What’s something you believe everyone should know.
Everyone should know the four things on the image above.
It was prophesied for centuries that a Saviour would come. History tells us that Jesus came and was born in a manger and grew to be a man.
The Bible tells us that Jesus died on the cross. He died to pay the price for our sin. He died so we can have a relationship with God for all eternity.
The Bible also tells us that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and He appeared to over 500 witnesses.
A great promise of the Bible is that one day Jesus is coming back for His people. He is coming back to take us to the place He has prepared for us.
These are four things I have spent more than half my life telling people about Jesus.
Jesus left the glories of heaven to come and save us. He could not stand the thought of us missing out of eternity, so He came for you and me.
If you would like to find peace with God and come in to a personal relationship with Him, you can visit the page below to find out more.
I just watched this video on YouTube. It caught my attention as I recognised the person from the MindPump fitness podcast I watch occasionally.
In the video he prays one of the best prayers an atheist can pray. “God I am not sure if you are real, if you are I need you to show me”. I know as I prayed this prayer myself before I came to faith.
In the video he sees things start to happen after his prayer. I will not say any more, but leave you to watch it. Please enjoy.
What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?
As a teenager and in to my early twenties I did not believe in Jesus or the salvation He offers. I believed He was a historical person that some people believed in.
I can look back at times when people would talk to me about Jesus and I would reject them and their message. Some I even ridiculed and told them they were crazy.
At the age of 22 I came to believe in Jesus as more than a historical person. A friend gave me tract explaining that Jesus loved me and He died on the cross for my sin. This got my attention.
The more I read, the more I realised this was true. I realised I was a sinner, Jesus died on the cross for me, and I needed to repent and accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I realised what people told previously me was true.
Accepting Jesus as my Lord and Saviour was the best thing I have ever done. It truly turned my life around. Without Jesus I had no hope, no purpose or no meaning. With Jesus that all changed.
In the image above is a copy of the tract my friend gave me back in 1989. It contains the prayer I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
Thirty five years ago today I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I always celebrate this day like it was my birthday because it was the day that changed my life forever.
I am very lucky in a sense as I know the day and time I came to faith in Jesus. I know because I read a tract called, “A journey in to life” and I wrote the date and time on it.
I would love to say that I still had it, but being evangelistically inclined I gave it to someone who I was sharing my faith with. I said this pamphlet changed my life, I hope it will change yours too.
Usually on this day I look back and remember what my life was like before Jesus and how it has changed for the better. I reflect on how I felt before I prayed the prayer above and how I felt afterwards.
It is my hope and prayer that as you read this post that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If not I would encourage you to visit my finding salvation page here.
Galatians 1:10 TPT – I’m obviously not trying to flatter you or water down my message to be popular with men, but my supreme passion is to please God. For if all I attempt to do is please people, I would not be the true servant of the Messiah.
In today’s world we can be tempted to water down the Gospel to make it palatable to more people. But the truth of the Gospel is Jesus came to earth to save sinners. He came to die on the cross for our sin. This opened the way back to the Father in heaven from whom we were separated. He took our punishment, so we could find peace with God.
If our Gospel message does not talk about sin and the need to find peace with God, is it really the Gospel of the Bible?
Reflection passage – Romans 5:8-11 NLT
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. [9] And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. [10] For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. [11] So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
This is an easy one to answer. The things I am passionate about are always not far from the surface and easy to see. I have many passions, but one stands above it all.
My faith in Jesus is my number one passion. Since I came to Jesus in July of 1989, my life has never been the same. He changed everything for the better. My heart is to walk with Him all the days of my life.
Walking closely with the Lord drives everything else I do in my life. He is the reason I get up early to pray and read my Bible. He is why I want to be the best husband and father I can be. He is why I am a Chaplain. He is why I have my PASSION websites to reach out with His love.
If it was not for Jesus I do not know where I would be. Jesus has given my life meaning, purpose, strength, hope and a future. He loved me and died on the cross for me. My response is to give my life back to Him each day and to take up my cross as it says in Matthew 16:24.
In Acts 2:1-13 we see a description of when the Holy Spirit came on the believers. It says…
[1] On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. [2] Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. [3] Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. [4] And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
It goes on to say that the people came running at the sound of a mighty wind. They wanted to know what was happening.
When they arrived they heard people speaking in various tongues as the Holy Spirit allowed them to do. The people from all nations heard the message in their own language.
The text tells us that some said they were drunk, but it also tells us that many were amazed, perplexed and bewildered. They had never seen or heard anything like it.
The part that jumped out at me was the two questions they asked. In verse 7 they exclaimed, “How can this be?” And in verse 9 they ask each other, “What does this mean?”
I think these are two crucial questions to ask when God does something new or different to what we have seen before. Rather than trying to explain things away, the questions show they we are open to learn more about God.
Being open to God and how He wants to do things is an important part of growing in our faith. The moment we shut things down and explain them away, is when we close ourselves down to growth and put God in a box.
In the section after this passage we see that Peter stands up and explains what is happening. He says they are not drunk and this is part of what was prophesied in Joel 2:28-29. He explained this is part of God’s plan of pouring the Holy Spirit on believers.
As history tells us 3000 people were added to the church that day. They were open to God, they asked the right questions and they were saved. They heard what Peter said and responded in the way God wanted.
I have learned that when God does something new or different to what I have previously seen, to ask the right questions…How can this be? And what does this mean? Then I am open to God and I do not miss out on what God is doing in the world around me.
