DID YOU KNOW that Christ came to be born and to die for everyone? No matter how bad you were or how bad you are, God sent His only Son because He decided to love the world! I believe this because He changed my life; He has changed Jim’s life and He gave our children a life with Him because they grew up from birth knowing who He is and they believe also! God’s Word is the avenue we have walked ever since and I believe His promises are true.
GOD’S WORD is so valuable to the world because it tells us how to belong to Him. Some passages say “and you shall be saved!” Not just one but many, which says to belong to Him, is a process! I believe that the steps to salvation is not just one of those verses. However, it ends with Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!” The first four that say “and you shall be saved” you always must do. The fifth, you do once!
I KNOW what I believe! God has revealed it all through His Word! I believe what God says not by feelings and by sight, but through faith! Faith gives me hope, peace and through His Love, I can love everyone! Do you know what you believe? “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Philippians 4:13 Can you? Although none of us are perfect in our walk, God has promised us forgiveness! However, that comes with a condition and you find those in God’s Word!
TRUST gives me a sincere place of confidence in Christ. “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose!” Romans 8:28 The church has been called and when we respond to that call, we become a part of the church. This scripture is for you! Without our trust in God, we flounder and rely upon ourselves to get us through.
IT ALL COMES down to believing that when we “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you!” Matthew 6:33 God knows what we need to live and to succeed in His Kingdom. We are to just be satisfied and keep, keeping on! Easy? Our flesh is weak but God’s strength allows us to keep, keeping on!
OBEDIENCE comes from hearing and believing His Word! We waste a lot of years because we still want it our way. But seeking God’s way, makes all the difference in the world! No pun intended, but we are declared peculiar people and to the world that is indeed a problem. We can’t be a Christian and live as the world. However, we can live as a Christian in the world because God’s Word says we can!
WE MAKE mistakes but don’t let our mistakes cause us to fall. God says when we forgive others, He will forgive us! “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15
LEARN to believe what you read in God’s Word and not rely on only what you have been taught to believe. A learned man speaks and we take it to be so; but a disciple who reads the scriptures to verify what has been said, with honesty and in earnest; God reveals so much more! I learned more about prayer when I taught a series in the late 90's. However, I was asking Jim what to say and how to say it when preparing to teach. After I learned how to go in prayer with clean hands and a pure heart; obedience to His Word; and forgiving others, along with practicing the presence of God, I began to write! Now I go to Jim to proof my work before I blog, or teach a lesson so that I am on the right track. I give God the praise and the glory!
PERFECTION will not be ours until we walk into heaven; but until that day, as a Christian we must strive to become the person that God has created us to be! We strive to keep Christ in Christmas, so let us also strive to keep Christ in our name of Christian, and become more than we ever thought we could be. Merry Christmas one and all for God so loved the World! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 12/20/13
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