Personal Experience With Jesus Christ

John 1: 37, 40

A successful soul winner must have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There Is A Commitment In Salvation. Before anyone can witness, they must know what they are talking about! They have to be saved before they can share!

There Is A Confidence In Salvation. They must have their salvation nailed down. When there is a lack of confidence in one’s own salvation, there will be a lack of power in one’s witness.

There Is A Clear Testimony Of Salvation. They must think their own salvation experience through in detail. Only then can they tell others what has happened in their lives.

Our most powerful illustration of salvation is our own personal experience with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Andrew was able to share with Peter what he had already experienced of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus The Proclaiming Word

John 1:4-13, 18

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known." (John 1:18)

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Jesus Came To Reveal God To Man. Everything He did was to unfold more of the revelation of God to man. Men needed to see God not just as a Lawgiver, but also as a lover. Not only as a judge, but as a justifier. Not as some stern and hateful being, but as a saving and caring God. Jesus did just this by His life. Jesus came to put God on display before men and He did this in two primary ways:

• He Came To Proclaim Light (John 1:4-9). He came to a world in spiritual darkness. He opened the curtains of grace revealing the truth of God to men wandering in darkness. He came to illuminate the pathway of men toward God. This light will either cause men to repent of their sins and run to the opened arms of the Lord, or it will cause them to reject the light and continue on their course of darkness. One will lead to salvation; the other will lead to damnation (John 3:36).

• He Came To Proclaim Life (John 1: 10-13). Jesus came to His people, who had His Word, and were living in His Promised Land. He came to tell them that there was a way to come to the Father and to experience eternal life. But they refused His call to come to Him!
  
  Now, anyone who will respond positively to the light of God and will come to Jesus and receive Him into their heart and life will experience the new birth and will enter into eternal life.
  
  This life comes not by our natural birth, not by our own good works or the work of another, but only through the will of God (John 6:36-40).
  
  There is only one entrance into life and that is through the Son of God. He is the Door (John 10:9) and He is the Way (John 14:6). If anyone will enter into life, they will enter through Jesus!

Who Is Jesus Christ?

Read John 1:1-2

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He Is Eternally God. The Word has always existed. He is eternal. He always has been and He always will be. Before there was anything else, there was the Word. Jesus had His birth in Bethlehem, but not His beginning.

He Is Equally God. Jesus is the perfect expression of Who God is. He is everything God has ever said or will say. He is everything God is about in human form. Jesus is God’s equal. The God we serve is a triune God. There is one God Who manifests Himself in three Persons. The Word, Jesus, is one of those manifestations.

He Is Essentially God. Not only is the Word co-eternal and co-equal with God, the Word is God!

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Some Thoughts

• Jesus Christ and His Father are one. (John 10:30)
• When God sent His Son Jesus into this world, He sent One Who was eternally, equally and essentially God. (John 3:16)
• When the angels said, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord,” they were announcing the birth of God in human flesh! (Luke 2:11)
  

All through His life The Lord Jesus proved Who He was over and over again. The truth and power of His deity was constantly display. Every word, every deed, and every miracle declared Him to be God.

Jesus Christ is God!

Which To Do?

Some people say, “Don’t do to others what you would not have them do to you.”

Every system has its rules and regulations, and we must follow them. There must be no deviation and violation of them.

We are told to mind our own business. Let other people take care of themselves.

“Don’t meddle into people’s affairs,” was what we were told when we were young.

We are often reminded not to cause harm to others, or it may lead to terrible consequences.

A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire, we are often told.

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Others say, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”

Now, this is different. This is a positive statement.

We must contribute towards the good of others.

We must have positive thoughts, feelings and attitudes towards them.

And we must do more good.

We must learn to share more, and take less.

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Now, that is a tough call.

Which is the right thing to do?

I leave it to you to decide.

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Adam was alone. He had no one to share with him. He was very lonely.

All the animals moved around him in pairs, rubbing necks and shoulders, following one another closely and intimately.

Adam was made to see his loneliness. He yearned for a partner.

God put Adam to sleep.

God created Eve from Adam's rib.

God created Eve specially for Adam.

Eve was taken out of Adam’s side to be equal with him.

Eve was taken from under Adam’s arm to be protected by him.

Eve was taken from near Adam’s heart to be loved by him.

When Adam awoke, He saw an absolutely beautiful and perfect woman there with him.

Adam’s immediate response was “Yes!”

Finally, here was the woman whom he couldn’t live without.

Finally, here was the woman who was compatible with him and who completed Him.

Adam had the heartfelt love for Eve.

Adam was sure that Eve was the woman God has created just for him.

How about you? Have you found your beloved? I have.

Happy Valentine's Day 2012.

Stand Up, Our Children

Get up! Our dear Children.
Stand firm and stand strong!
Get ready and always be ready,
And walk on your own!

Finally it comes,
Now that you have to be alone,
Learning and doing things on your own!

Now we can't watch over you,
Now we can't lend you our hands,
Now you are far, far away from home.

Oh! Our dear Children.
Carry out your plans carefully,
Make your choice wisely,
And walk your path with caution.
Walk well, our dear Children, walk well.

Remember those early days,
When we had you in our arms,
Oh! How much hurt, pain, fun and joy we shared!
Remember those many times we helped you,
Until you finally stood and walked on your own.
Oh! How many tears of joy we must have cried together!

Finally, finally it comes!
There you are...
Far far away...
Over the other side of the world,
Far far away...
Struggling and fighting on your own.

Oh! Our dear Children.
Get up! Stand up! Stand firm!
Be strong and walk on your own!

Oh! Our dear Children!
We promise to be there with you.
We will never be far away!
God knows how we always have you in our mind and heart.
And how many times we earnestly cry and pray for you.

Oh! Our dear Children.
Stand firm and stand strong.
May the Lord God be with you,
And may He be with us too!

Que Sera, Sera

The fact that Christians are going to church on a regular basis is a big deal to them.

It may seem a small, unimportant or insignificant event to some people, but rain or shine, occupied or free, happy or sad, these people are always there in the church, worship their God and enjoy the service proper.

Some of them have been there for the past many years; some since their childhood years or their early youth. Maybe if you care to ask them, they will answer you the reasons for their joy in the Lord!

Some are newcomers. They are very excited and interested in all they do. They are very active to serve the church, and will readily share with you their newfound faith.

Christianity is of faith in Christ. It is the thought, the desire and the drive to love and serve God the Father through His Son, for His wonderful gift of salvation.

Are these people wrong in putting their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Maybe. And if that is true, they would be the most miserable of all people on earth. For if there is no God, and if the afterlife is a fairy tale, then let's eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!

Many people are now talking about the last days, and the last day.

Some are rushing to God.

Some continue to enjoy themselves. They just wouldn't care.

What about you?

Is it still, "Que Sera, Sera, What will be, will be..."?

Or is it the time to renew your faith in God?

Winning Friends

Have you heard people speaking nasty words about others lately? Do you see them doing nasty things too? Have you witnessed their friends jeering and cheering them on?

Don't be too surprised! This is exactly what many people in the world are doing right now. If they think they can't beat you, they will try other ways to discredit you and destroy you! And if you think you can't beat them, they think it is better for you to join them!

Winning and losing have become an important part of our lives today. We compete virtually in everything and for everything. We prepare ourselves for every opportunity, every offer, and every situation to challenge one another. We just want to win. Losing is shame to our pride. Even our goodness and cleverness are put into competition today.

And people prefer to side with the winners, and not the losers. So if you are always a loser, you are not only out of the tournaments, you are out of your circle of friends! Winners always stay together, and they make great boast!

I was once like that too. I was once there with my circle of winning friends. Winning is fun! Winning is important! Winning is addictive! Winning must be a regular occurrence! Winning is everything! Winning is the only thing!

But who can win everything? Who can win every time? Everyone will have their falls some time in life. Me too! And so the losers quit, and the winners keep fighting. It is like dog fight, and more dog fights! And losers will just have to retreat and quit!

But it is alright to lose sometimes. We need to learn from our mistakes and then move forward. We need to learn to avoid making the same mistakes twice. In due time, God willing in the near future, we will succeed again.

It's never true that "Once a loser, always a loser." Losers never stop fighting. They continue on, and they will eventually win. They may not be that good fighting in the same red ocean, but they can create a blue ocean of their own. They will then have their new friends and friendships in the blue ocean.

We do not always have to fight in order to win. Some people who like to fight, have in the process, discover that they have won many wars but lost the battle eventually.

Life can be quite miserable without our friends. It's better then, as we grow older and wiser, to win some friends near us or round about us, to accompany us till we breathe our last.

Let's start rather to win friends than fighting personal wars.

The blue ocean would be nice. We are peacemakers, not breeders of strife and contention. We don't want to fight to win!

But we want to seek friends, companions, and partners. We want to nurture our loved ones who nurture us. And we will learn to win their trust and confidence!

Everyone wants to win. Me too! But I prefer to win friends.