Mrs. "B"

I am learning with each day of life that God's Love is greater than anything we can comprehend. He chose to sacrifice everything so that we might live. It is our choice to accept His love, His forgiveness and His plans for our lives. ____________________________________________________________ ____ ________Becoming a Christian is the most important decision you can make. This decision does not only determine where you will spend eternity, but it will determine every aspect of your life...All People Have Sinned Against God The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The word sin means to miss a target by falling short of that target. Sin is the failure of a person to live the life which God has planned for him to live. Everyone has sinned, it is universal. ____________________________________________________________ ____ ________The Price of Sin Is High The Bible says, "the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23). The person who lives without God in this life will pay the awful price of an eternity separated from God. The Bible calls this place of separation Hell. Hell was never meant to be the eternal home of mankind, but God could not allow rebellious people to enter into Heaven. Heaven is the eternal dwelling of God's people, and it is a place where God lives in perfect harmony with His people. ____________________________________________________________ ____ ________God Loves us in Spite of Our Sin The Bible says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).Because of the righteousness of God, man must pay the penalty for sin, or be covered by an acceptable sacrifice to God. The death of Jesus is the greatest demonstration of sacrifice and the love of God for sinners. It is a great love for someone to die in place of a loved one. But Jesus died for those in rebellion.Repent, Turn Toward God, and Have Your Sins Completely Taken Away The Bible says, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;" (Acts 3:19). The word repent means to turn around and go in a different direction. It means a change of mind and life toward God. If you are willing to turn to God, then God will restore you to childhood purity. Jesus described this experience as the "new birth." Your part is to confess your sin, and God's part is to forgive and restore.By Grace You Receive His Free Gift (Eternal Life) Through Faith Which is Also from God. The Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2:8). The word grace refers to the kindness and love of God in His willingness to forgive and save. Faith means to trust to a point of commitment. You cannot just believe in God. You must be willing to give your life to God's teachings and God's will. Salvation is God's gift if you will receive it with a commitment to turn and follow Jesus.Confess Jesus and Believe That He Was Raised from the Dead by God. The Bible says, "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved." (Romans 10:9). The word confess means to acknowledge to God that Jesus is Savior and Lord, to believe with all your heart that Jesus died on the cross for YOU and came out of the grave on the 3rd day. Believe that He is alive and will change your life as you follow and obey His teachings. ____________________________________________________________ ____________Pray to the Lord and Be Saved: The Bible says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13). Whoever means anyone can ask God for forgiveness of sin and turn from sin and follow Jesus.Pray this simple prayer and mean it from your heart and you will be saved."Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I know You died on the cross for me. I now turn from my sins and ask You to forgive me. I invite You into my heart and life. I trust You as Savior and will follow You as Lord. Thank You for saving me. Amen." ____________________________________________________________ ____________God will help you to become more like Him. Just talk to Him. He loves you. ____________________________________________________________ ____________Look for a local church where God's word is preached and the teaching lines up with the scriptures. The Bible says that we are to desire God's word like a newborn baby desires mother's milk. Aren't you hungry to know the truth? ____________________________________________________________ ____________Water baptism is one of the ways you can demonstrate your faith in Christ. The symbolism is this: When you go down in the water you show that you have been crucified and buried with Him, And when you come up out of the water you show that you have been raised to walk with Him in newness of life. (Please read Romans chapter 6 and when you get a chance read the book of James in the Bible. ) You have been born again. (Please read John chapter 3) Your body has become God's temple. Your heart is where He lives. Forgiveness is yours in Jesus. And you belong to Him. You were sin's slave. But now... You are a child of GOD! ____________________________________________________________ ____________John 1:12 "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name!" ____________________________________________________________ ____________Why does God allow difficulties in life?The Chinese have two characters for the word crisis — one means danger; the other, opportunity. How right they are! In every crisis there is a danger of becoming bitter or defeated. The question is: How can we turn crises and suffering into opportunities?First, we need to realize that we have a choice. Our difficulties can make us bitter or better. They can become a stumbling block or a stepping stone. They can make us resentful or we can see in them an opportunity to be creative. The choice, however, is ours.In ancient times people used an instrument called a tribulum. It was used to beat grain in order to divide the chaff from the wheat. It's the word from which we get our word "tribulation." In the development of human character it's tribulation that divides "the chaff from the wheat." In the Bible it says, "We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."Second, we need to accept and master our problems — not run from them. In the Bible Daniel was thrown into the lions' den because of his religious convictions. Daniel didn't even try to defend himself against the authorities or the lions. As terrifying as it was, Daniel accepted the consequences of staying true to God..Undoubtedly, it was the acceptance of his situation as well as his faith in God that saved him. But his faith didn't save him from the lion's den. It saved him in it!!! Often in life, before God is going to deliver us from difficult circumstances, we need to find deliverance in them.It is human nature to want to escape or run from suffering, but doing this doesn't help us grow, and sometimes we learn too late that what we escaped to is worse than what we escaped from. Unfortunately, we rarely change or grow unless we are hurting sufficiently. This is why James wrote in the Bible, "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."Third. We need to face the causes. The problem is never the real problem!That is, what we blame our problem on is rarely the true cause. Often that's the symptom. For instance, my criticism of someone else may be caused more by my own insecurities than by what that person did. My hurt feelings or anger at another person may be a reflection of my own unresolved issues.Only as we become truly honest with ourselves and face the actual causes of our difficulties can we begin to resolve them. Jesus Christ expressed a universal principle when he said, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Fourth. To turn our crises into opportunities, we need to ask the question, "What might God be trying to say to me through my adverse circumstances?"It was because John Bunyan was in prison that he wrote the masterpiece, Pilgrim's Progress, and through rising above her severe handicaps Helen Keller became a great inspiration to millions.And so it is with each of us. No matter what happens to us, God wants to use our suffering to strengthen us, to mature us, and to make us more like Him. If you are going through a time of difficulty, sorrow, depression, financial setback, a broken relationship, or feel you have failed in some way, can you accept that God wants to use your suffering to help you grow and become closer to him? Can you ask him to help you see what you might be contributing to your situation, for the courage to do your part in resolving it, and through it help you to grow?After a long winter, spring eventually comes and with it new leaves appear on the trees in all their refreshing beauty. In the summer they thrive. In the fall they seem to die as they go dormat. But when the tree is dormat it's beauty is actually multiplied as it prepares for new growth. The falling leaves just make further growth possible. And that's the cycle of life, struggle, pain, beauty, and new growth.In his later years, Renoir, the famous French painter, suffered badly from arthritis. On one occasion his close friend, Matisse, questioned him, "My friend, why do you keep ..ing when you are in so much pain?" To which Renoir thoughtfully replied, "The pain passes, but the beauty remains!"For all who trust their life to God and ask him to use their struggles to help them grow, their pain, too, will pass, but their beauty will remain — forever. "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." ____________________________________________________________ ____________Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” ____________________________________________________________ ____________ I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)