I wrote a little while back about Jesus being "the way" and not "a way". I want to revisit that, because I love the way it was put by a man interviewed in the "Case for Faith" video by Lee Strobel: "Jesus is the only way because he's the only one who solved the problem."
Absolutely. Wait, what problem?
The problem of sin. In other words, not doing what God wants us to do -- not living up to his standards. Heck, we don't even live up to our own standards of how we want to be, let alone God's much higher ones. That's not just something we pull out of the Bible, its obvious in our daily lives. We have innate feelings about what is right and what is wrong in many situations. Often we want to do what we know is the right thing, yet we choose to do the wrong thing anyway and then we feel bad about it. Sometimes we purposefully choose the wrong thing and think we are happy about that choice, but we still know we chose the wrong thing.
That's one aspect of sin, and its our biggest problem.
Why? Well, look what it does. It wrecks relationships. When we choose to do the wrong thing, we hurt people directly or indirectly, and the relationships with the people we've hurt are weakened or destroyed completely. Maybe we think we don't care about those relationships. That's an excuse, because if we look deep down, we all know that we should care about other people because it is right to do so.
Not only does sin wreck our relationship with each other, it wrecks our relationship with God.
To see this pretty easily whether you believe the Bible or not, just think of it from a parent/child point of view. Jamie and I are parents. We're bigger and stronger and wiser than our kids. We're in charge of the home, not the kids. So say one girls starts doing something they know inside is wrong and ends up hurting the other. Do you think we're going to let that slide? Heck no. Is everything just peachy keen between my girls and I at home at that time? Heck no. She's busted and goes to timeout at a minimum. There has to be justice.
Now, here's the kicker. There's no external action she can take to fix it. Being nice for the rest of the day won't do it. Making me cookies won't do it, despite how much I like cookies. Excusing her actions and arguing about it certainly won't do it. No, the relationship is only good to go again when she realizes she's done wrong and fesses up to it -- and then I as a parent, out of love, extend forgiveness to her. Justice gives way to mercy.
And so it is with us and God. But that's where the analogy ends. Take what we have as parents -- standards, just consequences for violating them, love, mercy, forgiveness, and so on -- and extend them out to infinity. Now what do you have? You have a perfect God with perfect standards who is perfectly just and perfectly merciful. That's another problem from one point of view. You've got the perfect justice of God who will in the end punish all wrongdoers -- and we are all wrongdoers. And you've got the perfect mercy of God who will forgive all wrongdoers who come to him in repentance -- humbly recognizing their state as sinners who cannot be right with him on their own terms, desiring to turning away from their sins to him and receive forgiveness.
How do you resolve these two opposing traits of perfect justice and perfect mercy? We can't, but God can. That's where Jesus comes in. He is God become a man, the God-man if you will -- come to earth to die on a cross as a payment for our sins. In other words, he didn't just experience the physical pain of crucifixion itself -- he bore the full weight of the punishment for all our sins himself. In one act he satisfied the perfect justice of God and showed us the perfect mercy of God. No man could ever do anything that, so God took care of it himself.
That is why Jesus is the one who solved the problem, and the only one who ever could solve it. That is why Jesus is the only name under heaven by which men can be saved. That is why we all need to turn to him, trust in him, and ask him to come live in us and change us from the inside out.
Grace and Peace
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Division In The Body
Regarding the Bible, does every passage have one intended meaning? Yes. Is there one absolute truth? Yes.
However, we, as mere humans, interpret all input, period. To deny that is a lie. We interpret what we read, hear, feel, think, and so on, through the lens of our own experiences, cultural background, prior understanding of words and ideas, assumptions made beforehand about the input, etc.
That interpretation, that we all do whether we admit it or not, includes the reading of scripture. Some claim that you can do a "pure literal reading" of scripture. You cannot. You bring baggage into it. Many people claim to just "read the text" and that it has been illuminated by the Holy Spirit, yet across those many people, they do not come to the same conclusions on a myriad of points. That is because we often make a mistake thinking that our own understanding is actually the Holy Spirit's intent. When we go there, we of course think we are absolutely right, and everyone else who doesn't agree is, therefore, wrong.
Look at the different opinions about end times. Pre-trib this and post-trib that. At least four major categories if I remember regarding the timing of the rapture and the reign of Christ. People brought baggage with them to come up with those different views as well. Again, they cannot all be right. They may all be wrong, but they cannot all be right.
So what is to be done about it? Well, we can try to learn to do better exegesis and also recognize how our prejudice's and assumptions are influencing our reading of the Bible. That takes some dedication and a measure of humility. But, even doing that as best and prayerfully as we can, in the end, many will still disagree on many things -- each thinking he is right and others are not. Maybe not on all points, but on some.
Hence, division. Disagreements are fine, but when we take them personally, they become points of contention. We argue and then split over non-essential issues. To be clear, I'm not talking about splits because a group intentionally twists the Word of God for their own agenda, or groups led by wolves who want to fleece God's flock, or any such thing. I'm talking about splits between genuine followers of Jesus Christ over things that, while possibly interesting, have no bearing on who Jesus is or what he did for us on the cross -- such as the age of the earth, mode of baptism, the sovereignty of God versus man's choice in salvation, church structure, etc. We can all think what we want about these things, but they have nothing to do with Christ crucified, coming to him in faith, or being transformed by him.
Division in the body is not a "I hold the absolute truth of the Bible and you don't" issue, despite those who really do think they hold the absolute truth of the Bible and everyone else is off in the weeds. No, much division comes from the honest differences of opinion of godly, but flawed, people each seeking to keep to what God's Word says -- people that, while divided on minor issues, can remain united in their faith in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and treat each other with, above all, love.
Grace and Peace
However, we, as mere humans, interpret all input, period. To deny that is a lie. We interpret what we read, hear, feel, think, and so on, through the lens of our own experiences, cultural background, prior understanding of words and ideas, assumptions made beforehand about the input, etc.
That interpretation, that we all do whether we admit it or not, includes the reading of scripture. Some claim that you can do a "pure literal reading" of scripture. You cannot. You bring baggage into it. Many people claim to just "read the text" and that it has been illuminated by the Holy Spirit, yet across those many people, they do not come to the same conclusions on a myriad of points. That is because we often make a mistake thinking that our own understanding is actually the Holy Spirit's intent. When we go there, we of course think we are absolutely right, and everyone else who doesn't agree is, therefore, wrong.
Look at the different opinions about end times. Pre-trib this and post-trib that. At least four major categories if I remember regarding the timing of the rapture and the reign of Christ. People brought baggage with them to come up with those different views as well. Again, they cannot all be right. They may all be wrong, but they cannot all be right.
So what is to be done about it? Well, we can try to learn to do better exegesis and also recognize how our prejudice's and assumptions are influencing our reading of the Bible. That takes some dedication and a measure of humility. But, even doing that as best and prayerfully as we can, in the end, many will still disagree on many things -- each thinking he is right and others are not. Maybe not on all points, but on some.
Hence, division. Disagreements are fine, but when we take them personally, they become points of contention. We argue and then split over non-essential issues. To be clear, I'm not talking about splits because a group intentionally twists the Word of God for their own agenda, or groups led by wolves who want to fleece God's flock, or any such thing. I'm talking about splits between genuine followers of Jesus Christ over things that, while possibly interesting, have no bearing on who Jesus is or what he did for us on the cross -- such as the age of the earth, mode of baptism, the sovereignty of God versus man's choice in salvation, church structure, etc. We can all think what we want about these things, but they have nothing to do with Christ crucified, coming to him in faith, or being transformed by him.
Division in the body is not a "I hold the absolute truth of the Bible and you don't" issue, despite those who really do think they hold the absolute truth of the Bible and everyone else is off in the weeds. No, much division comes from the honest differences of opinion of godly, but flawed, people each seeking to keep to what God's Word says -- people that, while divided on minor issues, can remain united in their faith in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and treat each other with, above all, love.
Grace and Peace
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
God And Suffering?
Life is very hard at times, but God’s got our back.
God loves us. Don’t be fooled into thinking that God is not loving because of the trials we face. What parent does not allow their child to suffer a little to prepare him for what is to come? A young child does not understand why a doctor gives him a painful shot, yet it is for his own good. It is the same with the suffering that God allows us to experience. We don’t understand it at the time – and maybe we never will in this age. We just need to trust, just like a child, that God knows what he is doing when he allows us to face difficulty and pain in life.
God gets our pain. Whatever pain we may be going through, God understands it. The fullness of God dwelt in his Son Jesus Christ. He endured hunger, thirst, temptation, shame, persecution, nakedness, bereavement, betrayal, mockery, injustice, and death. On top of that, he also bore God’s wrath against sin on the cross so that we don’t have to face it ourselves. That is the ultimate in suffering! God doesn’t just understand our suffering from a distance; he experienced more of it firsthand than we ever will, and He knows deeply about whatever it is we face in life.
God gives us hope. Man’s abuse of the free choice God gave us – sin – brought, and continues to bring, suffering in this world, which in turn lets us see and experience the horrible effects of sin. But there is immeasurable hope to be found in the cross of Jesus Christ. He conquered sin and death, and, as God’s eternal Son, he’s the only one capable of doing so. Through Christ, God gives us a way to be free from the power of sin in our lives today and free from the presence of sin in the world to come. Apart from Christ, there is no hope.
God shows us grace. Really we deserve nothing from God. We’re His creatures, and we’re sinners who fall short of His glory. We deserve nothing, yet, despite whatever pain is in our lives in this age, we still have life and breath and many other good things. We deserve nothing, yet we will have everlasting joy if we are in Christ. That begins with sincerely admitting we are sinners incapable of saving ourselves, truly believing Jesus Christ died on the cross as payment for our sins, and really choosing to turn away from our sin and follow Him.
He lives, he loves, he understands, and he offers the greatest gift in the world, free of charge. God rocks.
Grace and Peace
God loves us. Don’t be fooled into thinking that God is not loving because of the trials we face. What parent does not allow their child to suffer a little to prepare him for what is to come? A young child does not understand why a doctor gives him a painful shot, yet it is for his own good. It is the same with the suffering that God allows us to experience. We don’t understand it at the time – and maybe we never will in this age. We just need to trust, just like a child, that God knows what he is doing when he allows us to face difficulty and pain in life.
God gets our pain. Whatever pain we may be going through, God understands it. The fullness of God dwelt in his Son Jesus Christ. He endured hunger, thirst, temptation, shame, persecution, nakedness, bereavement, betrayal, mockery, injustice, and death. On top of that, he also bore God’s wrath against sin on the cross so that we don’t have to face it ourselves. That is the ultimate in suffering! God doesn’t just understand our suffering from a distance; he experienced more of it firsthand than we ever will, and He knows deeply about whatever it is we face in life.
God gives us hope. Man’s abuse of the free choice God gave us – sin – brought, and continues to bring, suffering in this world, which in turn lets us see and experience the horrible effects of sin. But there is immeasurable hope to be found in the cross of Jesus Christ. He conquered sin and death, and, as God’s eternal Son, he’s the only one capable of doing so. Through Christ, God gives us a way to be free from the power of sin in our lives today and free from the presence of sin in the world to come. Apart from Christ, there is no hope.
God shows us grace. Really we deserve nothing from God. We’re His creatures, and we’re sinners who fall short of His glory. We deserve nothing, yet, despite whatever pain is in our lives in this age, we still have life and breath and many other good things. We deserve nothing, yet we will have everlasting joy if we are in Christ. That begins with sincerely admitting we are sinners incapable of saving ourselves, truly believing Jesus Christ died on the cross as payment for our sins, and really choosing to turn away from our sin and follow Him.
He lives, he loves, he understands, and he offers the greatest gift in the world, free of charge. God rocks.
Grace and Peace
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Way
Props to Brian Broderson for his exposition on John 14:6 that led to this post.
There are plenty of destinations in which there is only one way to get there. Heaven is one of them, for Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He didn't say "a way," he said "the way," period.
Now this idea that Jesus is the only way to heaven makes a lot of people mad. Many think Christians are narrow minded for believing this. Well, then, I suppose we are. If being open minded means denying what the Bible says or not believing it, then narrow minded is the correct choice. But let's at least give a good reason for that choice instead of reiterating the bold statement and leaving it there, as if we're trying to exclude people from God's kingdom.
Look at the history side of it. Jesus isn't just some fast talking carpenter dude who showed up 2000 years ago and said "hey everybody, jump on my bandwagon." No way. He came in fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy prior to being born on earth, and he came for a specific purpose.
With that in mind, go all the way back the beginning, to the first man and woman. God created mankind to be in fellowship with him. He gave that first pair of people a specific command to follow, told them the consequences of disobeying, and they blew it. That's the sort of thing that happens when you give people choice instead of making them robots. So this one act brought sin into the world and sin brought death into the world. No worries, God promised a redeemer who would come and deal with this quite large problem. The Biblical record shows the line of that redeemer get narrowed down to Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Judah, and king David. Years later, Jesus, of the line of David, is born on earth. He is the redeemer promised to the first man and woman so long ago.
What about his purpose in coming? That first pair of people sinned. That's bad. Fellowship with God was broken. They felt shame for their sin, as shown by their reaction to their nakedness that they hadn't noticed before. They attempted to cover their shame with sewed together leaves, but that wouldn't do. God instead clothed them with the skins of animals, showing that blood had to be shed to cover sin. That theme of atonement for sin wove its way into so many ancient cultures in different ways for so long until foolish philosophies like atheism showed up. Why? Because it goes all the way back to the first man and woman. Its wired in us. In the line of people from which our redeemer was to come, there was a priesthood setup where animals were sacrificed to cover the sins of the people so the could be in fellowship with God -- a lesson to show that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. The final act of atonement took place when Jesus, God incarnate, willingly gave his life up on the cross.
This is why there is one way. Jesus, and only Jesus, is the one and only promised redeemer who dealt with sin himself, restoring our fellowship with God. Through him, all can be saved, and those who come to him in repentance, are.
Grace and Peace
There are plenty of destinations in which there is only one way to get there. Heaven is one of them, for Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He didn't say "a way," he said "the way," period.
Now this idea that Jesus is the only way to heaven makes a lot of people mad. Many think Christians are narrow minded for believing this. Well, then, I suppose we are. If being open minded means denying what the Bible says or not believing it, then narrow minded is the correct choice. But let's at least give a good reason for that choice instead of reiterating the bold statement and leaving it there, as if we're trying to exclude people from God's kingdom.
Look at the history side of it. Jesus isn't just some fast talking carpenter dude who showed up 2000 years ago and said "hey everybody, jump on my bandwagon." No way. He came in fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy prior to being born on earth, and he came for a specific purpose.
With that in mind, go all the way back the beginning, to the first man and woman. God created mankind to be in fellowship with him. He gave that first pair of people a specific command to follow, told them the consequences of disobeying, and they blew it. That's the sort of thing that happens when you give people choice instead of making them robots. So this one act brought sin into the world and sin brought death into the world. No worries, God promised a redeemer who would come and deal with this quite large problem. The Biblical record shows the line of that redeemer get narrowed down to Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Judah, and king David. Years later, Jesus, of the line of David, is born on earth. He is the redeemer promised to the first man and woman so long ago.
What about his purpose in coming? That first pair of people sinned. That's bad. Fellowship with God was broken. They felt shame for their sin, as shown by their reaction to their nakedness that they hadn't noticed before. They attempted to cover their shame with sewed together leaves, but that wouldn't do. God instead clothed them with the skins of animals, showing that blood had to be shed to cover sin. That theme of atonement for sin wove its way into so many ancient cultures in different ways for so long until foolish philosophies like atheism showed up. Why? Because it goes all the way back to the first man and woman. Its wired in us. In the line of people from which our redeemer was to come, there was a priesthood setup where animals were sacrificed to cover the sins of the people so the could be in fellowship with God -- a lesson to show that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. The final act of atonement took place when Jesus, God incarnate, willingly gave his life up on the cross.
This is why there is one way. Jesus, and only Jesus, is the one and only promised redeemer who dealt with sin himself, restoring our fellowship with God. Through him, all can be saved, and those who come to him in repentance, are.
Grace and Peace
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Story Of My Life
I've shared the story of what God has done in my life with various people, but I want everyone who happens across this to know the saving power of Christ. This is the story of my life from childhood until this moment.
I grew up going to a church that taught things not found in the pages of the Bible. I went to service. I went to Sunday school. I memorized prayers. I learned some of the stories from the Bible. But I never really got it. Church was stuffy and boring. I didn't feel the love of God when I went there, and as I reached my teenage years, I just stopped going. I walked away with the idea in the back of my mind that there's a God and all you need to do to be with him in heaven one day is lead a “good” life.
Boy was I wrong, I just didn't know it yet.
Fast forward through high school and college. I had a "good" job, a "good" wife, and a "good" family. I was a "good" dad. Life was "good" and so was I. No problem, right?
Wrong.
On the outside I looked "good" and my life looked like there was nothing wrong at all. Except on the inside I was a mess. I didn't know it most of the time, but I was. I was looking for happiness in all the wrong places. What I didn't realize then is that you can't find true lasting joy in anything of this world. No matter where or how hard I looked, nothing would satisfy.
Then, for no reason that I could figure out at the time, I started listening to various speakers, preachers, and teachers talk about God and the Bible. The more I listened to them, the more I was interested. I learned about things that I was totally ignorant of so many years ago. I learned that God's creation was spoiled when man first disobeyed him, bringing sin and death into the world. I learned that man's big problem from that point on was that we had a sinful nature bent on rebelling against God, and had the evidence in my life to prove it. I learned that a cost must be paid for our sins. I learned that God promised a savior to deal with this problem. I learned that God fulfilled that promise through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. I learned that Jesus will come back one day to judge the world.
Most importantly, I learned that spending eternity in God's presence was not something that happened by being "good" -- but rather by putting my faith in Jesus Christ -- trusting that his death on the cross paid the price for my sins once and for all, and making him lord of my life.
I had a lot of knowledge at this point. I came to believe that the Bible was true and that I needed to turn to Jesus, but I still wasn't doing anything about it. Until one day when God opened my eyes even more. He showed me that if I walked through life in this state, my children would not grow up knowing about him at all. That was something I could not accept. At home that very night I got on my knees and admitted to Jesus that I was a terrible sinner and that I needed him desperately to save me.
Now for the most amazing part. He did. And he did it in such a way that there was no doubt it was real. I had the strangest warm sensation inside for a few days after. Fear and worry were replaced with peace and joy. I was no longer bent on rebelling against God through my sinful, selfish, lifestyle. I wanted nothing more than to know him more, love him more, and serve him more.
Since that time I have grown to know the Lord more and more and have read his word more and more. I see evidence that he saved me in my own life and in the lives of my children, who genuinely love God and are excited to go to church to learn more about him and worship him. That is something I have never experienced until I gave my life to Jesus.
That's where I am today -- loving and serving my savior and my lord, Jesus. I know without a doubt that Jesus saved my life for eternity. If he has done the same for you, that is so awesome! Keep trusting in him to the end, for this world is only a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow – the eternal promises of Christ to come are so wonderful. If you don’t know Jesus yet, I pray that he work in your heart and transform it – the peace and joy and hope he brings is so much better than anything this world can offer.
Grace and peace my friend; may God be with you always, watching, protecting, and guiding you through this life!
I grew up going to a church that taught things not found in the pages of the Bible. I went to service. I went to Sunday school. I memorized prayers. I learned some of the stories from the Bible. But I never really got it. Church was stuffy and boring. I didn't feel the love of God when I went there, and as I reached my teenage years, I just stopped going. I walked away with the idea in the back of my mind that there's a God and all you need to do to be with him in heaven one day is lead a “good” life.
Boy was I wrong, I just didn't know it yet.
Fast forward through high school and college. I had a "good" job, a "good" wife, and a "good" family. I was a "good" dad. Life was "good" and so was I. No problem, right?
Wrong.
On the outside I looked "good" and my life looked like there was nothing wrong at all. Except on the inside I was a mess. I didn't know it most of the time, but I was. I was looking for happiness in all the wrong places. What I didn't realize then is that you can't find true lasting joy in anything of this world. No matter where or how hard I looked, nothing would satisfy.
Then, for no reason that I could figure out at the time, I started listening to various speakers, preachers, and teachers talk about God and the Bible. The more I listened to them, the more I was interested. I learned about things that I was totally ignorant of so many years ago. I learned that God's creation was spoiled when man first disobeyed him, bringing sin and death into the world. I learned that man's big problem from that point on was that we had a sinful nature bent on rebelling against God, and had the evidence in my life to prove it. I learned that a cost must be paid for our sins. I learned that God promised a savior to deal with this problem. I learned that God fulfilled that promise through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. I learned that Jesus will come back one day to judge the world.
Most importantly, I learned that spending eternity in God's presence was not something that happened by being "good" -- but rather by putting my faith in Jesus Christ -- trusting that his death on the cross paid the price for my sins once and for all, and making him lord of my life.
I had a lot of knowledge at this point. I came to believe that the Bible was true and that I needed to turn to Jesus, but I still wasn't doing anything about it. Until one day when God opened my eyes even more. He showed me that if I walked through life in this state, my children would not grow up knowing about him at all. That was something I could not accept. At home that very night I got on my knees and admitted to Jesus that I was a terrible sinner and that I needed him desperately to save me.
Now for the most amazing part. He did. And he did it in such a way that there was no doubt it was real. I had the strangest warm sensation inside for a few days after. Fear and worry were replaced with peace and joy. I was no longer bent on rebelling against God through my sinful, selfish, lifestyle. I wanted nothing more than to know him more, love him more, and serve him more.
Since that time I have grown to know the Lord more and more and have read his word more and more. I see evidence that he saved me in my own life and in the lives of my children, who genuinely love God and are excited to go to church to learn more about him and worship him. That is something I have never experienced until I gave my life to Jesus.
That's where I am today -- loving and serving my savior and my lord, Jesus. I know without a doubt that Jesus saved my life for eternity. If he has done the same for you, that is so awesome! Keep trusting in him to the end, for this world is only a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow – the eternal promises of Christ to come are so wonderful. If you don’t know Jesus yet, I pray that he work in your heart and transform it – the peace and joy and hope he brings is so much better than anything this world can offer.
Grace and peace my friend; may God be with you always, watching, protecting, and guiding you through this life!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Don't Waste Your Life
From a book I just picked up by John Piper (don't waste your life -- haven't cracked it open yet):
"I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waster your life. Consider this story from the February 1998 Reader's Digest: A couple 'took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells...' Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: 'Look, Lord. See my shells.' That is a tragedy."
"God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives."
I look forward to the read.
Hear the Word and live the Word!
Grace and Peace
"I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waster your life. Consider this story from the February 1998 Reader's Digest: A couple 'took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells...' Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: 'Look, Lord. See my shells.' That is a tragedy."
"God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives."
I look forward to the read.
Hear the Word and live the Word!
Grace and Peace
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Born Again Experience
Sounds like a band name. I searched for others' descriptions of being born again of the spirit of God and came across this link first:
http://www.gospeldistribution.org/tracts/t_born.htm
This section describes what happened in my own life, about two years ago, so wonderfully.
It's a miracle which Jesus gives to everyone that accepts him as the Lord and only Savior. Just like he heals the lame legs and blind eyes, he also will touch the heart and mind supernaturally and set us free from sinful desires without which we cannot do right every time, and without which we cannot enter the kingdom of God.
When you are born again by the Spirit of God, you will immediately have love and desire to live right. You will begin to see clearly why some habits which are declared by the Bible to be sinful are sinful. You will have a changed heart to hate those habits and love to read the Bible and to know more about Jesus and the kingdom of God. In fact, when you have the 'born-again' experience, there will be in you a change of ideas about life, a change of taste for habits, a change of ambitions now to please God henceforth, and a change of desire. Your heart and mind will be free from guilt and from sin as the Lord removes the demons away from you, which also will free you from many diseases. It's as if your long-broken phone line now comes alive again. What a joy as you can henceforth dial out and receive calls -- direct connection with the Father. For it is truly that Jesus Christ said 'I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.' It is only by accepting Jesus Christ as the only Savior, and asking him for the 'born-again' experience that you can enter heaven, and live again forever with God in the new world to come.
That was exactly it. I remember the night when it happened clearly enough -- it was the night I realized who I was before a mighty and holy God, and that what the Bible says about his Son Jesus is true.
I also remember the lack of desire for the sinful things my old nature desired and a strong desire to feed on the Word through preaching and soak in all I could. I got things wrong, but God showed me where I needed to change and helped me to grow. I was ignorant of much of the Bible, but I wanted to learn more. I still stumbled and fell into sin, but it ripped me up inside when I did.
I know exactly what this inside-out transformation feels like and didn't have the words to articulate it. The above description is good, but nothing can really describe the experience adequately. You just have to have it, like Saul, later Paul, being blinded by the light and having his life flipped around and rearranged!
Despite how wonderful it was, recalling this experience has me perplexed now and again. Knowing what I felt and the drastic change in my life at that moment in time, I have something to solidly fall back on to remind me of the exact day that I was delivered out of my bondage and given a new and abundant life through Jesus Christ. I've talked to a believer, maybe a few, who have had the same type of experience. But interestingly many who profess Christ have not, and that's what perplexes me. If someone is indeed born again of the Spirit of God, shouldn't there be a distinct marker in the road of their life for when it happened, splitting that life into two parts? Before Christ and In Christ? Maybe not a memorable one for children who grew up knowing God all their lives, but for adults, I would think there would be.
Whether this is an expected occurrence or not for all born again believers, I praise my God and Father for it, and for the new life he has given me!
Grace and Peace
http://www.gospeldistribution.org/tracts/t_born.htm
This section describes what happened in my own life, about two years ago, so wonderfully.
It's a miracle which Jesus gives to everyone that accepts him as the Lord and only Savior. Just like he heals the lame legs and blind eyes, he also will touch the heart and mind supernaturally and set us free from sinful desires without which we cannot do right every time, and without which we cannot enter the kingdom of God.
When you are born again by the Spirit of God, you will immediately have love and desire to live right. You will begin to see clearly why some habits which are declared by the Bible to be sinful are sinful. You will have a changed heart to hate those habits and love to read the Bible and to know more about Jesus and the kingdom of God. In fact, when you have the 'born-again' experience, there will be in you a change of ideas about life, a change of taste for habits, a change of ambitions now to please God henceforth, and a change of desire. Your heart and mind will be free from guilt and from sin as the Lord removes the demons away from you, which also will free you from many diseases. It's as if your long-broken phone line now comes alive again. What a joy as you can henceforth dial out and receive calls -- direct connection with the Father. For it is truly that Jesus Christ said 'I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.' It is only by accepting Jesus Christ as the only Savior, and asking him for the 'born-again' experience that you can enter heaven, and live again forever with God in the new world to come.
That was exactly it. I remember the night when it happened clearly enough -- it was the night I realized who I was before a mighty and holy God, and that what the Bible says about his Son Jesus is true.
I also remember the lack of desire for the sinful things my old nature desired and a strong desire to feed on the Word through preaching and soak in all I could. I got things wrong, but God showed me where I needed to change and helped me to grow. I was ignorant of much of the Bible, but I wanted to learn more. I still stumbled and fell into sin, but it ripped me up inside when I did.
I know exactly what this inside-out transformation feels like and didn't have the words to articulate it. The above description is good, but nothing can really describe the experience adequately. You just have to have it, like Saul, later Paul, being blinded by the light and having his life flipped around and rearranged!
Despite how wonderful it was, recalling this experience has me perplexed now and again. Knowing what I felt and the drastic change in my life at that moment in time, I have something to solidly fall back on to remind me of the exact day that I was delivered out of my bondage and given a new and abundant life through Jesus Christ. I've talked to a believer, maybe a few, who have had the same type of experience. But interestingly many who profess Christ have not, and that's what perplexes me. If someone is indeed born again of the Spirit of God, shouldn't there be a distinct marker in the road of their life for when it happened, splitting that life into two parts? Before Christ and In Christ? Maybe not a memorable one for children who grew up knowing God all their lives, but for adults, I would think there would be.
Whether this is an expected occurrence or not for all born again believers, I praise my God and Father for it, and for the new life he has given me!
Grace and Peace
What Has God Done For You?
In Jesus' earthly ministry, there was an incident where he came upon a demon possessed man. The demons begged Jesus not to cast them into the abyss, but rather to send them into a herd of pigs. Jesus did this, and then the pigs ran off the edge of a cliff. I guess they should have thought their request through a little more.
The man who was possessed was sitting up and in his right mind after that. The people nearby were scared -- except for the no longer possessed man who thought that was pretty awesome and wanted to go with Jesus. Jesus wouldn't let him but instead told him to go tell people what God had done for him.
For followers of Jesus Christ, those words might as well have been spoken today. Go brothers and sisters and tell people what God has done for you, because the testimony of an individual is a powerful thing indeed! Its more than just head knowledge of the Bible -- its an actual person's account of the transformation that has occurred in his/her life.
What God has done for me is that he opened my eyes to the reality of sin in this world and how messed up it is, that one day the world will be judged, that Jesus is the son of the living God, that his atoning sacrifice on the cross paid the price for my sins, and that I desperately needed to turn away from sin to Jesus -- accepting him as savior and making him lord of my life.
What God has done for me is cast out the demons of pornography addiction, video game addiction, and anxiety and smashed the false idols of children, spouse, sex, work, control, car, entitlement, and so many more. What God has done for me is transform my heart and mind from the inside out, and he did it overnight the day I got on my knees and cried out to Jesus to save me, a hopeless sinner.
Praise God for his work in my life!
Through Jesus Christ, what has God done for you? What demons has he removed? Alcoholism? Drug addiction? Sex addiction? Food addiction? Self pity? Pride? Depression? Anger? What relationships has he restored? Marriage? Kids? Family? Friends? What has he healed you from? What has he given to you? In what specific way has he delivered you from bondage to give you a fuller, more abundant life?
The answers across the body of believers number as many as the stars in the sky, but the instruction to all is the same -- now go, and tell what God has done for you.
Grace and Peace
The man who was possessed was sitting up and in his right mind after that. The people nearby were scared -- except for the no longer possessed man who thought that was pretty awesome and wanted to go with Jesus. Jesus wouldn't let him but instead told him to go tell people what God had done for him.
For followers of Jesus Christ, those words might as well have been spoken today. Go brothers and sisters and tell people what God has done for you, because the testimony of an individual is a powerful thing indeed! Its more than just head knowledge of the Bible -- its an actual person's account of the transformation that has occurred in his/her life.
What God has done for me is that he opened my eyes to the reality of sin in this world and how messed up it is, that one day the world will be judged, that Jesus is the son of the living God, that his atoning sacrifice on the cross paid the price for my sins, and that I desperately needed to turn away from sin to Jesus -- accepting him as savior and making him lord of my life.
What God has done for me is cast out the demons of pornography addiction, video game addiction, and anxiety and smashed the false idols of children, spouse, sex, work, control, car, entitlement, and so many more. What God has done for me is transform my heart and mind from the inside out, and he did it overnight the day I got on my knees and cried out to Jesus to save me, a hopeless sinner.
Praise God for his work in my life!
Through Jesus Christ, what has God done for you? What demons has he removed? Alcoholism? Drug addiction? Sex addiction? Food addiction? Self pity? Pride? Depression? Anger? What relationships has he restored? Marriage? Kids? Family? Friends? What has he healed you from? What has he given to you? In what specific way has he delivered you from bondage to give you a fuller, more abundant life?
The answers across the body of believers number as many as the stars in the sky, but the instruction to all is the same -- now go, and tell what God has done for you.
Grace and Peace
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