I say I rediscovered Christianity two years ago, but the truth is, I am still rediscovering it. This new version of Christianity that God is teaching me takes a different approach. He said, "You already know the theory, now let’s have a practical lesson."

He started me off in a place where, once I called on Him, He would answer. I would pray for things, and they would go the way I wanted or even better. I could sense Him moving around me, working things out for me. Even in my pain, His comfort was readily felt, and everything was okay because I could constantly feel that He was there with me. Because of that, I could easily say, "God is my everything," or "God is always there for me." But when all the niceness stopped and things started not going as smoothly, I felt lost and confused. Why was God not minding me anymore? At that moment, turning to other things for comfort was very easy because I could no longer "feel" God. I would binge-watch comedy sitcoms because they made me laugh, or I would continually go out with friends because it made me not feel alone. I would spend hours on social media because that noise "filled" me. Slowly, the little things that I found comfort in were either not enough or were taken away from me. God put me in a place where I had to choose Him again, regardless of whether I was getting my way or if I "felt" Him like before. A place where I knew that, "If not Him, who or what again?" Through this, He made me practically experience true Christianity.

What is true Christianity? I went to a conference one Saturday, and the speaker brought up something fascinating. She spoke about Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego and referred to what they said when Nebuchadnezzar gave them another chance to either bow to the golden statue or be thrown into the furnace. They responded by saying, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up" (Daniel 3:17-18). Did you catch that? They said, "But even if He doesn’t... we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." Just like that, these three defined true Christianity. They recognized God's power, they knew He could do anything for them, but they chose to stand by Him not just for what He could do for them. They were ready to stand by Him even if He didn't do what they wanted. They chose God simply because He was God and deserved respect, praise, worship, and honor above anything else. It didn’t even matter to them that they were staring death in the face. They put aside the life they were living, a life where they had privileges from King Nebuchadnezzar, and they chose God.

True Christianity is making the choice to be with God and cling to Him, no matter what is going on, regardless of whether He gives us what we want or not, regardless of whether we even feel like it. It is falling in love with Him for who He is and not just for what He can give us. It is trusting Him to the point that even with death staring us in the face, we will still choose God. It sounds scary, right? Well, it is the reality.

I think practicing true Christianity starts as a choice, but eventually, the choice becomes automatic because you recognize the facts within your choice. You realize you cannot gain true happiness, peace, or satisfaction from the world because God is the peace, He is the happiness, He is our satisfaction. You come to accept that the world may have "a way" of doing things to get this or that, but it can never be better than God’s way. You come to know that He is God, not a man who will lie to us or betray us, but love us and treat us with care and gentleness at every point in time. Even in your pain, you’ll remember these things. Even when things seem silent and you feel like seeking comfort from other things, it will always be at the back of your mind that "This thing wouldn’t satisfy me." But even in those moments when you know the other things you run to instead of God are not worth it, you still have to choose God. Thinking it is one thing, but acting on it is another. That’s why in Luke 9:23, Jesus told the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me." It is a decision you have to make daily, regardless of what may be going on, regardless of how you feel, regardless of what the world says.

Understanding these things made me understand what God expected from me if I claimed to be a Christian, if I claimed to be His follower. Even though I choose to make this choice every day to be a true Christian, I know the journey isn’t easy, but I also know that there’s truly nothing better outside of this true Christian life. I hope this message doesn’t scare you away but opens you up to embrace the lifestyle that is true Christianity.