Running The Race To Finish Well (part 1)

by Jose Barajas

Being raised in a Catholic home meant that I was baptized as a child, and would take classes that prepared me for my first communion. Two things that have always struck me as being odd about the ceremonies I went through are A, baptizing a child goes against what scripture teaches us and B, my first communion was performed by a Spanish speaking priest. As a Hispanic family you would think nothing about it, except that I was raised to speak English not Spanish. So as you can guess I was clueless of what the Spanish priest was saying.  For all I know, I confessed to committing adultery and murder. 

All this to say, I don’t believe my sins were ever absolved or forgiven, because my heart was not really into it. Truth is, I know for a fact I was not changed. It never ceases to amaze me how many have, and still do, fall into the same trap of man’s traditions when it comes to confessing their sins. Yet they are never truly believed nor repented of their sins. I, of course, speak from experience and not just from the time I was a Catholic.

Born Faith

 

by Jose Barajas

I have seven brothers and two sisters, as I have stated in the past. My parents are Mexican who were both born in Mexico. All of us, with the exception of my little brother, were born in Mexico. The fact that my little brother was born in America, makes him an American citizen, but he is still Mexican. After years of us living in the United States, some of my brothers, a sister, and both my parents received their citizenship and became American citizens, but they are still and will always be Mexican. Regardless of what our citizenship may be, we are what race, or nationality we were born into, and nothing we do can change that.

The book of Romans, written by the apostle Paul, is one of the great books in the Bible, and one of my favorites. There is what is called the Roman road of salvation when one is sharing the gospel of Jesus, and I want to focus on what Romans is truly teaching here. Let’s look at what Paul writes in Romans three twenty three, 

Infomercial Theology

by Jose Barajas

“When we go to sleep, the TV is left on as my wife likes to have the sound on as it soothes her. On my side of family, we have this sleep power; (I’m joking as there is no such thing) in that we can sleep anywhere and instantly and that drives my wife mad, but that’s why I don’t mind the TV being on. I do wake up a few times during the night and I hear the informercials that I’m sure we all have seen or heard. They’re all the same, regardless of the product being sold, as they have an energetic host who is an expert in using what they’re selling. They make the items they’re selling seem so easy to use and that we can do all things. You can cook full course meals, clean your house, or repair everything in your house, all so easily and instantly. People buy them and get them and then they sit in their cupboards or closets as they don’t work, or never take the time to use them correctly, or they were just bought at a whim.