I Look for You
Solomon Ibn Gabirol wrote,
“In the morning I look for you, My rock and my tower, I lay my prayers before you, that day and night are in me.
Before your greatness, I stand, and am unnerved, because your eye will see the thoughts that are in me.
What is it that the heart or the tongue can do, and what power is there in the spirit that is in me?
But I know you are pleased with the songs that men make, and so I shall praise you while the divine soul is in me.”
I understand what the writer is saying here. The city where I live is surrounded with vineyards and orchards. In addition there is a natural beauty that is amazing.
As I look into nature I cannot believe all of this came by chance. Everything is perfectly designed to make life possible on this earth.
The bible tells us,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Psalm 19:1.
I at one time knew someone that was into mathematics he seen it as the perfect science. He seen the universe as being perfect from a mathematical prospective. He told me that somewhere there is one mathematical formula that can link all creation. Everything from the largest galaxy to the smallest parts of the atom.
As I a layman look at the world I agree with him. We may only have parts of that mathematical puzzle yet but given time and good science we will one day find the formula.
The principle reason I believe this is because I believe there is a God that created the heavens and the earth.
The bible makes it clear,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1.
The bible dose not leave the existence up to debate. It says clearly, “God created” end of debate.
Now I don’t claim that the Bible is a science book too many people have tried to read science into it. It may have a few things that relate to science, but it is not a pure book of science.
The bible is a book of theology. It is a book of relationships. It tells how God would have us relate to both God and our fellow man.
Above all it points our way to heaven. It’s that simple.
The bible from ancient times laid down a set of laws all civilized societies today live by the ten commandments.
In the New Testament it points clearly the way to heaven.
The way to heaven is I believe simple and open to anyone, and I mean anyone to follow.
It come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16,17.
To the word of Paul to the Romans,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23,24.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
John noting,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1 John 1:9,10.
Paul make it clear salvation is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8,9
Ultimately salvation is an act of faith, Hebrews stating,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”
Hebrews 11:6
Faith defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
What do you believe?
Think about it.
Friday, 17 April 2015
Thursday, 16 April 2015
Because
Because
Because...
“He (God) first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
I will...love God
Because...
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
I will...love God
Because...
Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another; as I have loved you,
that you also love one another.
By this shall all know that you are My disciples.
If you have love for one another.
John 13:34,35
I will...love my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Because...
Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you.”
Luke 6:27,28
I will...love my enemies.
Because...
The Bible says, “Love suffers long and is kind:
love does not envy; loves does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely, does not seek its own,
is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity,
but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things; believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
I Corinthians 13:4-7
I will...I will love.
Because...
The Bible says, “Now abides faith, hope and love,
these three;
but the greatest of these is love. 1
Corinthians 13:13
I will...Have faith in God..
For according to Ephesians 2:8,9:
“...by grace you have been saved through faith,
and not of yourselves;
it is a gift of God, not of works; lest anyone should boast.”
I have hope in Christ...
For
according to Romans 5:1,2:
“...having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our LORD Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have access by faith into this grace
which we stand, and rejoice in hope of glory of God.”
I have love...
For
Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40:
“...you shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Because of this and much more
I will love.
Scripture assembled by Neal W. with words fromthe apostles
Matthew, Luke, John & Paul
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
IS is not the first
IS is not the first.
T.H. White wrote
“There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was the chap to make it work. He tried to impose his reformation by the sword, and plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos. But the thing which this fellow had overlooked, my friend, was that he had a predecessor in the reformation business, called Jesus Christ. Perhaps we may assume that Jesus knew as much as the Austrian did about saving people. But the odd thing is that Jesus did not turn the disciples into Strom troopers, burn down the Temple at Jerusalem, and fix the blame on Pontius Pilate. On the contrary, he made it clear that the business of the philosopher was to make ideas available, and not to impose them on people.”
T.H. White, The Once and Future King.
As I look at terrorist groups around the world today I cringe in horror. Still they are not new. Tyrants throughout history have been trying to impose their will on people for centuries.
Hitler alone killed six million Jews and five million other people whom he looked down on or whom he disagreed with.
Hitler I am certain has had judgment past on him as will the leaders of IS and all terrorist groups around today.
Paradise is the one place these people will not be going.
What these people who lead terror organizations fail to see is history has taught that violence and intolerance only ends in destruction. Empires founded on violence have all fallen.
One man’s Kingdom however has not and his followers reach into every country, in every strata of society around the world. That Kingdom is God’s and Jesus is His one and only Son.
Jesus was sent to point the way to heaven. To die for the sins of each and every man, woman and child.
Jesus never raised a hand in anger even to the men that condemned him to die. In fact he called out from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Napoleon wrote of Jesus,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Today there are approximately two point two billion (2,200,000,000) Christians in the world. All won over by love.
IS and other terrorist groups have but a few million under their foot at this moment, and while like Hitler they may think they are building their version of the thousand year riche they are sadly mistaken.
If these people truly want to build heaven on earth they need to turn to Jesus and follow the path of love.
Jesus is recorded in the book of John giving the two options that are available to all men,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
John 3:16-18.
Killing innocent men women and children dose not lead to paradise Jesus does.
Please think about it.
T.H. White wrote
“There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was the chap to make it work. He tried to impose his reformation by the sword, and plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos. But the thing which this fellow had overlooked, my friend, was that he had a predecessor in the reformation business, called Jesus Christ. Perhaps we may assume that Jesus knew as much as the Austrian did about saving people. But the odd thing is that Jesus did not turn the disciples into Strom troopers, burn down the Temple at Jerusalem, and fix the blame on Pontius Pilate. On the contrary, he made it clear that the business of the philosopher was to make ideas available, and not to impose them on people.”
T.H. White, The Once and Future King.
As I look at terrorist groups around the world today I cringe in horror. Still they are not new. Tyrants throughout history have been trying to impose their will on people for centuries.
Hitler alone killed six million Jews and five million other people whom he looked down on or whom he disagreed with.
Hitler I am certain has had judgment past on him as will the leaders of IS and all terrorist groups around today.
Paradise is the one place these people will not be going.
What these people who lead terror organizations fail to see is history has taught that violence and intolerance only ends in destruction. Empires founded on violence have all fallen.
One man’s Kingdom however has not and his followers reach into every country, in every strata of society around the world. That Kingdom is God’s and Jesus is His one and only Son.
Jesus was sent to point the way to heaven. To die for the sins of each and every man, woman and child.
Jesus never raised a hand in anger even to the men that condemned him to die. In fact he called out from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Napoleon wrote of Jesus,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Today there are approximately two point two billion (2,200,000,000) Christians in the world. All won over by love.
IS and other terrorist groups have but a few million under their foot at this moment, and while like Hitler they may think they are building their version of the thousand year riche they are sadly mistaken.
If these people truly want to build heaven on earth they need to turn to Jesus and follow the path of love.
Jesus is recorded in the book of John giving the two options that are available to all men,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
John 3:16-18.
Killing innocent men women and children dose not lead to paradise Jesus does.
Please think about it.
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
I believe
I believe
It is the message we have for the world.
The apostle John who was with Jesus throughout his ministry recorded Jesus as saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:16-18.
Christians accept this statement on faith and we present it to all people everywhere to accept or reject.
Please think about it.
Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
The third day he rose again from the dead:
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
I believe in the Holy Ghost:
I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of the saints:
(that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places.)
The forgiveness of sins:
The resurrection of the body:
And the life everlasting. Amen.
The Apostles Creed while not written by the apostles of Jesus in brief states what I and all Christians believe.It is the message we have for the world.
The apostle John who was with Jesus throughout his ministry recorded Jesus as saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:16-18.
Christians accept this statement on faith and we present it to all people everywhere to accept or reject.
Please think about it.
Monday, 13 April 2015
About Jesus
About Jesus
“After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples
to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
Matthew 11:1-6.
Here while the apostles are carrying out their first mission John the Baptist now in prison sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah. Jesus answers,
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
All of these are signs of the Messiah. All are proof of the divinity of Christ.
How much more proof is needed with respect to Jesus. He was doing these miraculous things in front of people.
Things the scribes and pharisees of the day were not doing.
Jesus was showing He was Lord by everything he was doing. Then leaving it up to the individual to decide who he was.
The writers of the New Testament do not shy away from the fact Jesus performed miracles. That he claimed to be from God. That he was indeed the son of God.
Most of the writers of the New Testament were first hand witnesses to what Jesus said and did. The others most certainly spoke to those who walked and talked with Jesus.
All of these men believed the accounts and put it down in writing.
They believed he miraculously healed the sick.
The he is the Son of God.
That he died for our sins,
That he rose from the dead.
That walked on the earth for a while after his resurrection
That he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
Now to my mind there is only three possibilities here. These men were deceived by Jesus and others, or they are liars.
If it is deception and or lies, it would be the most monumental collection of deception and lies ever in history.
C. S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity put it like this,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Please think about it.
“After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples
to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
Matthew 11:1-6.
Here while the apostles are carrying out their first mission John the Baptist now in prison sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah. Jesus answers,
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
All of these are signs of the Messiah. All are proof of the divinity of Christ.
How much more proof is needed with respect to Jesus. He was doing these miraculous things in front of people.
Things the scribes and pharisees of the day were not doing.
Jesus was showing He was Lord by everything he was doing. Then leaving it up to the individual to decide who he was.
The writers of the New Testament do not shy away from the fact Jesus performed miracles. That he claimed to be from God. That he was indeed the son of God.
Most of the writers of the New Testament were first hand witnesses to what Jesus said and did. The others most certainly spoke to those who walked and talked with Jesus.
All of these men believed the accounts and put it down in writing.
They believed he miraculously healed the sick.
The he is the Son of God.
That he died for our sins,
That he rose from the dead.
That walked on the earth for a while after his resurrection
That he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
Now to my mind there is only three possibilities here. These men were deceived by Jesus and others, or they are liars.
If it is deception and or lies, it would be the most monumental collection of deception and lies ever in history.
C. S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity put it like this,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Please think about it.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
New Wine
New wine
“Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.
Neither do men pour new wine into old wine skins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wine skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine skins, and both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:14-17.
Here’s a quick explanation of this passage based on several commentaries I’ve read.
Basically here Jesus is comparing himself to the bride groom and he makes it clear that the guests of the bride groom, his disciples, his followers, do not fast while the bride groom is with them. They rejoice.
He goes on to note that “Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.”
He’s comparing his ministry to new wine.
In the time of Jesus wine was kept in goat skins. Old skins were already stretched to the maximum putting new grape juice into them would cause the old skins to burst as the as the new juice fermented and expanded spilling the wine.
Jesus is saying his ministry is a new ministry that can no longer be contained in the structure of Judaism.
His ministry is for the whole world. Not just Israel. Jesus saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
John 3:16-18
Up until this point in time while there were converts to Judaism, Judaism itself was not a religion that evangelized.
Now Jesus was changing all of that by taking the belief in the one true God to the whole world.
This is why Jesus came to take the salvation message. The Love of God to all the nations of the world.
The message of Christianity is this.
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."
John 1: 11-13
Christians ask people to believe by faith that Jesus is the one and only Son of God. That he came to this earth to save each and everyone who would have faith in Him.
True Christians will never force their faith on anyone. They will simply present their faith and let the individual decide for themselves. Which is what I have done here.
Please think about it.
“Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.
Neither do men pour new wine into old wine skins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wine skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine skins, and both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:14-17.
Here’s a quick explanation of this passage based on several commentaries I’ve read.
Basically here Jesus is comparing himself to the bride groom and he makes it clear that the guests of the bride groom, his disciples, his followers, do not fast while the bride groom is with them. They rejoice.
He goes on to note that “Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.”
He’s comparing his ministry to new wine.
In the time of Jesus wine was kept in goat skins. Old skins were already stretched to the maximum putting new grape juice into them would cause the old skins to burst as the as the new juice fermented and expanded spilling the wine.
Jesus is saying his ministry is a new ministry that can no longer be contained in the structure of Judaism.
His ministry is for the whole world. Not just Israel. Jesus saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
John 3:16-18
Up until this point in time while there were converts to Judaism, Judaism itself was not a religion that evangelized.
Now Jesus was changing all of that by taking the belief in the one true God to the whole world.
This is why Jesus came to take the salvation message. The Love of God to all the nations of the world.
The message of Christianity is this.
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."
John 1: 11-13
Christians ask people to believe by faith that Jesus is the one and only Son of God. That he came to this earth to save each and everyone who would have faith in Him.
True Christians will never force their faith on anyone. They will simply present their faith and let the individual decide for themselves. Which is what I have done here.
Please think about it.
Saturday, 11 April 2015
Why I am a Christian
Why I’m A Christian
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,...”
1 Peter 1:3,4
When people ask me why I’m a Christian it’s simple. I can’t believe that this world is all there is. I cannot believe that when this mortal body dies we just past to oblivion.
I believe that spark that we have that separates us from animals. Call it intelligence, the soul whatever. That part of your body that makes you, you, I believe is made to live forever.
That this world is just the beginning of a journey through eternity. I believe as the ancients did that what we do here affects what will happen to us in eternity.
I’ve looked around at other faiths and for me the only one that makes sense is Christianity.
Christianity requires an act of faith like all faiths. For many perhaps the hardest thing to put into practice. But there is a difference Christians believe in putting ones faith in Jesus Christ that we can attain eternal life in heaven the moment we believe in Christ. It gives assurances of eternal life for simple faith in Jesus Christ.
We don’t have to worry about having the good in our lives weighed against the bad in our lives when we stand before God.
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
C.S. Lewis
Christianity does call us to live as good and loving life as we can but it also recognizes that we are mortals, a long way from perfect.
Jesus said “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:16-18.
I know to many such a statement may seem perhaps overly simple or even arrogant on the part Jesus.
But I believe what he said.
I don’t believe that I could ever be good enough to stand before a holy God if I was left to my own devices.
I am human and I fall far short of what God wants for my life daily. Thus I truly believe I am in need of a saviour to pay the price for my short comings and that is exactly what Jesus did.
To the reader of this I would ask that you read the Bible carefully with an open mind and make your own conclusions.
I would challenge you to go to an evangelical church, perhaps a Baptist church or if you’re in Canada a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Church or in the United States an Assemblies of God church, and talk to the pastor.
Ask them questions about their faith. Ask them why they believe and what they believe.
Good honest pastors are always willing to meet with you and share their faith. So why not ask them to do so.
Think about it.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,...”
1 Peter 1:3,4
When people ask me why I’m a Christian it’s simple. I can’t believe that this world is all there is. I cannot believe that when this mortal body dies we just past to oblivion.
I believe that spark that we have that separates us from animals. Call it intelligence, the soul whatever. That part of your body that makes you, you, I believe is made to live forever.
That this world is just the beginning of a journey through eternity. I believe as the ancients did that what we do here affects what will happen to us in eternity.
I’ve looked around at other faiths and for me the only one that makes sense is Christianity.
Christianity requires an act of faith like all faiths. For many perhaps the hardest thing to put into practice. But there is a difference Christians believe in putting ones faith in Jesus Christ that we can attain eternal life in heaven the moment we believe in Christ. It gives assurances of eternal life for simple faith in Jesus Christ.
We don’t have to worry about having the good in our lives weighed against the bad in our lives when we stand before God.
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
C.S. Lewis
Christianity does call us to live as good and loving life as we can but it also recognizes that we are mortals, a long way from perfect.
Jesus said “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:16-18.
I know to many such a statement may seem perhaps overly simple or even arrogant on the part Jesus.
But I believe what he said.
I don’t believe that I could ever be good enough to stand before a holy God if I was left to my own devices.
I am human and I fall far short of what God wants for my life daily. Thus I truly believe I am in need of a saviour to pay the price for my short comings and that is exactly what Jesus did.
To the reader of this I would ask that you read the Bible carefully with an open mind and make your own conclusions.
I would challenge you to go to an evangelical church, perhaps a Baptist church or if you’re in Canada a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Church or in the United States an Assemblies of God church, and talk to the pastor.
Ask them questions about their faith. Ask them why they believe and what they believe.
Good honest pastors are always willing to meet with you and share their faith. So why not ask them to do so.
Think about it.
Friday, 10 April 2015
Why Christians Preach
Why Christians Preach
Why Christians Proselytize
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
1John 1:1-3
If you had what you deemed to be the most important thing in all of history, something that people must hear, wouldn’t you want to share it.
That is what we as Christians believe we have.
We have the way to salvation and eternal life. That being a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Here John makes that perfectly clear. Look carefully at what he has to say,
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.’
John and the other disciples actually lived with Jesus. They listened to his teachings and were completely convinced he was who he said he was the Son of God.
He notes that,
“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.”
John makes it clear that Jesus was with our Heavenly Father, God, and that he appeared to them in bodily form, Jesus.
John does not say Jesus may be the way or is one of many ways. He says he is the way to eternal life. He quotes Jesus as saying,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
He makes it clear why Christians are presenting their beliefs, saying,
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
John wants all the world to know that we all can have fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
He writes,
"Yet to all who received him(Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."
John 1:12,13
This is the message all true Christians want to present to the world.
Think about it.
Why Christians Proselytize
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
1John 1:1-3
If you had what you deemed to be the most important thing in all of history, something that people must hear, wouldn’t you want to share it.
That is what we as Christians believe we have.
We have the way to salvation and eternal life. That being a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Here John makes that perfectly clear. Look carefully at what he has to say,
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.’
John and the other disciples actually lived with Jesus. They listened to his teachings and were completely convinced he was who he said he was the Son of God.
He notes that,
“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.”
John makes it clear that Jesus was with our Heavenly Father, God, and that he appeared to them in bodily form, Jesus.
John does not say Jesus may be the way or is one of many ways. He says he is the way to eternal life. He quotes Jesus as saying,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
He makes it clear why Christians are presenting their beliefs, saying,
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
John wants all the world to know that we all can have fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
He writes,
"Yet to all who received him(Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."
John 1:12,13
This is the message all true Christians want to present to the world.
Think about it.
Thursday, 9 April 2015
The Love of Money
The Love of Money
“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:9,10.
Here is something that is a universal truth for both Christians and non-Christians.
Let me underscore here that being wealthy is not a sin. It’s “the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil.” It’s when we but the acquisition of money above all things that we can fall into folly.
Think of how many people over the years have fallen for get rich quick schemes. People who have been conned out of their life savings.
The people who are taking advantage of others by running the get rich quick schemes are themselves looking to get rich quick, by stealing the money of others.
Most get caught and end up in jail. Still there is always someone out their willing to help someone wanting to make a quick buck part with their money.
Lets face it being rich comes with prestige attached to it.
It supposedly give you time to enjoy life. But does it?
There are lots of stories of people who have won millions in lotteries only to blow through it in a few years leaving them worst off than they were before the win.
The apostle Paul notes,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
I’ve known lots of people over the years who almost live at work. They work and they work to get the money to get the good things in life, yet they can’t enjoy it. They have no time.
Conversely I know several people who are church mouse poor yet enjoy life to the fullest.
I’m reminded today of my sister-in-law Shirley who passed away not long ago.
She was indeed church mouse poor. She struggled with alcohol addiction but managed to remain sober for the last fifteen years of her life.
Still she never had a lot of money but she managed.
She was the kind of person that would give you the shirt of her back. She helped everyone.
She volunteered her time at church and with organization that helped the poor and those fighting alcohol addiction.
Shirley was one of the happiest people I have ever met. Yet most times she didn’t have a dime to her name.
People still come up to my wife and I saying how much they miss her and telling us of how she helped them.
Proof you don’t need to be rich to bring a little joy and happiness into someone’s life.
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19,20.
Think about it.
“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:9,10.
Here is something that is a universal truth for both Christians and non-Christians.
Let me underscore here that being wealthy is not a sin. It’s “the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil.” It’s when we but the acquisition of money above all things that we can fall into folly.
Think of how many people over the years have fallen for get rich quick schemes. People who have been conned out of their life savings.
The people who are taking advantage of others by running the get rich quick schemes are themselves looking to get rich quick, by stealing the money of others.
Most get caught and end up in jail. Still there is always someone out their willing to help someone wanting to make a quick buck part with their money.
Lets face it being rich comes with prestige attached to it.
It supposedly give you time to enjoy life. But does it?
There are lots of stories of people who have won millions in lotteries only to blow through it in a few years leaving them worst off than they were before the win.
The apostle Paul notes,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
I’ve known lots of people over the years who almost live at work. They work and they work to get the money to get the good things in life, yet they can’t enjoy it. They have no time.
Conversely I know several people who are church mouse poor yet enjoy life to the fullest.
I’m reminded today of my sister-in-law Shirley who passed away not long ago.
She was indeed church mouse poor. She struggled with alcohol addiction but managed to remain sober for the last fifteen years of her life.
Still she never had a lot of money but she managed.
She was the kind of person that would give you the shirt of her back. She helped everyone.
She volunteered her time at church and with organization that helped the poor and those fighting alcohol addiction.
Shirley was one of the happiest people I have ever met. Yet most times she didn’t have a dime to her name.
People still come up to my wife and I saying how much they miss her and telling us of how she helped them.
Proof you don’t need to be rich to bring a little joy and happiness into someone’s life.
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19,20.
Think about it.
Wednesday, 8 April 2015
God is Real
God is real
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Genesis 1:1,2
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
John 1:1-3.
The things I have written in this blog and others are Christian truths that can be used by Christian and non-Christian alike.
They speak of the teachings of Jesus what he claimed to be and what he called Christians to do.
I believe much of this proves God exists. Still I know the sceptic will say God does not exist.
M. E Anders in his book 30 days to understanding the Christian life 1994 published by T. Nelson states,
"The Bible offers itself as the source of truth. The Bible presents itself as the great, cosmic “instrument panel.” It tells us where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. It is up to us to decide whether we accept the “readings” we get from it.
The Bible does not defend itself. It was written to people who accepted its message and therefore spends little time convincing its readers of its authenticity. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Bible does not need to be defended any more than a caged lion needs to be defended. All we need to do is let it out of its cage, and it will defend itself.”
The fundamental assertion that the Bible makes concerning itself is that, in spite of the human collaboration in the writing of it, the Bible is a revelation of God to man, it was written without error, and it can be trusted to reveal truth to us regarding God, man, life, and death....
God is not to be found in the laboratory. He cannot be proved. But then, love is not to be found in the laboratory. Neither is courage, nor longing, nor hope.
God is to be found in the courtroom. While data cannot be garnered to prove His existence, evidence can be amassed to demonstrate the probability of His existence. There is a gap between the probable and the proved. But then, few things can be proved to the unbelieving mind. Unbelief never has enough proof.”
M. E Anders
Dear reader do you believe in God. Ultimately it comes down to looking at the evidence as one would in a court. There may be no hard forensic evidence.
There is however a very strong circumstantial case.
Ultimately however it comes down to an act of faith
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
Please think about it.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Genesis 1:1,2
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
John 1:1-3.
The things I have written in this blog and others are Christian truths that can be used by Christian and non-Christian alike.
They speak of the teachings of Jesus what he claimed to be and what he called Christians to do.
I believe much of this proves God exists. Still I know the sceptic will say God does not exist.
M. E Anders in his book 30 days to understanding the Christian life 1994 published by T. Nelson states,
"The Bible offers itself as the source of truth. The Bible presents itself as the great, cosmic “instrument panel.” It tells us where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. It is up to us to decide whether we accept the “readings” we get from it.
The Bible does not defend itself. It was written to people who accepted its message and therefore spends little time convincing its readers of its authenticity. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Bible does not need to be defended any more than a caged lion needs to be defended. All we need to do is let it out of its cage, and it will defend itself.”
The fundamental assertion that the Bible makes concerning itself is that, in spite of the human collaboration in the writing of it, the Bible is a revelation of God to man, it was written without error, and it can be trusted to reveal truth to us regarding God, man, life, and death....
God is not to be found in the laboratory. He cannot be proved. But then, love is not to be found in the laboratory. Neither is courage, nor longing, nor hope.
God is to be found in the courtroom. While data cannot be garnered to prove His existence, evidence can be amassed to demonstrate the probability of His existence. There is a gap between the probable and the proved. But then, few things can be proved to the unbelieving mind. Unbelief never has enough proof.”
M. E Anders
Dear reader do you believe in God. Ultimately it comes down to looking at the evidence as one would in a court. There may be no hard forensic evidence.
There is however a very strong circumstantial case.
Ultimately however it comes down to an act of faith
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
Please think about it.
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Jesus is God
Jesus is God
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“Beware lest anyone cheats you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Colossians 2:8,9.
While this was written to Christians it makes clear who we Christians believe Jesus is. He is God.
Many people do not believe that Jesus is God. They believe that he is only a good moral teacher. While he taught high moral values. Jesus is not just a man.
It is a foundational belief in Christianity that Jesus is God. Second person of the Trinity a concept that is difficult to understand and I must admit takes faith.
C. S. Lewis writing in his book Mere Christianity put it this way,
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level of a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity
Jesus in his day was looked upon by the teachers of the law not only as a rival to their authority but they called him a blasphemer claiming to be God.
His claim to be God is not hidden in the scriptures. It is out front for all who reads them to see.
What it comes down to is do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God the second person of the Trinity equal in every way to God or not.
If he is not the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind then Christians have nothing to fear for in following his teachings we are living good moral lives.
If however Jesus is all He said He is and all Christians believe him to be, then those who do not believe he is the Son of God have a lot to worry about.
Jesus made things very clear when he said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:16-18
The decision as to who Jesus is, is entirely up to you the reader.
Please think about it.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“Beware lest anyone cheats you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Colossians 2:8,9.
While this was written to Christians it makes clear who we Christians believe Jesus is. He is God.
Many people do not believe that Jesus is God. They believe that he is only a good moral teacher. While he taught high moral values. Jesus is not just a man.
It is a foundational belief in Christianity that Jesus is God. Second person of the Trinity a concept that is difficult to understand and I must admit takes faith.
C. S. Lewis writing in his book Mere Christianity put it this way,
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level of a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity
Jesus in his day was looked upon by the teachers of the law not only as a rival to their authority but they called him a blasphemer claiming to be God.
His claim to be God is not hidden in the scriptures. It is out front for all who reads them to see.
What it comes down to is do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God the second person of the Trinity equal in every way to God or not.
If he is not the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind then Christians have nothing to fear for in following his teachings we are living good moral lives.
If however Jesus is all He said He is and all Christians believe him to be, then those who do not believe he is the Son of God have a lot to worry about.
Jesus made things very clear when he said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:16-18
The decision as to who Jesus is, is entirely up to you the reader.
Please think about it.
Monday, 6 April 2015
The Way to Heaven
The Way to Heaven
Over the past weekend we have just come through Easter celebrations. From Good Friday to Easter Sunday. The most Holy days on the Christian Calender.
It is at Easter when we Christians believe Christ died for our sins that we through His shed blood may enter the Kingdom of Heaven and inherit eternal life.
The following is what I as a Christian believe we need to do in brief, to inherit eternal life.
I’d like you the reader to at least think about it.
The way to heaven is I believe simple and open to anyone, and I mean anyone to follow.
It come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for.
First of all it is an act of faith. Faith defined by the writer of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
The writer going on to say,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”
Hebrews 11:6
The Apostle Paul make it clear salvation and the eternal life it brings is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8,9
Salvation come from God to man. It is God in love reaching down to mankind. The apostle John writing,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16,17.
When asked the way to heaven,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23,24.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for your life. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
The Apostle John noting,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1 John 1:9,10.
Simply put salvation and eternal life with God comes through accepting Jesus as God’s one and only Son. Believing that he came to die for our sins. Confessing in prayer our sins directly to God accepting that forgiveness. And letting Christ into our hearts and mind.
The prayer for forgiveness is as simple as talking to God as though he were standing in front of you. You can simply say,
Dear Heavenly Father.
I recognize that I am a sinner and fall short of what you would have for my life. I accept that Jesus Christ is your one and only Son. That he died for my sins. Please forgive me.
Dear Jesus
I accept you this day as my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my life and this day and direct me in the paths of rightiousness. Help me to live each day for you.
Amen.
If you truly accepted Jesus into your life then I would suggest you start reading the Bible. Start in the new Testament praying and asking God to show you the truths there in.
The next thing I would advise is to find a bible believing Church. But be careful when it comes to Churches there are some that do not follow the bible correctly.
What I advise is again pray and ask God to direct you to a Church. I recommend Baptist Churches most places in the world. They have their roots deep in the Bible. In North America where I live I also recommend the Assemblies of God in the United States, and The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada in Canada. These are good solid Bible believing churches.
Also remember that each church congregation has its own personality. So if the one you go to initially is not to your liking try others until you feel comfortable.
Remember also that it fine to be nervous when entering a church for the first time but most good churches will have someone to greet you and say a few kind words.
It is also permissible to ask questions of the pastor if you don’t understand things. In larger churches you may have to arrange an appointment but in most smaller churches the pastors will usually take time to speak with you.
If they don’t have time for you even after making an appointment or they don’t answer your questions perhaps that is not the place for you. You may need to find another church.
Either way I would ask that you have patients and look around until you’ve found one that is to your liking.
Think about it.
Over the past weekend we have just come through Easter celebrations. From Good Friday to Easter Sunday. The most Holy days on the Christian Calender.
It is at Easter when we Christians believe Christ died for our sins that we through His shed blood may enter the Kingdom of Heaven and inherit eternal life.
The following is what I as a Christian believe we need to do in brief, to inherit eternal life.
I’d like you the reader to at least think about it.
The way to heaven is I believe simple and open to anyone, and I mean anyone to follow.
It come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for.
First of all it is an act of faith. Faith defined by the writer of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
The writer going on to say,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”
Hebrews 11:6
The Apostle Paul make it clear salvation and the eternal life it brings is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8,9
Salvation come from God to man. It is God in love reaching down to mankind. The apostle John writing,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16,17.
When asked the way to heaven,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23,24.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for your life. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
The Apostle John noting,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1 John 1:9,10.
Simply put salvation and eternal life with God comes through accepting Jesus as God’s one and only Son. Believing that he came to die for our sins. Confessing in prayer our sins directly to God accepting that forgiveness. And letting Christ into our hearts and mind.
The prayer for forgiveness is as simple as talking to God as though he were standing in front of you. You can simply say,
Dear Heavenly Father.
I recognize that I am a sinner and fall short of what you would have for my life. I accept that Jesus Christ is your one and only Son. That he died for my sins. Please forgive me.
Dear Jesus
I accept you this day as my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my life and this day and direct me in the paths of rightiousness. Help me to live each day for you.
Amen.
If you truly accepted Jesus into your life then I would suggest you start reading the Bible. Start in the new Testament praying and asking God to show you the truths there in.
The next thing I would advise is to find a bible believing Church. But be careful when it comes to Churches there are some that do not follow the bible correctly.
What I advise is again pray and ask God to direct you to a Church. I recommend Baptist Churches most places in the world. They have their roots deep in the Bible. In North America where I live I also recommend the Assemblies of God in the United States, and The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada in Canada. These are good solid Bible believing churches.
Also remember that each church congregation has its own personality. So if the one you go to initially is not to your liking try others until you feel comfortable.
Remember also that it fine to be nervous when entering a church for the first time but most good churches will have someone to greet you and say a few kind words.
It is also permissible to ask questions of the pastor if you don’t understand things. In larger churches you may have to arrange an appointment but in most smaller churches the pastors will usually take time to speak with you.
If they don’t have time for you even after making an appointment or they don’t answer your questions perhaps that is not the place for you. You may need to find another church.
Either way I would ask that you have patients and look around until you’ve found one that is to your liking.
Think about it.
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