The True Life Giver

  How can I be 'saved' The Bible tells us to be saved we must turn away from sin, believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Saviour.  All these aspects were brought up in earlier posts. Repentance, Jesus's crucifixion paying the penalty for our sin and then confessing Jesus verbally as Lord of your life. In chapter 3 in the Gospel of John Jesus was revealing to a Jewish leader how He would be sacrificed on our behalf. And in John 3:16 declares 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life' The book of Romans was written after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into heaven.  Romans 3:23 says 'For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God' and then in Romans 6:23 says 'The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And in Romans 10:9 ‘If you confess with you...

  Born Again If you have made that life changing decision to ask Jesus to be Lord over life,  Congratulations – a transformation will start to take place in your life that is so exciting. The Bible describes it as being 'Born Again'. You may have already read the account in the book of John chapter 3 where Jesus talks about being ‘Born again’. If not, I would encourage you to read it, because that is exactly what has happened to you. You have had a spiritual rebirth where the Holy Spirit has come to live in you. Your spirit has come alive by being directly connected to God spiritually, allowing you to start to have a deeper relationship with God. You also have become part of Gods family. You have been adopted in as a child of God with all the benefits and the opportunity to inherit God’s promises, including eternal life. You also have the security of knowing you are loved, cared for and protected by your heavenly Father. Lyn and I made such a commitment of faith over 40 years ...

  Not Quite Ready ? I mentioned at the beginning of this blog that it took me about three months before I was ready to ask Jesus into my life whereas for my wife it was nearly immediate. Through that time, I went to church, read the bible and then happened to read a book of C.S Lewis’s called Mere Christianity and that did it for me. The Holy Spirit had been drawing me and then I was finally ready to step out in faith and receive Jesus as Lord. If you are not at that point where you are ready to say a Salvation prayer like the one earlier and mean it, I would encourage you to get a Bible and start to read it. The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are a good place to start. Also, the first book, Genesis which explains the creation of the world and the book of Acts which describes the beginning of the church. Find and attend a church that seems to match up with what you are reading Biblically. From experience, not all do, and some could be described as Christian cults. The H...

  18. Water Baptism There were two things that Jesus specified that should take place in a new believers life. They were Water baptism and Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Water Baptism is one of the most beautiful, significant and life-changing moments in a Christian's journey. It is a public declaration of their new faith and commitment to follow Jesus. It is also an outward demonstration of the inward transformation that takes place when they receive Him as Lord and Saviour. Water Baptism involves the full immersion in water. As the believer goes down into the water it represents a symbolic burial with Jesus and a death to their old sinful life, just as  when Jesus was crucified and buried and He took all our sin upon Himself. Coming back out of the water represents the believer being resurrected to a new life, just as Jesus was raised from the dead into life. The believer now starts a new part of his journey into a new life in Christ. Here are some scriptures you may like to ex...

Baptism in the Holy Spirit Prior to being 'Born again' you operated as body and soul, but your spirit was dormant, separated from the spirit of God.  When you received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, that the middle wall of separation was broken down and your spirit came alive.  The Bible says the Holy Spirit now dwells with you and in you. In John:14  Jesus also called Him another helper, a comforter and the Spirit of truth and said He would now abide in you forever. In Corinthians 3.16 the Apostle Paul also confirms that you are now the temple of God and  the Spirit of God lives in you. However, after His resurrection Jesus instructed the disciples and said there was more to come (Acts 1:4). He declared "John truly baptized you with water, but you shall baptized with The Holy Spirit and receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Like baptism involved immersion in water, there would come a total immersion in The Holy Spirit. The Spirit would not just abid...

It is Finished This is the finale page of this blog, but for those who of you who have chosen to accept God's precious gift of salvation, this is just the beginning. The beginning of a totally transformed life with Christ. For those who have not accepted, I hope at least it has prompted you to at least question, examine and look ahead to what may happen on your last days on earth. Death is inevitable to us all but as Hebrews 9:27 says 'It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. After this some will arise to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2). The choice is ours! When Jesus took His last dying breath on the cross He cried out "it is finished". The earth quaked, rocks split, graves were opened and the sky was darkened. The Centurion and his soldiers guarding Jesus feared greatly saying "Truly this was the Son of God. It was the finish of Jesus' life on earth, but it was also the finish of Satan's...