And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (1 Timothy 1:12-13) In this verse, you see Paul speaking about how God granted him mercy for his past sins because he did them ignorantly in unbelief. This is a miracle God does for each new believer. The Lord forgives all past sins and that person is now guilt-free. People can feel so guilt-ridden by their past that they think God could never forgive and accept them. But consider Paul’s past. He had scoffed at the teachings of Jesus. He hunted down and murdered God’s people before coming to faith in Christ (Acts 9:1-9). God forgave Paul and used him mightily for his Kingdom. No matter how shameful your past, God also can forgive and use you. We may feel that our faith in God and our love for Christ and for others is inadequate. But we can be confident that Christ will help our faith and love grow as our relationship with him deepens. As followers we now have power through the Holy Spirit to pray and hear God, to read the Bible and understand what it says! This great power was unavailable before a person accepted Christ as his Savior. What an advantage a believer and follower of Christ has over those who do not believe! When a believer acts upon what the Lord has taught, that follower has perfect power from God. 1Timothy 1: 15 says: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. This is the bottom line. If you don’t know Christ then what follows is important. It will change your life forever. 1. Admit you are a sinner. The Bible, Gods Holy Word, says, As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one Romans 3:10; also Romans 3:23 says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 2. You must realize that sin bears a penalty. Romans 6:23 states, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Revelations 20:14 says, And death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 3. You must accept the fact that Jesus has already paid the sin debt you owe. We read in Romans 5:8, But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ died to pay the penalty for your sins because He loves you and cares about you. 4. You must accept by faith what Christ has done for you. Again from the book of Romans 10:9 we read, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt beleive in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Friend if you wish to know youre going to heaven ask Jesus into your heart right now. It’s easy. Pray a prayer like this one: Dear God I know Im a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ your Son died for me and shed His blood to pay the price for my sins. I am willing to turn from my sins. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and be the Lord of my life as my perfect Savior. Amen. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, then this is the beginning of a new and beautiful life for you. To help you along here are a few suggestions: • Read your King James Bible everyday to get to know Christ better. • Talk to God everyday in prayer. • Be baptized, worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians in a church where Christ is taught and the Bible is the final authority. • Tell others about what Jesus Christ has done for you. Christ is your only hope for heaven. Dont put off this decision. You dont know in these times how soon you might be meeting Jesus. Be not afraid, only believe. Mark 5:36
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 10:34:08 +0000
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