Your New Identity in Christ

You have a NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST.

You are not just a product of what's been done to you...

or what you have done.

There is power in believing and declaring who you are in Christ. This is what the Bible teaches about you as a believer. You can declare these truths over your life because of what Christ has done for you.

I am God's child (John 1:12)
I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:20)
I am a member of Christ's Body (1 Corinthians 12:27)
I am assured all things work together for good (Romans 8:28)
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
I am confident that God will perfect the work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6)
I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)
I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)
I am chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 11)
I am holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4)
I am adopted as his child (Ephesians 1:5)
I am given God's glorious grace lavishly and without restriction (Ephesians 1:5,8)
I am in Him (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30)
I have redemption (Ephesians 1:8)
I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:8; Colossians 1:14)
I have purpose (Ephesians 1:9 & 3:11)
I have hope (Ephesians 1:12)
I am included (Ephesians 1:13)
I am sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
I am a saint (Ephesians 1:18)
I am salt and light of the earth (Matfthew 5:13-14)
I have been chosen and God desires me to bear fruit (John 15:1,5)
I am a personal witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am God's coworker (2 Corinthians 6:1)
I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)
I am raised up with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6)
I have been shown the incomparable riches of God's grace (Ephesians 2:7)
God has expressed His kindness to me (Ephesians 2:7)
I am God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)
I have been brought near to God through Christ's blood (Ephesians 2:13)
I have peace (Ephesians 2:14)
I have access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18)
I am a member of God's household (Ephesians 2:19)
I am secure (Ephesians 2:20)
I am a holy temple (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19)
I am a dwelling for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22)
I share in the promise of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6)
God's power works through me (Ephesians 3:7)
I can approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)
I know there is a purpose for my sufferings (Ephesians 3:13)
I can grasp how wide, long, high and deep Christ's love is (Ephesians 3:18)
I am completed by God (Ephesians 3:19)
I can bring glory to God (Ephesians 3:21)
I have been called (Ephesians 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:9)
I can be humble, gentle, patient and lovingly tolerant of others (Ephesians 4:2)
I can mature spiritually (Ephesians 4:15)
I can be certain of God's truths and the lifestyle which He has called me to (Ephesians 4:17)
I can have a new attitude and a new lifestyle (Ephesians 4:21-32)
I can be kind and compassionate to others (Ephesians 4:32)
I can forgive others (Ephesians 4:32)
I am a light to others, and can exhibit goodness, righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:8-9)
I can understand what God's will is (Ephesians 5:17)
I can give thanks for everything (Ephesians 5:20)
I don't have to always have my own agenda (Ephesians 5:21)
I can honor God through marriage (Ephesians 5:22-33)
I can parent my children with composure (Ephesians 6:4)
I can be strong (Ephesians 6:10)
I have God's power (Ephesians 6:10)
I can stand firm in the day of evil (Ephesians 6:13)
I am dead to sin (Romans 1:12)
I am not alone (Hebrews 13:5)
I am growing (Colossians 2:7)
I am His disciple (John 13:15)
I am prayed for by Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23)
I am united with other believers (John 17:20-23)
I am not in want (Philippians 4:19)
I possess the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16)
I am promised eternal life (John 6:47)
I am promised a full life (John 10:10)
I am victorious (I John 5:4)
My heart and mind is protected with God's peace (Philippians 4:7)
I am chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12)
I am blameless (I Corinthians 1:8)
I am set free (Romans 8:2; John 8:32)
I am crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)
I am a light in the world (Matthew 5:14)
I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)
I am the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)
I am safe (I John 5:18)
I am part of God's kingdom (Revelation 1:6)
I am healed from sin (I Peter 2:24)
I am no longer condemned (Romans 8:1, 2)
I am not helpless (Philippians 4:13)
I am overcoming (I John 4:4)
I am persevering (Philippians 3:14)
I am protected (John 10:28)
I am born again (I Peter 1:23)
I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am delivered (Colossians 1:13)
I am redeemed from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13)
I am qualified to share in His inheritance (Colossians 1:12)
I am victorious (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Christ as God: How Could Jesus Grow in Wisdom? Luke 2:52

Understanding the growth and development of Jesus is connected to two seminal doctrines of the Christian faith: the Holy Trinity, and the Incarnation of Christ. 

The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the belief that God is One in essence, but exists and is expressed in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

The Doctrine of Incarnation (root word 'carne' meaning flesh) expresses that Christ, God the Son, became a human being in every sense of the word, and in so doing, voluntarily limited himself, becoming dependent, as all humans are, on God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit. 

He was empowered by the Holy Spirit (as we all can be!) Luke 4:18-19. He relied on the Father for guidance in all things (as we all should) John 5:19. 

He never ceased to be divine, but chose a voluntary dependency, so that he might fully identify with all humanity. This process is referred to as the Kenosis of Christ (from the Greek word 'kenosis' which means to empty out, used in Philippians 2:7). Therefore, because of self-imposed limitations, Christ was able to experience human growth and development like all of us, becoming our example in all four areas of human growth and development.

Achieving a balanced diet is a key to emotional well-being.

Balanced Nutrition Guide

Spiritual Disciplines

Dallas Willard, in The Spirit of the Disciplines, and Richard Foster, in Celebration of Discipline, have compiled a list of spiritual disciplines and practices they believe were modeled in the life of Christ. These disciplines are typically organized into two categories: the disciplines of abstinence (or “letting go”) and the disciplines of activity.

Disciplines of Letting Go

These practices allow us to relinquish something in order to gain something new. We abstain from “busy-ness” in ministry, family life, and work. We stop talking for a while to hear from God. We give up buying another material possession to experience God more fully. First Peter 2:11 warns us to “abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” Identify what is keeping you from experiencing greater strength and perspective. Do you talk too much? Are possessions controlling you? Are you too worried about what others think? Choose disciplines that will help you become more dependent on God. 

Solitude—Spending time alone to be with God. Find a quiet place to be alone with God for a period of time. Use the Bible as a source of companionship with God. Listen to Him. Remain alone and still.

Silence—Removing noisy distractions to hear from God. Find a quiet place away from noise to hear from God. Write your thoughts and impressions as God directs your heart. Silence can occur even in the midst of noise and distraction. But you must focus your attention on your soul. This could mean talking less or talking only when necessary. And it could mean turning off the radio and the TV.

Fasting—Skipping a meal(s) to find greater nourishment from God. Choose a period of time to go without food. Drink water and, if necessary, take vitamin supplements. Feel the pain of having an empty stomach and depend on God to fill you with His grace.

Frugality—Learning to live with less money and still meet your basic needs. Before buying something new, choose to go without or pick a less expensive alternative that will serve your basic needs. Live a simple, focused life.

Chastity—Voluntarily choosing to abstain from sexual pleasures for a time (those pleasures that are deemed morally right in the bond of marriage) to find higher fulfillment in God. Decide together as a couple to set aside time to go without sexual pleasures in order to experience a deeper relationship with God in prayer.

Secrecy—Avoiding self-promotion, practice serving God without others knowing. Give in secret. Serve “behind the scenes” in a ministry that you are assured few will know about.

Sacrifice—Giving of our resources beyond what seems reasonable to remind us of our dependence on Christ. Choose to give your time or finances to the Lord beyond what you normally would.

Disciplines of Activity

Dallas Willard writes, “The disciplines of abstinence must be counter-balanced and supplemented by disciplines of engagement (activity).” It’s choosing to participate in activities that nurture our souls and strengthen us for the race ahead.

Study—Spending time reading the Scriptures and meditating on its meaning and importance to our lives. We are nourished by the Word because it is our source of spiritual strength. Choose a time and a place to feed from the Word of God regularly.

Worship—Offering praise and adoration to God. His praise should continually be on our lips and in our thoughts. Read psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs, or sing to the Lord daily using a praise tape. Keep praise ever before you as you think of God’s mighty deeds in your life.

Prayer—Talking to and listening to God about your relationship with Him and about the concerns of others. Find time to pray to God without the distraction of people or things. Combine your prayer time with meditation on the Scriptures in order to focus on Christ.

Fellowship—Mutual caring and ministry in the body of Christ. Meet regularly with other Christians to find ways to minister to others. Encourage one another.

Confession—Regularly confess your sins to the Lord and other trusted individuals.As often as you are aware of sin in your life, confess it to the Lord and to those you may have offended.

Submission—Humbling yourself before God and others while seeking accountability in relationships. Find faithful brothers or sisters in Christ who can lovingly hold you accountable for your actions and growth in Christ.

Bill Donahue, Leading Life-Changing Small Groups, (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996), pp. 51-52

The Importance of Sleep

A Guide to Physical Exercise

Contrasting Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships

Excerpted from Addicted To Love by Steve Arterburn
There are many contrasts between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Taken together they chart a continuum between the secular model and the biblical model. Understanding these contrasts can help us understand how healthy relationships work – and how we can grow toward them as part of the recovery process.

1. Reality vs. Fantasy. Healthy relationships are based in reality. Each person is aware of his own strengths and weaknesses. There is no need to hide or to try to fool the other. Each person is also aware of the other’s strengths and weaknesses. There is no need to pretend that problems don’t exist or to tiptoe around “unmentionable” areas. If the partner is weak in some area, he or she accepts it and helps accommodate or strengthen it.

Unhealthy relationships, by contrast, are based on fantasy. What could be or should be replaces what is. The elements of unreality become the focus. The relationship is built on a foundation that isn’t really there.

2. Completing vs. Finding Completion. In a healthy relationship, each person finds joy in sharing in the other person’s growth, in playing a role in “completing” the other.

In an unhealthy relationship the focus is on completing oneself. This selfish dynamic is at the heart of codependency. Too many people fling half a person into a relationship, expecting that it will be completed by the other. It never works. No one can ever meet such expectations. It is only a matter of time until substitutes are sought – either in the form of other relationships or in the form of dysfunctional and addictive behaviors.

3. Friendship vs. Victimization. A healthy relationship can be described as two good friends becoming better friends. The strongest and most successful relationships – even the most passionate and romantic marriages – have this kind of true friendship at the base. Where this base of true friendship is absent, the relationship is shallow and susceptible to being marked by victimization.

4. Sacrifice vs. Demand for Sacrifice. Few of the magazines that clutter the checkout counters of grocery stores publish articles extolling the joys of sacrifice. But no relationship can grow without it. Unfortunately, most of us are more accustomed to demanding sacrifice from our partner than to sacrificing our selves.

It’s one thing to love another when the going is easy. But character and depth are wrought in a relationship when love requires the surrender of preference and privilege. Nothing strengthens a relationship like sacrifice. Indeed, it often seems that the greater the sacrifice, the more thorough the death to self, the greater the potential for the relationship.

Our relationship with God requires sacrifice. His relationship with us required nothing less than the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. Building a relationship – or restoring one that has been ravaged by the effects of addiction – depends on the willingness of both parties to sacrifice for each other, without demanding anything in return.

5. Forgiveness vs. Resentment. Forgiveness is a miraculous gift between two people. A relationship flourishes when we are willing to forgive past hurts and disappointments. Refusing to forgive is like carrying around a garbage bag full of hurts of the past. Every time someone makes a mistake, we toss it into the bag and carry it with us forever.

There are no garbage bags in healthy relationships. Out of love, the partners take the hurt and disappointment of the past and burn it up in the flames of forgiveness. What greater gift can we give someone than to set them free from the weight of their mistakes? When we unlock others from a past they cannot correct, we free them to become all they can become, and we free our relationships to become all they can becomes as well.

6. Security vs. Fear. Security is a rare commodity in our world. Often people come from such insecure childhoods they can only hope that their adult life will include a relationship that allows them to rest in the arms of someone who really cares. So much of life is lived on the edge of risk, we feel an overwhelming need for at least one relationship to make us feel safe.

The Bible says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). When we shift from trying to use others to satisfy our security needs to trying to meet the security needs of others, we find ourselves in a new dimension. We are focusing on their needs, not ours. We are filling their doubts and fears with the reassurance of our consistent behavior. We calm their fears by being reliable. We become, in a word, loving: other-focused and totally selfless. That is the kind of love that drives out fear and provides genuine security.

7. Vulnerability vs. Defensiveness. In a secure environment, a person is free to open up and be vulnerable. It is wonderful to be vulnerable, to do an emotional free fall and have someone there to catch you. That delightful taste of vulnerability enables you to open up even more, discover more about who you are, appreciate all the good that God has created in you.

In a relationship characterized by fear, just the opposite happens. There is a need to build up a wall of defensiveness. If you do not protect yourself, after all, you will be violated, robbed of your identity, controlled, or smothered. The dynamics of defensiveness lead to death rather than to life and growth.

8. Honesty vs. Deception. There is no way to build a lasting, healthy relationship on a foundation of dishonesty. Honesty must be at the core of a relationship; there is no substitute for it. It is fashionable in our day to paper over unpleasant truth. We deceive those we love, rationalizing that keeping secrets is really for their good.

Virtually all addictions are maintained under the cover of some sort of deception, which eventually is woven into a vast tapestry of lies and cover-ups. Dishonesty is a very hard habit to break. One of the main functions of a recovery support group is the accountability it provides, holding the recovering addict to rigorous truthfulness. Without accountability, trust and the restoration of intimacy in relationships is impossible.

Click Here for a complete explanation of how to connect with God and live in relationship with Him

Will a particular sin send you to hell?

I have observed that certain sins are singled out that will “send you to hell.” The sin described as having the most gravitational pull toward the abyss in our culture seems to be homosexuality. I had a homosexual friend ask me if his gay lifestyle would send him to hell. When a person who has chosen a homosexual lifestyle asks me that question, my answer is, “No, we don’t go to hell for our particular brand of sin. I sin. You sin. Is homosexuality a sin according to the Bible? Yes, but so is greed, hatred, lying, lust, gossip, etc. Jesus taught that it is something else entirely that sends a person to hell." Can I explain?

Many define sin as "the stuff that sends you to hell." Well it's not. Sins are the choices we make or positions we take that are destructive to human flourishing (blessed/abundant life). Particular sins do NOT send people to hell. If so, the patriarchs in the Bible are burning in hell (hint: they’re not) A few examples:

Lying will not send you to hell.

    (Peter lied when he said he did not know Christ – Matthew 26:73-75)

Adultery and fornication will not send you to hell.

    (David committed adultery – 2 Samuel 11)

    (Samson committed fornication – Judges 16)

And yet notice their names in the roll call of the heroes of faith - Heb 11:32 (KJV) “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets”

Stealing will not send you to hell.

    (The thief on the cross obviously was guilty of this sin, yet notice Jesus' words, "this day shalt thou be with me in paradise…" Luke 23:43)

Riotous living will not send you to hell.

(Else how could the prodigal son be given as such an example of forgiveness? Luke 15)

Hatred will not send you to hell.

People on the way to hell commit sins, but so do people on the way to heaven.

People who love God and follow Christ commit sins that detract and prohibit their experience of a blessed and abundant life, but those sins do not send them to hell (1 John 1:8-9)

Even Murder will not send you to hell.

    (David, the man after God's own heart, was a murderer - 2 Samuel 11)

    (Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, consented to, and thereby participated in, the murder of Stephen – Acts 6)

What sends a person to hell?

So here it is. According to Jesus, what sends people to hell is self-righteousness. When speaking to a group of self-righteous people, Jesus said, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!" Matthew 23:15

Consider this teaching from Jesus in Luke 18:9-14

9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer[b]: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Self-righteousness can take two forms. Religious self-righteousness (Pharisees in the Bible) who in essence are saying, “God owes me something because I have kept the rules better than other people.” Or secular self-righteousness that in effect says, “I don’t need a Lord and Savior, but if I do…I’m it.”

If self-righteousness sends a person to hell, what gets a person to heaven? According to Jesus, getting to heaven starts with a person recognizing his need for God’s mercy. That person then exercises faith in Jesus as the source of his forgiveness. So someone who says, “I have achieved a good record and now God owes me,” is NOT on the way to heaven, they are self-righteous. The person who says, “My record is not good, I owe God” has taken the first, right step. The next step is trusting Christ as his source of forgiveness (Savior) and leader (Lord). This person is assured a place in heaven (John 1:12, John 3:16, Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 1:7).

This begs the question of all of us.

Will we humble ourselves, acknowledge our need for God’s mercy, asking Jesus to be our Savior and Lord? Or will we continue descending down the sulfurous path of self-righteousness?

A helpful prayer:

Lord Jesus, I really need forgiveness so I need you. Please come into my life  and be my Savior. I want to make good and right decisions in life, so I follow you as my Lord. Help me to know your ways and walk in them. Amen

My continuing prayer is that we grow in understanding of all Jesus has done on our behalf and as a result, have hearts overflowing with grateful love toward God, expressing that love in compassion toward our neighbors (greedy neighbors, homosexual neighbors, Muslim neighbors, cantankerous neighbors, et al) in Jesus' name, Amen.

Is Faith in Jesus Christ Reasonable?

How many people in the world believe in Jesus as the Son of God? How many believe in something else?

Christianity		31.5%
Islam		23.2%
Unaffiliated		16.3%
Hinduism		15.0%
Buddhism		7.1%
Folk religions		5.9%
Other		0.8%
Pew Research Center, 2012[1]

64% of Americans believe in the God of the Bible and 90% believe that Jesus was a historical figure.

But personally, to believe in Jesus and to be ‘all in’ I need more. I am a critical thinker. I need evidence upon evidence to believe in something. My heart follows my head, not vice-versa. I think my way into believing something. I can’t take leaps into darkness. Can following Jesus be a logical step into the light instead?

These are some words from an apostle of Jesus named John.

1 John 1:1-4

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.

The apostles were with Jesus physically. The saw him, embraced him, listened to him, watched him do incredible miracles. They were with him day in and day out. They were commissioned by him to explain his message (NT).  They were fully convinced that he was more than a man. He was the promised Savior of all mankind. He was eternal (1). He was life itself (2). They believed through faith in Him all people can be in God’s kingdom, having the forgiveness of sins and eternal life (3). They believed that he was the source of everlasting joy (4).

      They were willing to die rather than recant this faith. Most of them were martyred, killed for believing. Was it in any way logical to believe like this, not just in a philosophy, but in a person, so strongly that you would willingly give up your life? I think so.

Here are a few reasons I believe.

Miracles - not the first thing most people associate with logic

The New Testament is full of the miracles of Jesus. It describes him healing the sick, blind, lame, deaf, people crippled from birth, blind from birth, even putting body parts back on that had been severed and bringing the dead back to life. Having these things recorded in the bible is not enough to produce my belief or fortify my faith. In fact, it wasn’t that these things were recorded in the Bible at all that caused me to follow Jesus. It was that the actions were described outside of the Bible, by non-Christians in what scholars call extra-biblical literature. Many of these writers were antagonistic to Christianity.

To name a few:

Josephus – 1^st century Jewish historian

The Rabbinics – Jewish religious leaders

Greco-Roman writings – Porphyry, Heirocles, and Julian

Excerpts of these writings can be seen at:

http://www.rationalchristianity.net/jesus_extrabib.html

The main thing that stood out as I read these accounts is that they spoke of Jesus’ miracles as a matter of fact. They used words like, “no one can deny he did miraculous deeds.” The Jewish leaders just attributed them to Beelzebub (the prince of demons, Satan) and the Greco-Romans said he was an incredible sorcerer. But no one said he faked them.

Matthew 12:23-24

23 The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”

The astounding thing to me is that no one, not even his enemies said he is a FAKE, a charlatan. They just said he did the miracles by the power of Satan or sorcery. This is not true of any other person in history. So, if I am going to place faith in a Savior (someone who claimed to be my source of forgiveness and eternal life) this causes Jesus to be my first and logical choice…but that is not all.

Prophecies

There are hundreds of Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. Forty-four of these prophecies are about specific experiences that the Messiah (anointed Savior) would have during his lifetime. Some have said that Jesus just read them and replicated them. But, how do you choose where to be born?

Micah 5:2 - Written in the 8th century B.C.

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,
 one whose origins are from the distant past."

Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm written more than a thousand years before Jesus was born. It describes his crucifixion, yet the process of crucifixion would not be invented for another 600 years.

Psalm 22:16-18

“My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
 an evil gang closes in on me.
 They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones.
 My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.”

Isaiah prophecies about the Messiah 700 years before Jesus was born. He does it all in past tense to express the certainty of its occurance.

Isaiah 53:3-9

“He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
 He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
 a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.  Unjustly condemned,
he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down
 for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong 
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man's grave."

I watched someone read this passage to college students who said they did not believe the Bible or that Jesus was the Son of God. After reading it, the man asked the students who was being described here in the Bible. They all said, “Jesus.” These words were written 700 years before Jesus was born! They describe His life so clearly that even unbelieving, un-churched college students recognize immediately that the words describe Jesus.

There are many religions and many historical religious leaders. There are many who have claimed to have life’s answers. But how many of them caused people (who were well-known by their communities) born blind, deaf, and disabled to be healed and whole? How many of them raised the dead to life? How many of them fed thousands with a few fish and loaves and had twelve baskets left over when everyone was full? The answer is none. How many of those who claim to have answers had hundreds of prophecies written about their lives hundreds of years before they were born? None.

There is only one Savior.

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the Savior of our souls. He deserves to be the Lord of our lives. He lived a perfect life and willingly suffered, giving that life up as the sacrifice for human sin and rebellion. Then, the ultimate miracle happened. He conquered death, rose up from the grave and taught people, in groups as large as 500 for 40 more days before He ascended back to the Father. That is why people were more than willing to die for this faith. They knew that He was the source of eternal life and physical death, through Jesus becomes the doorway real life, abundant, eternal, and full of joy.

Jesus promises to save all who have faith to receive Him. Faith in Jesus is logical. Receiving Him by faith is reasonable. A prayer similar to this one helped me cinch my decision to receive Christ. Maybe it will help you.

Jesus, I believe in you. You are the Son of God and the Savior of our souls. Come into my life and save me. Forgive my many sins. Help me to follow you as my Lord, I want you to lead my life. You gave your life for me and now I give my life to you. Amen

If you made the decision to follow Jesus I would love to know! 

email me at restorationchurch.tim@gmail.com