Every thing has an origin. I do believe that this "Origin" is God. I believe with all my heart that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to live on this earth, so that men could know Him. I have given Jesus my heart and my life, that I might know Him for Eternity, and live a life worthy of the calling of Christ. You can do the same, right this minute, by praying the following: "Dear Jesus, please come into my life; take me as Your Child, I repent of my sin, I am not able to save myself to Eternal Life, I am not worthy of Eternal Life, but I want to live according to the Word of God. Please forgive me of my sin, and make me Your Servant".
Seems like this is too simple, doesn't it?
Well, for most people, IT IS!!!
To mean it when you pray it is not a very simple matter at all. You need to acknowledge that you are NOT the Grand Master of all you survey; you need to become aware that even the very breath in your lungs is not yours to command. Before I came to Christ, I lived for ME and ME alone! I came near to death many times, and always patted myself on the back for being sooo "lucky".
I don't know where in the world you are... with the advent of the Internet, you could quite literally be ANYWHERE ON EARTH. You may have prayed the prayer above; if so, then I tell you from my heart: go get a Bible. Read the Gospel of John. Then read the Acts of the Apostles("Acts"). Then read the Book of "Romans". Read the book of Genesis, in the Old Testament. Try to read all of this in two weeks. I know that this will be a major undertaking, but the "two weeks" is not nearly as important as that you DO read the material. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and it is the way to know Who God is.
Next... go find a Church. Find a Church where there is a man who teaches, preaches, and lives according to the Bible. Avoid women Pastors, and anyone called a "Priest". Read 1Timothy:chapters 1&2 for further guidance on this matter. Denomination is important, as the Lord is no respector of persons, and only men create denominations, as a means of religious division. Beware ANY denomination which tells you that the "church" is involved in your Salvation. Then.... get into a regular Bible study. And ask the Pastor how to share your faith; ask your Pastor to show you material based on the 28th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. I was given direction just like this when I first came to believe, and I pass it along with all the love that is in my heart.
Then, it is my advice to you to get out on the internet and do your own research with the fine tools that Christian men and women have put there. http://www.blueletterbible.com is one of the best sites I know for sound study materials.
Yep. That link is a "copy and paste" link on purpose; as you do your own research and study, you will come across alotta those! I used that one especially because it is such a great site!
Now, what would you know of me...? I was born while Dwight D was President. Raised in the Motor City. Radicalized during the Sixties. Drugged out of my mind from '67 on 'til about December '73. Entered the Church of S********** in '73. THEY threw ME out in '77. Man... you talk about livin' in DARKNESS: to get thrown OUT of a Cult is, well.... "That's goin' some!" as my Uncle John usedta say. And as far as I am concerned, they were RIGHT to throw me out! I was desperately wicked, completely given over to my lusts, pride, and vanity. Read the first chapter of Romans, and then the fifth chapter of Ephesians that you might develop an appreciation for my restraint in detailing what dark things I have done. Isiah said it best,"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way".
I would instead tell you that I struggle daily with my salvation; I work out my salvation in fear and trembling.
My life is far different since I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. Everyday, I look into Gods Word, The Holy Bible. I believe that He wants all of His people to read His Word, that they might have the means to know Him, directly, through the Scriptures, in a personal way: just Him, the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and the believer who reads.
This has become more important to me than anything else. I am so thankful to the men and women who proclaimed Christ to me when I was yet un-saved; they are heroes to me. Some proclaimed Christ by the lives that they lived; others were vocal, doing the work of the evangelist. And some, by their good works.
Jesus Christ is highly visible when you know, through the Scriptures, how to see God.
My call came at the age of thirteen; the very same day that I said "Yes, I want Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Saviour", I was running away from Him; I remember going into my big brothers room to steal a joint from him. Twenty nine years would pass before I turned again to Jesus Christ. In that time, I became a substance abuser, a skilled thief, a consumate liar, a thoroughly wicked deviate, and I even found a Cult to join. I have been party to more broken promises than I can remember. My family of origin is almost lost to me, and I am learning daily what it means to say,"Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of which I am the worst".
Do I love? Anybody.....anyone? Oh, yeah.....bank on it. I know that Jesus Christ loves me. My purpose in life gets clearer every day: Love others as I myself am loved. Peter walked side by side with my Lord: 1Peter,5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
And so.... let us be sure of whom it is that rules this present darkness: his name is Satan. We have no hope of resisting this being on our own power. Many humans have tried, none have succeeded. Satan is a fallen angel; he was created by God to attend God on His Eternal Throne. You figure it out: what kind of power do you suppose Satan was created with? In the Book of Job:1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Now, the rest of the story can be had in the Bible that I strongly urge EVERYONE on earth to read. The basics are thus: Satan can mess with you whenever he feels like doing so.
Apparently, he always feels like doing so.
You have a way of defeating his designs on your life: The Power of The Holy Spirit. And you can have this Power in your life when you ASK for it. Here is a clue: theBook of John:10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I and my Father are one.
I could go on and on about how to live your life, and how to do what God would have of you. Instead, I will offer the Words of my Lord and Saviour, in the Book of Matthew:6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
00And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
This may seem to be too good to be true: You CAN break the hold that Satan has on your life. BUT... YOU GOTTA WANNA!!! Your choice in the matter is the key. If you will NOT stand up to Satan, he will roll over you like white on rice. You make the decision, and you have control over what you believe. I am not the Authority on this: in the Book of John:17:14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
When you put your life in the hands of Jesus Christ you are asking Satan to pay SPECIAL attention to you. Back in Motown, that meant: you go ARMED! (Seriously, there were times that you just didn't even go out to the driveway without at least a baseball bat!) Somehow, I don't feel the need for such weapons anymore. I have the finest weapon on earth: The Sword Of The Spirit. And you can have it, too. Invite Jesus Christ in to your life, live for Him, and get to know the Father, our God and Creator, by reading His-Story, The Holy Bible. I pray that something about this web watcha-ma-call-it thing that I have slapped together will help you come closer to God, and encourage you to give Jesus Christ the courtesy of a close inspection.
Love In Christ
