Are you sure of your salvation??

I have to tell you that I have NEVER had so much trouble writing a post before. I've been trying to write this for over a week now. First I had trouble actually typing. At times there would be a delay and letters were missing and I thought I was going to lose my mind. So, I saved and decided I'd finish up later. Last night I worked on the last half of his post for 1 1/2 hours...Then I finally had it all done! So, I hit the button "Publish Post" and I click over to view the post and there's stuff on the post that I had deleted. So, I go back to edit the post and guess what...it was the post I left off with plus a couple things from tonight, but everything I worked on was gone! All the pictures at the bottom, the scriptures, everything. I feel sick to my stomach. But I was not going to let that stop me, so I started again. This time my pictures were gone from my hard drive. Well, it's a good thing I didn't delete them off my camera chip! :( I know why I'm having all these problems. And I just know that someone...even if it's only one person...will be touched by this. And it will all be worth it. Praise you Lord!

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So, I'll do it again...
Last week I wrote a post about friends. I told about the greatest friendship, which is with Jesus. Well, I can't brag about the greatest friendship ever without sharing how you can enter into this relationship as well. There's just so much to say. I have to first start out by saying that I am by all means no expert or Bible teacher. I'm just someone who has found the Lord and love Him dearly. AND I speak from my personal experience only.


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In my days which I call, "Before Christ", I was a nice, loving person who did kind things most of the time. All in all, I thought I was a pretty good person, I believed in God and of course, I would be going to heaven. I mean after all, I wasn't a murderer and I really did do good things for the most part. But you see, it doesn't work that way. Because if that's how you get into heaven, how would we know if we've done enough or how would we know if we didn't do too many bad things. I mean...where do you draw the line? And it's not enough to just believe. Even Satan believes in God.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me how God has changed me. Now, I have to say that this friend is agnostic. This friend is also very analytical and highly intelligent. So much so that it's sometimes very hard to have a normal conversation with him. There are very few things I would ever try to debate with him. UNLESS, it's something that I'm so passionate about and just don't want him to miss out on. And actually this is not a debate I'm trying to have. After all, how many people have you "argued" into the Kingdom of God? Rather, I'm just trying to explain to him the very essence of my feelings. So, back to his question. As I was trying to answer his question, I said things like: I'm more giving, generous, loving, etc. Then he said "you've always been kind, loving, generous, etc. I don't see how you could become any more of those things than you were before." Ok, but I have a deeper love for those I don't even know. I have a deeper understanding of what it means to forgive. And I realize that I can't do many things on my own...I need Jesus to help me. But more than that, I have peace. I have peace in my life more than ever before. We have gone through some dark storms the past couple of years. Through it all God has been faithful. He has cared for us and provided our every need. Over the next few months I will integrate some of my journaling from those days. I have amazing stories to tell about God and his provisions. I also have hope. Hope that beyond all the pain and suffering that goes on here on earth, there is something more. That the short time we have here on earth is nothing compared to eternity. Eternity in heaven where there is no pain or suffering. I can't wait.


Now, I will ask you a very important question. If you were to die today, are you sure of your salvation? Do you know where you are going? With no doubt? And there's so much more to this question. I mean it's not just about where you will spend eternity (although that is huge). But it's about today. It's about giving up and surrendering to God. It's saying, "I CAN'T DO THIS ALL BY MYSELF!" Who would want to? Who would want to navigate through this world where there's so much pain, suffering, death, trouble, heart ache, etc? If you can have Jesus walking along side you, helping you, loving you, comforting you, and guiding you...wouldn't you want that? I know I do.


One thing I've discovered is that "religion" is spelled DO. It's all about what you can do to earn your way to heaven. Christianity is spelled DONE. It's about what's been done for us. There's no way to earn your way into heaven. It's a gift. A free gift that you receive by opening your hand and receiving it.

I want to show you an illustration: (Disclaimer: I am NOT an artist! ha, ha!)

From the day that Adam and Eve took a bit of the infamous apple, sin has entered into our lives. God did not make us robots to love and obey Him. He gave us free will. The freedom to make choices. This results is separation from God. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." —Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Each of the arrows below, represents our good works, our attempts to make it to heaven. No matter what we do, we fall short. "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." Romans 3:23 There is nothing that we can do on our own to get to God. That is why God sent His son. John 3:16 says "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus gave His life for us upon the cross and then rose from the dead. When He did this He paid the penalty for our sins, therefore cancelling them out, to bridge the gap between us and God. By doing this, we have eternal life in heaven. 1 Peter 3:18 says "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit."
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

The bible says:

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." - Revelation 3:20

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"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12

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"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." Romans 10:9-10

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Are you ready? Would you like to make sure of your salvation? If so, here is a prayer. You can talk to God in your own words. There is no right or wrong way.

1. First of all, tell God that you are sorry for the things you've done. Have an honest heartfelt conversation with him. Be willing to turn from your sins and repent. Ask for His forgiveness.
2. Believe in your heart that Jesus died and the cross and rose from the dead and thank Him for doing so.
3. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord and Savior of your life.

If you received Jesus Christ as your savior, please let me know by commenting at the end of this post. If you write "private" at the top of the comment, I will keep it that way. I would like to be able to come along side you and help you get connected. It's really important that you do that.

If you've read this, but you're still not sure, that's ok. Feel free to ask any questions. I may not have the answer but I will certainly help you find it.

Alpha is a great way to get your questions answered as well. Alpha is a relaxed, safe place to ask questions and explore spirituality from a Christian perspective. Many people from different backgrounds come to this course to meet new people and learn the basics of Christianity. If you live near Lakeville, MN, there is an Alpha program at Hosanna! Lutheran Church. For those of you that live in other parts of the country, click here to find an Alpha near you.

I hope and pray that you receive this post with the love that is intended. There is no condemnation in Christ. God loves you more than you could ever imagine! You were made in His image. And His Grace is sufficient and abundant.

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If you did not see my post about Annabelle...scroll down to yesterdays post to read about her. She is the one that inspired me to seek faith!

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Thanks for blogging with me and I look forward to your comments! Please do leave them. It's inspiring to read what others have to say. :)

And now Lord, I pray that when I hit the "Publish Post" button, the entire post (pictures and all) will make it to my blog page! In Jesus' Name...AMEN!!!!

Bless you brothers and sisters in Christ,

Christine

Annabelle - the baby girl who captured my heart!

One day I was reading the newspaper. Now, I have to tell you that I don't read the newspaper. I never have. My idea of reading the paper is pulling out the ads. Yes! The ads. My favorite part of the paper. Well, on this particular day a picture of a beautiful baby girl caught my eye. Her name was Annabelle Loschko. She was a very sick baby that needed a heart transplant. Her parents had a Caringbridge website and once I got on and started reading, I was hooked. They were Christians with deep, deep faith. I was drawn to their writing, their faith. God really does know how to reach us. Over time I really fell in love with this sweet girl that I never met. The prayer requests that her parents put on the site each time they posted were unlike any prayers I ever heard. They were small, big, and specific. For example, after she got her heart one of the prayer requests was..."pray for pee". And they would give praise to God each time a prayer was answered. I began to talk about Annabelle and their faith with my family and friends. Annabelle seemed to be doing better. And then one day...there was no post. And that was very unusual because this family updated several times a day. I just knew something was wrong. And then the post came and I will never forget it. She started out by writing "This is the post I hoped I'd never have to write...Annabelle went home to be with Jesus." I couldn't believe it! I was so upset and I sobbed for days. But what came from that was even more unbelievable. Once again, their faith was amazing! They went on to write this, "We always knew that our little Annabelle would be a missionary. We just never knew how soon and how many people she would touch." Wow! And she was right. They had hundreds of hits every day. The thing is that I'm sure they were in pain, but they still had this amazing faith. Their writing was not of pain, but of hope. It touched my heart deeply. And it was then, that I wanted to have faith like that. I wanted to know where it was that they got their faith. So began my quest...my seeking.

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Oh my gosh! As I was writing this I really wanted to include a picture of Annabelle so you could see the sweet face that captured my heart. Well...I decided to google her name because I knew that the paper had a picture of her. Not only did I find a newspaper article about her, but I found her caringbridge website! Now...I have to tell you that what I wrote about was before I found her site. The words were just as I remembered. That's how profound they were to me. Anyways...here is Annabelle.

I hope and pray that her parents know what a legacy their baby girl has left. I'm not sure if they still check their comments on their CB site, but I think it would be really neat if they knew just one of the stories about how Annabelle is still touching lives. I can't tell you how many times I've talked about her in my testimony. The ripple affect she's had reaches far! One day in heaven we'll get to see that. :) If her story has touched you, leave a comment at their CB site. Click on Annabelle's name above her picture.

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By the way...I have to back up a few years. When Dave and I started dating, I started going to church with him. When we got married we were going to church and we even went to a Billy Graham crusade. At the Billy Graham Crusade, I asked Jesus into my heart. Although I really didn't know what I was doing or getting myself into. Romans 10:9-10 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." So, at that moment I was saved. And even though I didn't have the faith that this family had, I was saved. And the Bible says, that all you need is faith of a mustard seed. Matthew 17:20 says "...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." I think that at that time, my faith was that small. But I had asked Jesus into my heart. And He was there. Growing. With each "fertilization or watering", He grew. This story with Annabelle, was a major watering for me. Although only God knows how many lives have been touched, changed and saved as a result of this, I know there are many. You see the power of the testimony is great. People can relate. It's how we glorify God!

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When I think about where I was 6 years ago and where I am now...I really can't believe it.

Then I was working in the mortgage industry, trying to make more money so I could have nicer things.

Now I am working at a church, and believe me, not for the money. :) I work there because I love making a difference in the lives of others.

Then I loved my friends and family.

Now I love the lost.

Then I didn't know what my purpose in life was.

Now I have laser sharp focus. I'm here to love our Lord and and tell others about His love for them. I'm here not only to take care of my children, the gifts that God has entrusted me with, but to raise them up to be followers of Christ as well.

Then I was self-centered.

Now I am Christ-Centered.

What a difference a few years makes. What a difference a newspaper article makes. What a difference a day makes. What a difference ONE person makes! Folks, you don't have die in the physical sense to make a difference, but you do have to die to yourself.

I try to live this day for that day in which I will be face to face with Jesus.

Annabelle, thank you for being the brave little soul you were while you were on earth. For that short time you were here, you impacted many. And you are still impacting others with your legacy. To your faith-filled parents, thank you for sharing your sweet child with perfect strangers. Before I met your daughter, I had not saved one soul. Since then I have led many to Christ, and I am honored to say that Annabelle had a huge part in that.

Check back for a follow up post to this one, with a very important question.

To live is Christ,

Christine