Writing Prompt: Religious Beliefs

I haven't had a whole lot to write about lately and have been running out of ideas. So if you have any crazy, off-the -wall question or prompt, feel free to comment and maybe I will use your idea to write something true or do a little bit of creative writing. For this post, I have chosen the following prompt: What are your religious beliefs? Have they changed, or have they always stayed the same?

So first, what are my religious beliefs? I believe that we are all sinners. None of us are righteous in God's sight. "Oh, I am a pretty good person," I guess I could say, but that would be speaking in human terms. "There is none righteous, no not even one (Romans 3:10); All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)" 

I believe every person has eternal life. I believe we have the free will to choose where we will spend our life when we pass from this world, but we can't get to one of those locations without help. Because of our sin, we are bound for one location, similar to a criminal on trial is bound for jail if he cannot pay for his fine. But God loved us so much that he was willing to pay the fine, the cost, of sin for us. I believe that he sent his son Jesus, who lived a perfect life, to die for our sins, my sins, on the cross. Thats it. He died in my place and my faith is in him. Nothing I do can add to or take away from that. Jesus is the only way to heaven."For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9)"

I believed all of what I just mentioned even when I was younger, but I didn't really put my faith in Christ until many years later, when I was about 17 or 18 years old. I guess it kind of clicked when the preacher delivered a message about a drowning person having to grab hold of a flotation device for it to do any good. Another example is actually wearing a parachute when being warned a plane is going to crash.

So the next question, have my beliefs changed? Well, not really. God continues to speak to me in new ways and tells me new things when I allow him. Thats the thing though, I need to pray more and I need to read my bible more. And I am working on that, along with a previously mentioned diet. I am thankful for a bible app I found that has a bible in a year reading plan and audio to go with it. So I get to listen to it in my car on my way to work each morning.

Faith is a journey. And as Paul wrote, I want to run a good race and not be disqualified. I don't know exactly where God will lead me or take me, but I trust that he will do what is best for me, even if I don't realize or think it is at the time.