Never lose hope. Jesus Saves.
- Ryn Lois Funtilon
- Jul 5, 2016
- 4 min read
Today, I read an article about a journalist pretending to be a young woman interested in ISIS. Here's the link to the article: http://www.rd.com/true-stories/survival/romancing-terrorist/
It made me think of how a lot of people all over the world are convinced that the god they serve would save them from whatever evil is out there. Here's what I'm going to tell you, the only God that can save you from every sin and shame is Jesus. You might tell me that I'm crazy and delusional, but it's the Truth. It's in the Bible. As it says in John 3:16, "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." and in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Many years ago, Adam and Eve fell into sin (Genesis 3), which made us inherit their sins. The sin separated us from God, because God is so pure, perfect and Holy that sin caused a big wall between God and us. Because of God's grace, 2000 years ago, He sent His Son to sacrifice Himself in order for us to have a relationship with Him. We don't need to do anything, but repent and ask Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. That's how simple it is. We don't need to sacrifice ourselves in order to be favoured by God, because He has already shed His blood for us. How beautiful is it to think that someone so high up went down to earth in order to save us from the sins of this world? Think about it... wouldn't you rather serve a God who loves you and thinks you're the most beautiful thing that He ever created that He died in your place than a god who tells you to sacrifice yourself for him?
A lot of suicide bombings and mass shootings all over the world has happened recently. It breaks my heart to hear how there were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker (Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34996604) and the most recent suicide bombing happened in Baghdad whereby it is being labelled as the "Deadliest attack in Baghdad in years" for killing at least 215 people. (Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/04/middleeast/baghdad-car-bombs/index.html)
People are slowly losing hope in humanity and starting to feel afraid that their country might be stricken next. There's no better time than now to pray for the safety of your country and your people. There's no better time than now to repent and pray for your salvation. I tell you, my brothers and sisters, these devastating events must not alarm us for we have been warned in the Bible of the "Signs of the End of the Age" (Matthew 24) that destruction must come before we are taken to our true home with Jesus. "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." (Matthew 24:44)
Being ready means accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and you have been living your life the way Jesus told you to (according to the Bible). Maybe you're reluctant to do so because you don't know how to start or because you're enjoying doing things that have been deemed by God as unacceptable, but you know what? All these things that you're "enjoying" now: money, alcohol, nicotine, drugs, lust... These things are meaningless. When you die, you won't be able to bring these things with you. When you die, you'll be judged by God and asked what you did with your life while you're here on earth, what would you say? You were "enjoying life" and wasting away the chances that God gave you to be closer to Him.
If you want to repent now and ask Jesus to be in your life, take a moment to say this as a prayer and mean it:
"Heavenly Father, I know that I'm a sinner and my sins have separated me from you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. I invite Jesus to become my Lord and Saviour. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
Welcome to God's family, my brother/sister in Christ! As a way to grow closer to our Father, here's what you should do:
Find a church where you can worship God with the other followers of Jesus. (Matthew 18:20)
Seek fellowship with people who can answer your questions and support you in your newfound faith in Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Spend time with God each day by reading the Bible and ask God to help you understand His Word. (Joshua 1:8)
Pray everyday for you communicate with God that way. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Get baptized as commanded by Christ. (Acts 10:48)
Share God's love to other people. (Mark 16:15-16)
Now that you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, I can't promise you that it will be easy, because Jesus never said it would be easy. Though many struggles will come to your life, because the devil doesn't want you to get closer to God, simply pray and talk to God to give you the strength to endure the problems that will come your way. Never lose hope, my dear brother/sister. Jesus saves and He will be with you every step of the way. Always remember that Jesus loves you and so do I. :)
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