on Archive for March 4th, 2010
Author: ray4christ
If this is a question in your mind let this guide you.
Why am I here? Who am I? What will happen when I die? These questions have intrigued people throughout the ages. And the answers can be discovered by understanding God’s plan of salvation.
You have probably heard the story of God’s love referred to as the “Gospel” or “Good News.” What is the Good News? Simply this: Because of what Jesus has done, your sins can be forgiven and you can live forever.
What did Jesus do? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world as a human being, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose from the dead.
Because Christ died to pay for our sins, your sins can be forgiven. And because He conquered death, you can have eternal life—you can know for sure what will happen to you after you die.
But this gift of forgiveness and eternal life cannot be yours unless you willingly ask for it. God requires an individual response from you.
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In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
What does this mean? Jesus Christ wants to have a personal relationship with you. He is waiting for you to receive Him into your heart and life. All you have to do is invite Him in.
But your first step is to ask for forgiveness:
Repent…that your sins may be wiped out and times of refreshing may come from the Lord. —Acts 3:19
Once you’ve asked for forgiveness, your next step is to believe and trust in the gift God is giving you.
Understand, this gift of forgiveness and eternal life is free. It’s something you can’t earn.
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
The word grace means “undeserved favor.” It means God is offering you something you could never provide for yourself. You don’t have to work for this gift. All you have to do is believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ died for you. Do you believe?
The Bible promises that when you sincerely ask God for forgiveness and trust in Jesus, you will experience new life in Christ.
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. —Romans 10:9
Today, with all your heart, surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Confess your sins. Ask God to forgive you. Say that you’ll trust in Jesus. And thank Him for the gift of everlasting life. Pray now:
“Father, I know that I have sinned against You. Please forgive me. Wash me clean. I promise to trust in Jesus, Your Son. I believe that He died for me—He took my sin upon Himself when He died on the cross. I believe that He was raised from the dead. I surrender my life to Jesus today.
“Thank You, Father, for Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Please help me to live for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
There is nothing magical about the words you use. It is the attitude of your heart that God cares about.
Your final step in becoming a Christian is to receive this free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. The Bible teaches:
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. —John 1:12
When you receive Christ into your heart, you become a child of God. You have the privilege of talking to Him in prayer. At any time. About anything.
The Christian life is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And best of all, it is a relationship that will last for all eternity. Joyfully receive it!
If you just made a commitment to Christ today, let us know. We’d like to send you some helpful information about your new life in Christ.
Read these other scriptures to help you in that new life:
1 John 5:12,13
You will never regret making this decision.
(Lifelong Warranty and i sure guarantee YOU that)
Author: Blessing
As a child, I really enjoyed cycling. My memories of my first cycling lessons were on a very small rented bicycle. But my dad had a bigger utility cycle which was our main means of transportation to anywhere. At the time, a motorbike was too much of a luxury to ask for.
As a family, we would all ride on that cycle to every possible Church meeting. Being the child, I would sit on the top tube of the bicycle frame and hang on to the handlebar as my dad rode miles down the streets with my mom seated on the rear luggage carrier. I watched my dad manoeuvre around every pothole possible to make our ride comfortable. (At which, he was not very successful given that they were not very good tarred roads) The joy in serving the Lord kept us motivated.
One fine day, I got a little over-ambitious and I decided to try and ride my dad’s large wheeled cycle (like the one in the picture, a brand called HERO, if anyone can remember from the good ol’ days).
My legs barely reached the ground but I managed to set the cycle into motion and jumped on it. After a few minutes, I realized that if I could not stop the cycle if I wanted to because my leg could not reach the ground and the cycle had picked up a little pace by then. I somehow managed to slow down a little and lunged at a pole at the side of the road. I held on to it while I was still seated on the cycle and I stayed there that way
A few people passing by were willing to help me get off the bike but I refused to up until my dad arrived on the scene, who was resting as he had come back from work for his lunch break. This whole incident had me badly shaken and I began to cry. Soon my dad was on the scene and his large arms rescued me. For a long time after this entire episode, I was scared to try cycling again, till one day when my dad sat me down and said, “Son, you will have many scary moments in life but that does not mean you should give up.”
What he said rings true even today. There are many scary and hurtful moments in life that keep knocking at our doors. That does not mean we should give up. We have to keep at it.
Have we not noticed that from toddlers to grownups, people trip and fall? And they fall more than once but the secret behind their success story is simple. They keep getting back up. How then can we quit from getting back up in our walk with the Lord?
“The secret of a standing man is that he got back up from where he last fell.”
Dear friends, it’s a simple success secret, it is to keep getting back up.
Keep getting back up till you can stand tall.
Keep getting back up till you begin to walk.
Keep getting back up till you are not afraid.
Keep getting back up till you can run.
And keep getting back up till you see Jesus face to face.
There is a relentless God searching for a relentless generation.
Keep getting back up.
By Shyju Mathew.
Remain in HIS blessing:]
Author: Blessing
A while back, I was playing basketball with our son, Jonathan. For years we’ve played one on one, and that day for the first time, he beat me fair and square, 15 to 14. But at one point during the game, he got around me and went up for a shot. I stumbled and lost my footing, but I regained it, and he didn’t see me. I came in from behind him, jumped as high as I could, timed it just right, and blocked his shot. I mean, I swatted that ball out of the air. I felt like I was Shaquille O’Neal! I was so proud of myself!
A couple of days later we were at the gym playing with some friends. Jonathan said, “Hey, Dad! Tell everybody what happened the other night.” My mind immediately went to the blocked shot. I said, “Oh, yeah. Jonathan went up, and he didn’t see me. I timed it perfectly…” He said, “No, Dad. I meant tell them how I beat you for the first time.”
I had to laugh because at that moment, I didn’t remember my defeat. I remembered my victory. The first thing that came to my mind was not that I lost the game, but it was the fact that I had done something good. A lot of people today do just the opposite. Even though they win the game, they remember all the mistakes they made. They never feel good about themselves because they’re too busy pushing themselves down.
We have to decide that we are not going to go through life being against ourselves. We need to be our own biggest fan! Instead of staying focused on your defeats, failures, or shortcomings, focus on your good qualities. Of course, God is always at work in our lives to help us improve. We need to cooperate with Him, but let’s remember our victories and downplay our defeats. Let’s stay focused in the right direction and keep an attitude of faith which opens the door for God to do great things in our lives!
Remember the wonders He has done… (I Chronicles 16:12, NIV).
By Joel Osteen.
Remain in HIS blessings:]
