I have been a believer of Jesus Christ for most of my life. Yes I have questioned things in the past, but what I have found is I get all the answers directly from God. In turn there hasn't been a need to question that existence. He has proven it to me over and over. Yet there are a lot of people who do not believe. Maybe they are afraid to? Maybe they are afraid of what their friends would think, or maybe they think they are too cool to believe in this whole "Jesus" thing. The reason why doesn't really matter. The outcome will be the same.
One of the biggest things I hear coming from people who do not yet believe in God... "God would not take in someone like me, I have screwed up way too many times in life" or "I would start on fire the second I took a step into church". I hear that one a lot.
Neither of those excuses is true. No one is beyond God. The only reason you are beyond the help of God is because YOU are separating yourself from Him. We ALL mess up in life. I guarantee you, everyone alive right now, sins in one way or another, every single day. God is waiting so eagerly right now for you to turn to him for help. He is ready to wipe away all those bad things you have done. Yes he wants to clear the slate with you. It only takes one thing though. You have to ask for it. How do you ask? Read this from your heart...
Dear Jesus,
I want to know You personally. I confess my life has disappointed You. Please forgive me for all the thing's I've done wrong. I believe that You died on the cross to pay for my sins, and that You rose from the dead to give me eternal life. Please come into my life now, Jesus, and take over for me. Thank You for making me the kind of person You want me to be. Now, Jesus, Show me what to do next. Amen.
Looking at that prayer, it starts out with "I want to know You personally." When you pray that prayer with your heart you are starting a relationship with Jesus Christ. He wants to come into your heart and show you how to live your life through His will. The way you were always supposed to live.
When I pray to Jesus I talk to him like I am talking to my best friend. He doesn't need to hear all the "thees" and "thous". Talk to him in a comfortable manner. Find a nice quiet place where you will not be distracted and just talk to him. He can read your heart and understand completly what you are trying to say. In time you will learn how the Holy Spirit is there making sure everything gets to God the way your heart intends it to. We'll discuss that later though.
What to expect...
If you said that prayer with all of your heart, If you really meant it, get ready for the ride of your life. You will start noticing differences. You will begin to see things in a new light. You will starve for the truth, and God will provide you with a full plate. Life will begin to make sense. What used to be important to you will now seem petty. You will begin to realize what really matters in life, and yes you will know from your heart what the true meaning of life is all about. With that said I want to go in a completly different direction now and share a personal story with you. .
I went through a period here in Kansas City where I strayed pretty hard from God. I still believed in Him and I still followed him, but he was not the number 1 in my life. I pushed Him to the back of all my "TO-DO" lists. Luckily he never returned the favor. I'm so thankful that God does not think like we do. He started giving me hints really hard. He was letting me know real fast that the lifestlye I was living was wrong. I was hearing him loud and clear. He was sending me the most wonderful signs, trying to break through the barrier I had put up. I just wasn't listening. That is when he brought in some additional help in the form of my old friend Rev. Mark from North Carolina.
I met Rev. Mark at my old job in North Carolina. He would come in and we would chat about God and Mac Computers. We became fast friends. About a year later I made my decision to move back to Kansas City. I told all my friends including Mark. It turns out Mark was actually raised in Kansas City. He didn't understand why I wanted to move back. He said he didn't like the city and I would later find out why.
So here I was living in Kansas City when I get a phone call from Rev. Mark. He told me he was in town and wanted to get together for lunch. I leapt at the invitation. We had lunch and I told Mark that I was struggling pretty hard. Thing is he was not judging me. In fact he was acting like nothing was wrong at all. He wasn't telling me I was going to burn in hell for all eternity. He was being my friend.
After lunch we took a drive and he showed me where he grew up. He told me of all his "partying days" and how deep into darkness that took him. I was sitting there listening and comprehending all too well. He then told me of the night he hit rock bottom. He tried calling his brother for help, only to learn his brother was in deeper trouble than he was. Everyone he turned to was in no condition to offer advice or help. He had reached the end of the line. That's when it happened.
Mark turned to the one person who was always there... Jesus.
Whenever people face death head on, or come to a problem in life that has no solution they instinctively turn to God, and that is exactly what Mark did that night. So was God tuning into Mark's plea?
He was reading him loud and clear. God was doing two things while Mark was praying. He was weeping tears of joy & He was making all of his problems go away. He was making Mark a new man. Preparing a new path in life for him to follow.
Mark awoke the next day to a miracle. He felt like a new man. All of his cravings for those other things were gone. He didn't discount what had happened the night before. His new life had started and he had felt something that he had not felt in quite awhile.... alive.
God had sent the right man for the job. Mark had succeeded in knocking a huge hole in that barrier of mine. I would continue to struggle here and there with things, but the most important thing is, I had re-discovered Jesus Christ. In the weeks following some amazing things occured in
my life.
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