Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Roman's Road
I found this on the internet and it's a really good reminder for me. Especially right now as Easter is almost here about what really happened on the cross and what Jesus has done for us.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin.
We were born under the power of sin's control.
- Admit that you are a sinner.
Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..."
Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.
- Understand that you deserve death for your sin.
Romans 6:23b "...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can't earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.
- Ask God to forgive you and save you.
Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"
When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!
- Give your life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you -- not religion, or church membership. God loves you!
Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!"
- Call out to God in the name of Jesus!
Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
- If you know that God is knocking on your heart's door, ask Him to come into your heart.
Jesus said, Revelation 3:20a "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..."
- Is Jesus knocking on your heart's door?
Believe in Him.
Ask Him to come in to your heart by faith,
and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
Open the Bible to the Gospel of John and read what God says about Jesus,
about you, and about being born again.
God will help you. He loves you.
You need to look for a local church where
God's word is preached. The Bible says that we are to desire
God's word like a newborn baby desires mother's milk.
Aren't you hungry to know the truth?
Water baptism is one of the ways you first show that you have been joined to Jesus. This is an action, and actions will not save you. However, it is an act of obedience and a symbol of commitment.
The symbolism is this:
When you go down in the water you show that
You have been crucified and buried with Him,
And when you come up out of the water you show that
you have been raised to walk with Him in newness of life.
(See Romans chapter 6)
You have been born again.
(See John chapter 3)
Your body has become God's temple.
Your heart is where He lives.
Forgiveness is yours in Jesus.
And you belong to Him.
You were sin's slave.
But now...
You are a child of GOD!
John 1:12
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name!"
The ROMANS ROAD....is a pathway you can walk.
It is a group of Bible verses from the book of Romans in the New Testament. If you walk down this road you will end up understanding how to be saved. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin.
We were born under the power of sin's control.
- Admit that you are a sinner.
Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..."
Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.
- Understand that you deserve death for your sin.
Romans 6:23b "...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can't earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.
- Ask God to forgive you and save you.
Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"
When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!
- Give your life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you -- not religion, or church membership. God loves you!
Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!"
- Call out to God in the name of Jesus!
Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
- If you know that God is knocking on your heart's door, ask Him to come into your heart.
Jesus said, Revelation 3:20a "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..."
- Is Jesus knocking on your heart's door?
Believe in Him.
Ask Him to come in to your heart by faith,
and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
Open the Bible to the Gospel of John and read what God says about Jesus,
about you, and about being born again.
God will help you. He loves you.
You need to look for a local church where
God's word is preached. The Bible says that we are to desire
God's word like a newborn baby desires mother's milk.
Aren't you hungry to know the truth?
Water baptism is one of the ways you first show that you have been joined to Jesus. This is an action, and actions will not save you. However, it is an act of obedience and a symbol of commitment.
The symbolism is this:
When you go down in the water you show that
You have been crucified and buried with Him,
And when you come up out of the water you show that
you have been raised to walk with Him in newness of life.
(See Romans chapter 6)
You have been born again.
(See John chapter 3)
Your body has become God's temple.
Your heart is where He lives.
Forgiveness is yours in Jesus.
And you belong to Him.
You were sin's slave.
But now...
You are a child of GOD!
John 1:12
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name!"
Monday, March 28, 2011
The Race
I remember it so clearly. Two legs further ahead of me, pounding the pavement in an even tempo. The difference in this runner and his legs versus the other 4,000 plus runners?!? Tattooed on the left leg was the word GOD'S and on the right leg was WILL. Seen together, God's will was running ahead of me and leaving me in the dust. While running behind him, I couldn't help but reflect on my life....my entire life. For some reason, I have always felt that I am always chasing after but never quite living fully in step or coordinated with God's will. I've always been the one in charge of my life, never completely surrendering to his will or his calling. Continued reflection through the run made me wonder, "What would it be like to really be in step with God's will?" (See You Tube video of Mercy Me performing "I Can Only Imagine")
What would it be like to live a life following exactly in his footsteps, synchronizing the rise and fall of each footstep and breath that we take in. Letting God take control and set the pace of this race. I'm a broken life with more then one scratched palm, banged up knee, twisted ankle (you name it, I am injury prone). Life hasn't been easy doing things my way and what if following God's promptings made it worse? What if being in sync with God cost me dearly? Could I do it? Would I be able to claw myself back up and haul myself out for yet another run with God's will? Why complete the course, why run and torture myself day in and day out?!?
Because...this is training. Training is and can be brutal. Full of blood (think injury prone again), sweat and tears...aches and pains of pulled muscles and sheer exhaustion from adhering to the strict training schedule. Why do runners do this? Marathoners, triathletes, and Olympic competitors...why?!?
Because...one vision is ultimately clear: To finish the race.
To finish the race and complete the fight. This is how we set our PR's in running and this is how we do the same with God's will. By following the prescribed training plan (his Bible) and staying in tune with him (through prayer)....the miles will disappear from out feet and we will begin to accomplish what we came for.... The joy in finishing and giving it our best effort and to be able to see that finish line and push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible until we can cross that line, where standing there with eyes shining and nail pierced arms extended, we can finally collapse into the arms of our saviour and hear those most precious words ever..... "Well done my good and faithful servant, well done."
What would it be like to live a life following exactly in his footsteps, synchronizing the rise and fall of each footstep and breath that we take in. Letting God take control and set the pace of this race. I'm a broken life with more then one scratched palm, banged up knee, twisted ankle (you name it, I am injury prone). Life hasn't been easy doing things my way and what if following God's promptings made it worse? What if being in sync with God cost me dearly? Could I do it? Would I be able to claw myself back up and haul myself out for yet another run with God's will? Why complete the course, why run and torture myself day in and day out?!?
Because...this is training. Training is and can be brutal. Full of blood (think injury prone again), sweat and tears...aches and pains of pulled muscles and sheer exhaustion from adhering to the strict training schedule. Why do runners do this? Marathoners, triathletes, and Olympic competitors...why?!?
Because...one vision is ultimately clear: To finish the race.
To finish the race and complete the fight. This is how we set our PR's in running and this is how we do the same with God's will. By following the prescribed training plan (his Bible) and staying in tune with him (through prayer)....the miles will disappear from out feet and we will begin to accomplish what we came for.... The joy in finishing and giving it our best effort and to be able to see that finish line and push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible until we can cross that line, where standing there with eyes shining and nail pierced arms extended, we can finally collapse into the arms of our saviour and hear those most precious words ever..... "Well done my good and faithful servant, well done."
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