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By Grace
Only What does it mean to be a Christian? First, Let me ask you this. Have you accepted
Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If not, let’s discuss that step first. President Bush is working so hard to establish
the Road map for piece in Israel. THIS is a road map for you to be a saved, loved,
Christian should you so choose. Romans 3:10 says: As it is written: There is no one righteous, not
even one; This means we are ALL guilty, I am no better than
you are. Romans 3:23 says: For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God. You may ask what a sin is; a sin is anything we
do that is against God and his commandments. Even a small white lie is a sin.
Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Wages pay for a service. Thus, the wages of sin
are death. God will punish us for our sins. But, it is not His choice to do
so. WE make that choice by either accepting his gift of salvation or by turning
our backs to him. Revelation 21:8 says: But the cowardly, the
unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who
practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars---their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. These are the characteristics of people who are
not aloud in Heaven. (simply being an unbeliever) will keep you from God. John 3:5 says: Jesus answered, I tell you the
truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the
Spirit. We must accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and
be baptized with water to enter Gods Kingdom. This is perfectly clear in Gods
word. Mark 16:15-16 says: He said to them, Go into all
the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is
baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. You may ask, what do you mean “be saved”. It
means you will be made safe from your past. You will not suffer the wrath of
God nor will you suffer the second death. Luke 13:3 says: I tell you, no! But unless you
repent, you too will all perish. All means ALL will perish!! To repent means to turn from doing wrong. To turn
to God and ask him to forgive you for your sins. Then to act on that by not
doing those sins again. Romans 10:9-10 says: 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. For it is with your heart that you believe
and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Acts 2: 38-39 says: Peter replied, “Repent and
be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off---for
all whom the Lord our God will call.” Romans 6:1-6 says: What shall we say, then?
Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin;
how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were
baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism
into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with
him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his
resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that
the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves
to sin. This is what baptism is about, going underwater,
you hold your breath, it symbolizes being buried, you are dead to sin. Being raised out of the water represents being
born again, you are renewed and alive! Now one with Christ and filled with
the Holy Spirit. Revelation 2:10-11 says: Do not be afraid of
what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in
prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be
faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who
overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. This passage shows that we will be tested by the
Devil. That we are to hold firm and be strong in the Lord. If we are… we will
not be hurt AT ALL by the second death. (emphasis mine) Loving Jesus is easy my friends. He gave up
Heaven to come down here in human form to suffer persecution, scorn, hatred,
beatings, and hanging to his death on a cross in order that we might be able
to enjoy heaven with him. He loved us that much!!! He was a man who never sinned. Not one time. He
was perfect in every single way. And yet he lay down his life so that we
might live! I hope you will consider this gift for yourself.
It is free of charge. You can not earn it. It is a gift! You may be thinking that you could not possibly
be saved. That if God knew all that you have done He would never accept you.
I am telling you today that He is standing at the door of your heart waiting
for you to let Him in. Jesus covered ALL your sins with his blood at the
cross. ALL sin is covered. God knew you and all that you would do before you
were created in your mothers womb.
Jeremiah
1:5 says: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, He wants ALL to be saved. He desires that no one
be lost. If you are ready, Pray this prayer. Lord, I realize that I am a sinner. I ask for
your forgiveness for all my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living
God That he died on the cross and was raised to life. That He died for my
sins so that I might be joined together with him in paradise. Wash me as white as snow Lord, come into my heart
and dwell with me forever. In Jesus name, Amen If you said this prayer and meant
it…congratulations! Welcome to the family of God. You are at this moment a
child of God!! Angles are rejoicing at your confession of faith! If you don’t have a church home, I urge you to
find one. You will need to be baptized. You will need to learn what to do
now. If you need help in this area, please email me. In the mean time, dust off your bible and start
to read it. Reading the New Testament first will help you to understand more
about who God is. If you don’t own a bible, waist no time, go get one! B-basic B-before L-life E-ends |