Meet with Jesus
As expressed a number of times earlier, in my opinion, the bottom line in life is this - we can either live life, and be happy, relying upon our own wits and talents or we can turn to God and ask for help.
The question here Reader is this - which choice have you made up to now? Have you, perhaps without realising it, lived a life relying upon your own wits and strength and if so - are you happy, do you sleep soundly at night, enjoy walking up in the morning and look forward to the day set before you ?
Or are you unhappy with your lot, perhaps you are in poor health or cannot rise above the circumstances you find yourself in for one reason or other.
Maybe you don’t like yourself and would like to change for the better but don’t know how too.
Maybe you are addicted to Alcohol or some other form of Drug that is causing much pain to yourself and your loved ones.
Maybe you have been hurt in the past and un-forgiveness is festering in your heart and you don’t know what to do about it.
Maybe you feel guilty about something you have done in the past and think that your unhappy circumstances are a punishment from God for the wrong you have done.
The list of such problems is endless and all cause a form of suffering in the mind, the kind of suffering that often occurs when our life circumstances are beyond our control.
All such unhappiness is rooted in the one and same place - mankind's separation from God.
Click to read about ‘Original Sin’ if required.
God’s solution to this problems was, at the right time, to send Jesus into our world and give each individual a chance to restore that broken relationship. The purpose of this Web site has been to try to explain the problem, clear up any previous misunderstandings and wrong teaching, and invite you Reader to respond to the Good News and realise that the answer is to start to make a personal relationship with Jesus.
However this invitation to make a personal ‘Covenant Relationship’ with God (Click to review the meaning if required) has some conditions that you Reader will first need to understand and agree to. -
1. Do you first of all believe, or are prepared to take a chance on, the possible existence of a loving God who created our known Universe.
2. Do you believe, or are a least open to the possibility, that there is more to life than ‘meets the eye’ and to the possible existence of a spiritual or supernatural dimension about which we understand very little.
3. Are you are able to admit that you personally have a problem in that you are a sinner and in need of forgiveness? Are you able to admit, not just that you have done wrong and made mistakes etc, but that you have a flaw within your character that you would like to, but can’t overcome.
4. Are you sorry for those sins that you have committed in the past due to this flaw within you? And do you have a desire in your heart to stop repeating them in the future?
5. Do you agree that you are guilty and deserve to be justly punished for the wrongs that you have done?
6. Do you understand that God the Father, who created the unique ‘you’ and knows every detail of your life, loves you enough to have sent Jesus into our world to take upon himself the punishment that you justly deserve? In this, do you realise that, even if you were the only person to have ever lived, Jesus loves you enough to have still done as his Father asked and in doing so suffered greatly in your place?
7. Are you clear in your mind that there is nothing wrong that you have ever done that has placed you beyond the forgiveness that God offers to everyone who turns to him for help?
8. Are you willing to accept some supernatural help (without the need to understand how) to enable you to change your ways for the better?
9. Lastly, do you understand that eternal life can start for you now, certainly before your eventual death from this world, and is something not yours ‘by right’ but is a ‘gift’ offered by God that cannot be earned by ‘good works’ or any ‘religious acts of worship’?
If, Reader, you are unsure about any of these points then it is best to reread some of the relevant pages of this Web site before moving on. Rather than move beyond this point with doubts in your mind, it is far better to wait until you are ready. Take a look at my ‘Closing Remarks’ and see if they help. Take as much time as you need before making a choice that will influence your destiny.
Click to look at the list of ‘FAQ’s’, or the page on ‘Common misunderstandings’ and see if it helps clear your mind.
Alternatively, return to the ‘Home Page’ if needed.
If you can be in a state of mind that meets the above nine conditions then the next stage is to find somewhere quiet, where you are unlikely to be disturbed, and rest your body in a comfortable position. Where you are is not important be it in a garden, on a hill top, or in a prison cell, as long as you are able to calm your mind and relax. Be sure within your heart that God has waited patiently for this moment since before the day you were born and is ready to illuminate your heart and mind with an experience of his love, forgiveness and acceptance.
When you are ready then open your heart and mind then pray this simple prayer -
Father God, I am a sinner in need of your help to become the person you always intended me to become. I am sorry for all the offensive things that I have done in the past and ask for your forgiveness. I want to turn away from them and ask for your help to be able to do so. I understand that Jesus took upon himself the punishment that I deserve so that I can now ask humbly and yet confidently for your Forgiveness and Mercy. I ask for a fresh start and the help from your Grace and strength for the future. Please send your Holy Spirit into my heart and soul now so that I can begin to develop a personal relationship with your Son Jesus and accept him as my Lord and Saviour. I thank you that you have willingly accepted me, just as I am, and I promise to remain faithful to you from this time on.
Reader, if you have prayed the above with a sincere heart, then be sure that God has heard and accepted you. What has happened is akin to a match being stuck and that spark of divide nature, that has always been within you, has been lit like a candle. It’s a candle that will give you an inner assurance that those things you have read in this Web site are true. Not because I have said so but due to a new witness from God’s Holy Spirit speaking into your heart. St Paul referred to this inner assurance in his letter to those Christians who lived in Thessalonica at that time - ‘ For when we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a powerful effect upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true.’ (1 Thessalonians Chapter 1: Verse 5. Living Bible).
The step you have taken is to join God’s Kingdom here on Earth which should be, but is not always, the same as joining a Church. One of the quotes that I remember by the late Cardinal Newman is, as best as I can remember, ‘God has many who are outside the Church and we have many inside the Church that God doesn’t have’. What you can do as a newcomer is explore on the Internet ‘The Emerging Church’. As well as this try your local Church which should also be a Community of people who welcomes your presence. If you don’t feel at home there then try elsewhere, there will be a place for you to fit into somewhere.
Becoming a Firsthand Christian is a bit like becoming pregnant in that it’s possible to be nearly or almost but never ‘a little bit’ pregnant, you either are or you are not. Unfortunately is is also possible for a pregnancy to end in a miscarriage, for the lit candle to stop burning. This is something that you Reader will have to guard against and the best way to do this is by fellow shipping with other Firsthand Christians.
Be sure, also, that you have now, with God’s help, been given eyes that can see your previous inauthentic existence where, like many others, you may have sought happiness and a meaning to life via the three P’s, Possessions, Prestige and Power. You will be able to put such false gods to one side and be no longer at odds with the real person you now have the potential to become.
Take Care, God Bless. Ken
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