Saturday, February 25, 2012

A MUST-READ MATTER OF CONCERN

(Please do not ignore this)



                                                                      
LostSeed.com

                                                                       
Yes, this article contains very important information that you should not risk to ignore.

Let me share my experience with you. I come from a Christian family. During my college days, I sensed a kind of emptiness in my heart. (This emptiness, which I later-on understood, was God’s way of drawing me to Himself). In my desperate attempts to solve this problem, I found myself bunking college and attending Christian meetings or visiting a Christian bookshop that was located near my college with the hope of finding a solution. During one such visit to that Christian bookshop, I came across a small book titled: Tell me plainly, how to be saved. Through this book, (written according to the Bible) I have understood that every human-being is a sinner, hence, bound to end-up in hell but by believing in the Lord Jesus, one can find new-life in Him and with it comes a package of all the needed blessings.

By His grace, I can testify that when I did my part of believing in Him (as explained below), it really worked. He has changed my life by filling me with love, joy and peace that I never had until then. The emptiness in my heart left me. The peace that He has given me is such that no person or circumstance can take it away. Since then, I can say with all confidence that there was never a time in my life that I really felt helpless. The Lord has been marvelously guiding and faithfully providing me with everything I need as per his promise that says: “Even lions go hungry for lack of food, but those who obey the Lord lack nothing good.” (Psalms 34:10). He gave me a new and clear purpose for my living.

The conclusion of my experience is precisely this: the one book that has the answer for all our questions, provision for all our needs, solution for all our problems, guidance in any complex situation and comfort in all circumstances is the Holy Bible. At one point of time or the other, everyone goes through some kind of unexpected and helpless situations that cause us to look up for divine intervention. The purpose of this article is to let you know that faith in Jesus Christ works wonderfully; thus, one can easily and freely have their needs met through Him. He met my need; He will meet your need too.

What is the Bible? The Bible (Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth, as someone put it) was written in a span of about 1600 years (from approximately 1500 BC to 100 AD) by about 40 men, belonging to various backgrounds in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek languages. According to the Bible, these writers were guided and given inspiration by God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16). This means that the Bible is from God and that it is without error in everything it says.

The Bible consists of 66 books with 1189 chapters and 31,173 verses pertaining to various topics covering all life-issues. It basically talks about man’s rebellion against God and how he can be reconciled to God for restoration of all his blessings lost due to rebellion. It consists of over 2,000 accurately fulfilled predictions, including some 300 specific details about the life, death and resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. It has been translated in part or in whole into over 2000 languages. It can be read aloud in about 70 hours. Two of the many common expressions which originate from the Bible are: Spare the rod, spoil the child & The Love of money is the root of all evil. In fact, it could be considered a sort of Wikipedia.


History records that the Bible has been targeted by all kinds of people in all possible ways all through its existence to cause its extinction but failed miserably. It has been banned, burned and torn to pieces, yet never destroyed. In spite of all this, it remained unscratched. Its very survival itself vindicates its uniqueness. In fact, the world’s best-selling book has been the Bible. Obviously, Bible’s call for renouncing sin and embracing holiness is what makes determined rebels to criticize it and try to cause its destruction. As per Scriptures, someday even such people will stand before God in judgment and will realize that the Bible was right and they were wrong. Everyone will be judged by God on the basis of this very same Bible (John 12:48).


What is the basic teaching of the Bible? Please understand this. According to the Bible, man consists of physical body and soul. Upon death, the physical body decays while the destination of our soul depends upon our response to this Biblical message. Lord Jesus told a religious teacher, “… Except a man is born-again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Romans 3:23 says: “. . . all have sinned…” and Romans 6:23 says: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Thus, man being sinful, by nature, is bound to end-up in hell, a place of suffering in fire for eternity, that is, with no sight of end of time. God, having seen the hopeless pathetic condition of man, had compassion on him and decided to come to earth in the form of man to save mankind from going to hell. Thus was Jesus Christ born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. Having lived a sinless life, He suffered for our sins on the cruel cross and died in our place. He rose again from death on the third day and in the presence of His disciples, He ascended into heaven after promising to come back to earth with authority as King of kings to judge every man. Bible goes on to say, whoever has put their trust in Jesus Christ with skip hell and be privileged to go to heaven, the place of very presence of God Himself. Bible says that only His blood has the power to cleanse us from all sins, so we are expected to seek His forgiveness by confessing our sins by faith and thus be cleansed of all sins (1 John 1:9). Then, upon asking Him to come into our heart, He comes happily according to His promise (Revelation 3:20) and make us His child, thus, He becomes our father (John 1:12). Our life changes for good, that is, our old sinful nature loses its grip and the new nature of God takes-over. This is what is called being born-again; that enables us after our death to live with our dear Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, where comfort is the norm and a place of no-lack of anything good for eternity.

The Bible also says: “There is a way that seems right to a person, but eventually it ends in death.”(Proverbs 14:12); assuredly Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" (John 14:6). He also said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The Bible encourages us to taste and see that the Lord is good.

There are hundreds of thousands of people all over the world who can testify that they have found complete deliverance through Jesus Christ from so many kinds of bondages upon trusting Him. You can check the authenticity of what I am saying by just typing testimonies of people who found new life in Jesus Christ into any of the search-engines on the Internet. Does not this prove that Jesus Christ is the living God and is willing to transform lives for better? Why not yours?

This message applies to you, whatever may be your background, situation, need, problem or lack. This also applies to those who are helpless or depressed or slave to addiction or struggling with a broken affair or disappointment or failure in studies /career or trying to overcome the loss of a dear one or financial problem or facing any social or emotional or physical problems or those who have no purpose for living and even contemplating suicide. This applies to all, whether rich or poor, old or young, educated or uneducated. Whoever puts their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will never be disappointed. Life will never be the same; it will wonderfully change for good. I once read: every person has a God-shaped vacuum within the heart. It cannot be filled with anything else like wealth, fame, achievements and so on; but only Jesus Christ can fit-in perfectly, thus giving us complete contentment in life. The deepest need of your heart will be completely met. A contended man will not have to look for satisfaction anywhere; such will be the experience of the one who chooses to follow the Lord Jesus. This is my experience.

Biblically, please be aware that even if you are born in a Christian family, does not at all mean that you are heaven-bound. Unless born-again, your eternal destination will be same as that of any other person. God is not partial; He loves and treats everyone alike. In fact, II Corinthians 5:17 gives the definition for the word ‘Christian’, meaning, is the one who holds a testimony, saying, his old life of sin is passed-away and all things have become new, upon encountering the Lord Jesus. Let me clearly assure you that if you do not hold a life-changing testimony on these lines and still think that you will go to heaven, you will be disappointed, as per the Scriptures; despite your church affiliation, involvement in religious or social activities or your reputation in society. It is never too late to start doing what is right.

Anyway, God will not force anyone to follow Him neither is any man supposed to do that. He has given us the freedom to choose to trust Him or not. We can choose our own way of life but, Scripturally, no one can escape the consequences. The one decision I will never regret is, giving my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope and wish that you also will make a decision to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior for your own good. If so, please say this prayer meaningfully from your heart:

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Almighty God. I acknowledge I am a sinner and that you died on the cross for my sins and rose again from death. I now repent of all my sins. Please forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with your precious blood that you shed on the cross. Come into my heart Lord Jesus and make me your child. Thank you, Lord Jesus. From now on, I will read the Bible regularly and obey what it says. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.


After saying this prayer, be conscious of the fact that you are never alone and that Jesus Christ is in your heart. Don’t expect to feel anything emotionally. Just believe. Keep thanking Him for making you His child. Follow the Lord by reading the Bible (Joshua 1:8), praying to Him (Philippians 4:6), being in close fellowship with God’s children (Hebrews 10:25) and testifying about His goodness (Acts 1:8) on a regular basis. All this is the starting point of an exciting, fulfilling and a blessed life that causes us to declare with the Psalmist, “The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need” (Psalms 23:1).


If you have made a decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, please let me know the good news. May you know the truth and the truth will set you free. Get a copy of the Bible from a book-store and read it in a continuous order to understand God’s will for your life. It is freely available on-line. God bless you.