Why I Am the Way I Am

     I have been thinking a while about this post.  There are so many titles that I was going to name it.  Like, "Why are those Gorsh kids always so good?" or " I knew that Kelli was religious " or "Kelli just keeps on ticking away when bad things happen to her".  I have loved Facebook and reconnecting with people.  Meeting new people and reconnecting with people I grew up with.  I have loved the encouragement I have received and the prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf.  When I think back to adopting Lucy and how hard that was, it was so nice to be able to send out a prayer request and know that people were praying for me and my family.
     I also know there are a number of people who totally respect me, my religion, etc. and think I am a nice person but also kind of just don't get it.  You think it is fine for me but it's not for you.  Even if we have been friends since childhood, in all honesty, you don't know what I believe and are curious or you really don't care.
     When I was little I remember trying to obey my parents.  I was trying to be a good kid but I always failed.  We all do, don't we?  None of us are perfect.  The more my parents gave me rules, the more I saw myself breaking those rules.  I look back on that now and I am so thankful.  Without those rules, I would never see myself as a rule breaker.  I have been studying lately and see that is why God gave us laws in the Old Testament of the bible.  He did it because without giving us those laws, we wouldn't even know that we were sinning.  He did that (the 10 commandments) so we would measure our life up against them and realize that we can't live up to them.  Sure, we might not all be murderers but we have all told a lie.  The bible says that we break one law it is like we broke them all.  We are all sinners, we broke our relationship with God.  The bible says that no one is righteous, not one of us.  (Romans 3:10)  It says we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3:23)   So all of you that think that I am a good person or that you are, the bible says that we are sinners.  Sounds harsh doesn't it?  Well I think that I am being harsh towards God.  He gives me life and I sin against Him.  When we sin, we have a broken relationship.  Just like you would with any friend or family member.  You do wrong against them, you need to make it right to reconcile that relationship.  The same needs to happen in our relationship with God!
     I know that most of us would say that we are good people going to heaven but since nothing sinful is in heaven, anyone who sins cannot go there unless a price is paid for that sin.    The bible says" For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. "( Ephesians 2 :8-9)  We can't get to heaven by being a good person or we would say we got there all because of what we did and we wouldn't need God or Jesus!
     Well...that news stinks huh? Ha ha Well that is some depressing news.  But wait!  God is a loving God and He would not leave me or you  hanging like that.  He says that since there is not one person who can get to heaven on their own because we are all sinners, He would provide the payment for  our sins.  He would do it.  How about that as a loving God?  I sin against Him and He offers to pay for that sin.  This would only work if there was someone taking care of it who never sinned.  So God sent His Son to do it.  (1John 4:14 "..the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.")  We needed saving and He sent His own Son,Jesus, to do it.  That is called grace.  It's God's attitude toward the lawbreaker, giving us what we don't deserve (heaven) and showing us mercy, NOT giving us what we Do deserve (hell)
     So...OK.  So we sin, we needed someone to pay for that sin,  God sent Jesus to do it, that's great so now we all go to heaven?  No.  That is not it.  There is one thing that God requires of us. You must believe in Jesus by faith.  (Acts 16:31 "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.")  It is harder for some than you think.  The bible says that Jesus had earthly brothers and while He was living, they didn't believe in Him that He was to save us from our sins. (John 7:5)   You must believe that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ dying on the cross and rising from the dead to make the payment for your sins.  There is no other way to get to heaven.  You cannot be a good person to get there, go to church to get there, raise good kids to get there, love your country and obey all the laws (because we don't obey them all anyway) , do philanthropy work, be a pastor, anything to get to heaven except believe this news and accept it by faith.
     When you see yourself as God sees you, you know you need a Savior and you need Him.  I'm so thankful for this news.  Some might say,  Kelli, you have gone crazy!  This is not a popular topic, telling people that they are on a road to hell unless they believe what I believe.  I don't like saying that either.  But let me ask you something.  If what I am saying is true. ( You can look it up yourself because I gave you a lot of bible verses) then what kind of friend would I be if you never heard it and we had been friends for "x" many years?  You can believe me or not but I think there will come a time when you will remember what I said.  That's why I wrote this post.
     So why have I been religious? (I'm really not,  a lot of people have more "religion" than me)  Why do I or my family or some of my friends seem different when those hard times have come?  It's because now that I have believed everything that I told you, I am not separated from God.  We have a relationship.  He is my Father.  I can go to Him.  How can Matt lose countless jobs, I lose a baby during foster care, have infertility issues, etc and not be bitter?  It's because I have a God who loves me,  I can trust Him.  I have heaven to look forward to and believe me, as life gets hard, I look forward to being there more and more.
     Some might be totally appalled at what I said, some might have questions, some might think that it is great for me, but we all die and then what happens next?  What if I am right?  But it's too late to go back?  I don't want to be morbid but isn't it something we should all think about?  Choose to believe me or not but if something is true, it doesn't matter if you believe it or not, it is still true.  I choose to believe by faith, what Jesus said.  You can email me if you want.  My email address is my Facebook but better yet read the bible, start with the book of John and read it for yourself, don't take my word for it.  I'm just a girl, thinking about her friends, never wanting to think about what I should have said. Love to you all.