What is sad to me is that God is so much bigger and Jesus so much greater than the things people allow Them to do or things They have done. I don't claim to know it all but maybe having not been necessarily raised in the church and not just having just gone to one denomination's church but finding a place for myself - discovering for myself (through biblical study and listening to awesome teachers of the Word) what God's plan is for me and the Church, I learned things with fresh eyes and having to look things up in the Bible, study it, found it out for myself not just believe what I heard since I was a child. My husband, he knows it, and I can discuss issues that we don't agree on and he can quote scriptures but can't tell me what he thinks it means or defend his views because he will say - that is what he grew up knowing and heard. I do not discriminate against any church with what it chooses to believe, again that is between the Church and it's parishioners and God and as the bible says (above) something that I am not supposed to do, I just know what my Spirit and the Word reveals to me. God is so good and His Glory so great. I am blessed to know Him and know that He has blessed me in all areas of my life. God is no discriminator of persons - all who believe in the name of Jesus are His children, His body, His Church. I pray everyday for greater understanding of His word and what His plan is for me. None of us know it all, but we should continue to want to know more everyday. That is my goal. God has a plan for me and I just pray that I am doing what He wants me to do. He is who I answer to. If I don't do or say what is in my heart/spirit than I am doing myself and Him a disservice.
I love you all and pray for you everyday.