Wednesday 27 December 2017

Hope

Hope
The apostle John writes about Jesus saying,
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  
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. 
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:10-14.
As a believer in Christ Jesus now over four decades, I am still amazed that God would in the form of Jesus Christ enter this world he created. Not only that, he did this to point each individual toward heaven.
C. S. Lewis put it this way,
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” C.S. Lewis. 
Jesus speaking of Himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
In Jesus there is hope for the individual no matter who he or she is. All have the opportunity to go to heaven.
We Christians believe it is impossible to live a life good enough to stand before a Holy God. No matter how good we may be there is always some sin in our life, and sin keeps us from God. To quote C. S. Lewis again,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”  C.S. Lewis.
The apostle Paul writes,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
It is by God’s grace we get to heaven. Through belief in His one and Only Son.
As the apostle John wrote,
“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.”
Through Jesus Christ we have hope of eternal life with God. The apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:5-8 
Do you have hope in your life? If not consider accepting Jesus into your life as your Saviour and Lord.
Life can be hard but having. It is however my experience that having Jesus in your life makes the hard times easier to go through.
Why not take a few minutes and pray and ask Jesus into your life today. Take time to pray something like this,
Dear Heavenly Father
I believe in you. I believe that you sent Jesus into this world to point me to you and to save me from my sins.
Please forgive my sins and come into my life today. Direct and lead me from this day on.
       Amen.
I must emphasise that this pray is no magic bullet. However if you have prayed it in spirit and in truth. God will enter your life and direct you. He will show you how to live a life worthy of Him.
The other thing I would suggest is that you start to read the Bible. Start in the New Testament and read what the writers said about Jesus.
Then if it is possible for you. Find a good church congregation to become a part of. As these blogs are read all over the world it’s hard for me to give the name of any one church.
That being said, Baptist churches are generally good wherever you are in the world. They base their faith firmly in the Bible.
If you live in Canada I also recommend the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada churches who also are firmly anchored in the Bible teachings.
Either way pray and ask God to direct you to a congregation that you like. Remember even within denominations not all congregations are alike. If you find you don’t like the first one you go to look around. That’s the nice thing about God he recognized individuals vary. That’s why there are as one pastor said, “many different flavour of church congregations all worshipping the same God in spirit and truth.”
Even if you have not made a commitment to Jesus I would ask if you give Jesus a chance. Read the New Testament and see for yourself what believers in Christ Jesus truly believe.
Please think about it.

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