salvation

How do you know you are not one of the counted?

Christian, General, Guide, Life, Thoughts, , , , One comment

It is said in the Bible, that all those that will acknowledge that God is real and His Son Jesus is the Messiah are already know by God and counted amongst the blessed. Yet right this moment you may be denying Him. Yet right this moment you live in sin as it is described within the Bible.
You have heard of God yet you think He will not want you to be His servant. You live daily ashamed and guilt ridden, because you do not like how you live your life.
Well here is something you need to know. God loves all that call upon Him for help, if you do not know what you need to do to change. Simply seek out a friend who you know that believes in God and ask them to aid you toward God.
If you have no friends like that. Seek out a church you feel comfortable with approaching. No matter the type or creed. Seek out the spiritual leader within and ask them to help you. Tell them you seek to learn more about God and His Son Jesus.
You can even ask me and I will help you as best I can.
Because for all you know you may be one of the counted.

The Pouring

Christian, General, Life, Thoughts, , , , , , , One comment

It was a hot summer night in Memphis TN. It was June and the non-denominational church called the Rock was having a Revival. I was there alone, for my first wife did not wish to attend. So, I left her and my two sons at home.
I forget the message that night, but during it the most amazing event happened to me that it is something that I will never forget. During a part of the service as I stood praying and singing, I suddenly felt a tingling come upon me. It started at the very tip of me head and proceeded to grow throughout my body. As if a liquid of pure joy was being poured into me. I felt it cover me slowly from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. It is a feeling I have never encounter ever again, for I know it was not necessary to feel it.
The rest of the service was a blur from that moment on as the tingle continued throughout the rest of the service. I knew I had gone up to the dais and kneeled down and prayed. I knew the revival finally ended, and the tingle remained. I returned to my car and began to drive home and still the tingle continued as I shouted and praised God as I drove home hitting my head two or three times as I lifted from the driver set “leaping” for joy at receiving the bless and love of God in the form of His Holy Spirit.

The basics you need to know about Christianity

Christian, General, Guide, Life, Memories, Thoughts, , , , , , , One comment

The most important is that there really is a God. That Jesus is alive and rose from the dead.
The next thing you need to realize is that saying you are Christian and being Christian are two completely different things.
To truly be Christian you must admit there is a God and that Jesus is His Son. In addition, that Jesus did not sin and was placed upon the cross in your place for your sins. Your own sins that can be found and listed within the Bible, sins you will try not commit any longer for you will know they are wrong. When Jesus rose from the dead, He had just returned from hell where he took the keys of that place from Satan because humankind could once again stand clean before God through the bloodshed upon that cross.
When you truly come to understand the teaching of Christ, you will come to understand that being a Christian is something that is not easy to do.
You will strive not to use curse words, yet you will and it will leave you feeling shame afterwards. You will come to place all others before yourself, but many times, you will be selfish and self-serving. Then you will realize you have sinned once again.
Being truly Christian, you will become aware of this feeling of guilt more than any other emotion, because being Christian is not easy.
There are those that teach that within you is your salvation, but this is a lie. For all that is within you is you. You can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit for that is the part of the Holy Trinity that comes in physical contact with all that accept Christ as their savior. Inside you through your soul you will come to know that the thought that comes to you to help you did not come from inside you but from outside and above.
Is it an angel? Is it Jesus? Is it even God talking to you? We do not know at this time, but someday we will. It is important though to realize is that it is not inside us but above us and can work through us for we are the body of Christ upon this world.
In time, we will learn that material possession and money are of the world and so have no true meaning to those that call themselves Christian. They will be just something that is necessary to get by in this world, but you will not go out seeking more and more. For if you do you are seeking your reward here upon this earth, which is not promised to us. For our reward will come in the next life. It states in the Bible that if you are rich your reward well be less in the Next life, but if you are poor, greater will be your reward in the time to come.
This last sentence brings me to the most important part of being a Christian. Within the Bible, it teaches that all humanity is promised an immortal body, but it is to those that truly sought after being a child of God will the promised reward be given unto us. Jesus taught that greater would be our reward within this immortal and perfect body. God created an entire universe. It is there just too look at from this planet called Earth? I do not believe so. I believe the entire universe will be opened onto to those that accept that there is a God and accept that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.
This life is meant to be hard and harsh for those that say God is real. For if we endure and keep to that believe then we will be given this ultimate reward, which is to explore all that was created by God.

The Journey of Salvation

Christian, General, Life, Memories, Thoughts, , , , Leave a comment

The quest for salvation begins with an understanding that we as human beings are corrupt. We all sin, but there are degrees of sin. Those sins that actually change the path of our existence are the worst of these sins.
Sins like taking the life of another human being. Sins like choosing to be with someone of the same sex instead of the opposite sex. These sins turn you down a path that is hard to turn from, but that must be turned away from.
At the core of all sin is the desire to satisfy yourself. Your wants and desires.
In the Bible, we are taught that removing the “self” is a core element to do in the journey toward salvation. However, how can we ever get there on our own? We cannot. We must turn to the only person that was perfect. For only something pure and clean can remove the impure and filthy. Do you not use a clean rag and water when cleaning a mess?
Who is this perfect being? It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Can you still come to God once you have committed the worst of sin? Yes you can, but it will cost you dearly. You must emotionally suffer greatly as you go through the rest of your life, but realize this life we now live is temporal. Our true rewards are promised us not in this life, but in the next and eternal life.
You will be tempted to return to your previous lusts and desires. You may falter, but turn away and repent and then strive forward toward God. All you need do is ask Jesus into your life, and to read the Bible. It will already be difficult, but if you do not ask Jesus’s help or learn from the Bible the struggle may tear you apart from the inside. In many ways, it already will especially when turning from a major sin. It must be done so you can one day as you explore the universe say to yourself:
“I am here because of Jesus.”