Faith on Fire: A Christ-centered Approach to Life in 2022

For those of you who have followed the blog for a while, you might have caught on that none of us at Rhubarb and Rubbish are real big fans of New Year’s resolutions. Why, might you ask? Well, it has taken us a while, but I think I am okay to speak for all of us in saying that we feel resolutions are somewhat antithetical to the Christian faith.

Let me explain a bit more. As a Christian, I have fully accepted that I am a sinner and powerless in and of myself to become sinless. I’m powerless to do better on my own. If I had the power, I wouldn’t need Jesus, now would I? But, since I know that I can’t change myself and that Jesus came and died as a “propitiation” for my sins, I can rest in that knowledge that through the Spirit I am made new each day.

Does this mean that we don’t have to work on areas of struggle or weakness in our lives? How do we tackle the areas of sin or struggle in our life without resolutions? Can’t I just will my way to weight loss, being on time, better budgeting, etc.? Sure you can, at least for a while. Unfortunately, the nature of sin is that unless it is surrendered to God, it keeps coming back. It might slowly creep in. It might take a somewhat different form? It might even come back as a world-approved attribute. Regardless, it comes back and often more potently than before…ask any alcoholic who has tried to stop drinking on their own without God’s help.

What’s the answer? Yep, you got it–Christ. Through Christ, we are made new (2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Cor. 4:16-17). Once we have accepted Jesus into our hearts and believe that He alone is our salvation, we become new creations in Him. However, we live in a fallen sinful world. A world in which Satan is hard at work trying to lure us away from our salvation by tempting us to turn back to our sin, rather than away from it. Our best defense? A Christ-centered life. A life of faith on fire, fueled by the truth and love of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ!

How to start? Open the Book of Life and get to know God and His story. The rest of this month will delve into other ways to support a Christ-centered, faith on fire life. Stay tuned!

Contributed by Liz Hunt