Many of the individuals I see are Christian but have bought into the great “LIE” of Satan. The lie being that we can server the Lord while living like the culture. You asked what makes a person a Christian. The scriptures make it clear that the individual that confesses with his mouth and believes in his heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9-10.
We need to make ourselves available to any and all that we run into because we never know when the Holy Spirit will use us as a conduit for God's love.
we are all one bad decision away from wearing prison garb
That’s a humbling thought and oh so true. We must be ever-vigilant against the devil. Sometimes I think he works a lot harder than we do.