Jesus Died for us All
One sinner's testimony about being completed through Christ's promise of Salvation
Jesus Died for us All
One sinner's testimony about being completed through Christ's promise of Salvation
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:5-6 (ESV)
This page is for everyone that has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. This page is for everyone that does not believe that Jesus's death on the cross removed all of our sin and our guilt, removed God's wrath that we deserve, restored our relationship with God and redeemed us from the guilt of our sin.
Before Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, he gave these instructions to his disciples:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - Mat 28:19 (ESV)
I, myself am just a new believer, but this page is my witness for Christ. I spent the first 40 years of my life in a religious vacuum. I rejected all religion, I didn't concern myself with God in any way and I firmly believed that if I lived my life as a good person it would be sufficient for me to get into heaven. I didn't have time for God and I didn't want God dictating to me how I should live my life.
Despite my rejection and rebellion, God's love was too strong for me to ignore and once I was finally able to remove the blinders from my eyes I could piece together a life that God had lead all along, often having to save me from myself and my bad decisions. I can now see so clearly how God has given me everything I have needed and has brought into my life from early on the people whose influences would eventually lead me to Him. For me, this realization was an awakening and then everything else made sense.
Many people have preconceived notions about what it means to accept Christ as their Savior. They worry that they need to change everything about their lifestyle before they will be acceptable to God or even to other Christians. I, myself worried because I was a devoted fan of the band The Grateful Dead, I enjoyed spending time playing video games, watching horror movies, reading fantasy/sci-fi novels, playing hard rock songs on my electric guitar, etc. I still enjoy all of those things, and to my surprise I also found that I greatly enjoy playing Christian worship music in the praise band at my church. When we first visited this church my wife and I shared some preconceived notions about how others would see us and questioned whether they would accept us. We very quickly and joyfully found that we were welcomed with open arms, by a congregation largely consisting of older traditional Baptists. They did not look at us and see people with different interests, they looked to us as God's fellow children and a part of their family, and they truly have become our family. Jesus told us:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. -- John 13:34-35Jesus is telling us what a true Christian looks like. A true Christian will welcome you and love you for who you are. If your experience with Christians has been anything less then I believe you have not yet met the real thing and I hope that you can shed the stereotypes that you have come to expect and that you will seek out a church where the congregation embodies the true spirit of Jesus.
Don't get me wrong, my life has changed considerably since I accepted Jesus' gift. Habits that were unhealthy (physically and spiritually) became less appealing, unhealthy relationships came to an end as well. A good analogy for this transformation is like the change that takes place in many people when they become a parent. Similar to how a new parent will want to shed unhealthy habits and try to do their best for their child, a Christian will want to do their best to do the things that are pleasing to God and to stop doing the things that are not.
This page is here because God never gave up on me and it is the very least I can do but to share this truth with you. This page is here because no matter how far you run away from God, he'll always pursue you. This page is here because God wants all of you to love Him as He loves you. Don't believe it?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. -- John 3:16 (ESV)
A Leap of Faith. Sounds crazy right, perhaps many of you are thinking that the whole problem is that you have no faith to begin with. God has an answer:
Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. -- Mark 11:23 (ESV)This verse says it all, God has given you the power to open yourself up to Him by putting your doubts aside, trusting and believing and then asking God to show you how he has been with you all along. Have faith and God will show you.
Additionally, for fellow Jews whose beliefs end with the Old Testament, please read this.
An apologetic is basically a defense for something. In my case, I provide an apologetic for the Christian faith which seeks to show evidence for God's existence in addition to point out some difficulties with explaining some aspects of our world if God did not exist.
I know that some of you have fundamental doubts that are preventing you from seeking out God. I come from a family that shares in these doubts and their answer has been to live their lives absent of God. I set out to learn all that I could so that I might eventually engage my family and challenge them on their doubts. A friend pointed me to Apologetics and specifically to a book that he thought would provide me the information that I could use to help my family see the truth in the existence of God, of Jesus and of the Bible as a whole. To my joy I discovered while reading it that the book was really helping me to solidify my own faith. It answered questions I didn't even know I had and really helped to resolve my doubts. I must make it clear that this book in no way replaces the Bible and I am recommending it purely in the hopes that reading it will help you to open your heart to accept the word of God that the Bible offers. If you have not yet answered God's calling of you but you want to seek Him out and do not know where to start please email me, I'd be happy to try to help.