All the prophets testify about him
that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his
name.”
Acts 10:43
Many people are put off or
feel inadequate when they consider becoming a Christian. Over the years, I have listened to numerous
versions of the requirements to become a Christian. Some fell into the category of
self-righteousness bordering on arrogance.
Others were long winded and rambling which would only confuse and,
eventually, frustrate the person showing interest in conversion. A few were short and to the point as did our
Lord Jesus desire it to be. Following
are the requirements as set forth by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
If you desire to become a
Christian; give your heart and soul to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: You
must have faith...that Jesus is the true son of the one and only living God,
lived on this earth in human form, then died on that cross so that all our sins
may be forgiven, and three days later rose from the dead. Have faith in that and you are a
Christian. It is so simple, but so life
changing.
The moment you have faith in
our Lord, all your sins are forgiven...all of them...every last one of
them. You must understand this simple
life-changing fact. Once understood and
believed, it will free you from guilt, from trepidation, from depression. Here is another secret few outside and some
inside of Christianity do not realize or, possibly, jealously do not share that
God loves every one of us unconditionally.
Of course, he does not like some of the things we do, but, concerning
love, he loves all of us, not just a
select few, unconditionally and forever.
God is spirit and pure divine and most holy love...a love such as we
cannot fathom in this worldly environment.
His love would melt away our bodies and all material wealth or desire
for it if we were to look upon him in his spirit through our worldly eyes. If you follow this in a logical manner, He
loves even people like Hitler, serial killers, the most wicked of the
wicked...yes, he loves them, too. He
just does not love some of their actions.
Our living God creates nothing that is not good for he is total good and
love. He loves us so much that he sent
his only begotten son to die on that cross that we may be forgiven of our
sins...just ask with a sincere, faithful, and loving heart and it shall be
done.
Something that will help with
faith building is to know the greatest of God's commandments:
"The most important one,"
answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no
commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:29-31 NIV
Isn't this all so simple and
loving? Some attempt to make it difficult
by adding stipulations that, as you learn through proper teaching and study,
are just not there. Absolutely, God does
not place complex, rigid, or class-leaning hoops before us to jump
through. You will find that our Father
uses the most unlikely people as his tools to accomplish the most challenging tasks to carry out his will and
show his love and glory all with astounding results.
You must spend time alone in a
very comfortable place of quietness in prayer with God to get to know him personally...and
you will. Prayer...just talk from your
heart and have faith that your needs will be given. He knows what is in our hearts and what our
needs are before we ever ask, but he wishes talk with you. He created you. So he knows everything about you. He wants you to pray to get to know him in
return for, remember, he loves you. Once
you adjust and make daily personal conversation with God a habit. You will feel something is missing if you
miss a day. You will know how loving and
good he is. Then you will know for
yourself. Ignore those who may chastise
or rebuke you for your faith. You will
know it is good. We Christians are
different. What other religion commands
you to love all. Love, love,
love...such a wonderful habit.
Forgiveness...aww...let me tell you, with practice you will begin to
feel less stressed and confident in your daily life once you accept the fact
you are forgiven for all past sins and you start forgiving others that sin
against you. Through prayer you
accomplish forgiving and loving others that non-Christians would have great
difficulty doing. When you forgive, you
lighten the load of those around you producing much good feeling and love
reflects back upon you.
These are the difficult and
grueling requirements to become a Christian.
If you want to be loved and to love, let Jesus Christ our Lord into your
heart and life, and remove that heavy load of sin from your back that you may
be set free to love and serve others as our Lord did for us. He came upon this earth to serve...not to be
served. The son of God came to
serve...not to be served. The one true
living God is so exciting. Come and have
faith and find love and forgiveness. It
is not difficult and so satisfying to serve our loving God and others.
As I sat waiting for my car to be serviced at Mr. Phipps business
recently, a young man in his early twenties sat next to me and filled my ears
with bragging about his father's wealth and possessions. I was quiet, only nodding occasionally. I was relieved when Mr. Phipps walked behind
the counter informing me that my car was ready.
As I stood to pay for the servicing, I looked at the young man saying
with no malice intended, "That's nice that your father owns all those
things. Let me tell you one thing about
my Father before I go. My Father built
the earth that your father's mansion rests upon." The young man was speechless with confusion and
Mr. Phipps, a very good Christian, had the biggest smile on his face I had ever
seen. To my surprise, on my next visit
to Mr Phipps, he informed me the young man told him, "I guess the man was
telling me I brag too much. I liked that
man and his comment. It really makes you
think about all this stuff people have and worship. Doesn't it?" That young man was the mirror image of myself
forty years ago.
Several years ago, a friend
told me the previous night he had a dream.
In that dream he came face to face with God. God had hair of flames and glowing red eyes
that scared him so bad that he woke up screaming and sweating. I said, "That wasn't God. That was your sins working on you
mentally. When you encounter God, you
will be confronted with overpowering love and forgiveness that man has only two
earthly words to describe it...Jesus Christ.
I tell you this from experience."
This friend was a Christian,
but with only a shallow faith. Had he
developed a deep, strong faith, he would know that a loving, forgiving God can
be nothing but divine and most holy beauty.
Make no mistake, I have not always had this faith or known my God on a
loving personal level that I do today. It
takes time and desire to develop a deep faith.
A faith that is obtained at the moment of conversion and lost when the
novelty wears off or the first obstacle is encountered, is a faith that shallow
or non-existent. God loves us all and
forgives us all if we but have faith. I
was a lost and shallow Christian a good portion of my life, but the Lord was
always with me. When I finally
surrendered and turned everything over to him, things began to change
rapidly. If you are ready to accept the
fact you cannot do it alone, turn it over to him. I tell you truthfully, that is what he
wants. Why struggle day after day saying
I'm a Christian then relying on manmade technology to relieve your burdens and
save you. As humans in this earthly
environment, we tend to rely on that seen with our eyes when we should be using
our spiritual guide, the holy spirit within us.
Nah...that's too easy, too simple, just like the requirements for
becoming a Christian. We love to take the hard route then complain
constantly about how tough it is.
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