Thursday 18 December 2014

That they might have life

That they might have life

Jesus said,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 
             John10:10.
Many none Christians I’ve met tell me Jesus is a crutch for the weak. Quite the contrary he empowers the believer. While at the same time comforts them in their time of trouble.
Paul writing to the Philippians states,
“ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
                                                                                   Philippians 4:13.(NKJV)
While Jesus says,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
                                                                                Matthew 11:28-30.
I can only testify to my life as a Christian. Over the years I have gone through a lot. I have even made decisions that I regret. Never the less I have never regretted my decision to put my faith in Christ and I am not alone. I know many people who are totally committed to Christ and his teachings.
Christ has given me strength when I was at deaths door as well as when my life was in turmoil.
I know it is hard for someone outside the Christian community to understand the faith I have.
Most people have trouble understanding what they can’t see, feel, or hear. Christianity challenges that. It asks us to trust someone we can’t see. The writer of Hebrews saying,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                                           Hebrews 11:1
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
                                                                                                         Hebrews 11:6.
Over forty years ago now I made that leap of faith after reading the Bible and talking to the Christians I knew.
I must admit I didn’t need a lot of convincing.
What I seen in the history of the world, everything from the elaborate funeral rituals of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s, to the beliefs of an afterlife that occur in every civilization that ever existed. Told me there had to be at least a Kernel of truth somewhere in those beliefs.
I believed also because I seen the world in such order. For me that order came together because there is an almighty God creator of the universe.
It’s unimportant to me whether God created the universe starting with the big bang that set in motion a series of events that led to our being millenniums later or that it took six days.
I believe behind everything there is God and a life beyond this life we are in.
As a Christian I would ask you to consider your life and the world around you. I would ask that you at least read the New Testament if not the whole Bible and make a decision on where you stand with respect to God, Jesus, and life beyond this world.
The apostle John in his Gospel writes,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men...
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 
                 John 1:1-4,12,13.
Please think about it.

No comments: