PEOPLE GET READY

People get ready, there's a train a comin' You don't need no baggage, you just get on board All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin' Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
-Curtis Mayfield-

This special edition of the Independent Evangelist is dedicated entirely to the concept of "Giving your life to Christ." When I was young, I would often hear people say they were "Born Again" and they seemed to have crazy peaceful looks on their faces when they said it. At the time, I had drifted from my Christian roots and never paid much attention to the faith of others so a "Born again Christian" just didn't matter to me.

Through the two and a half years I've been writing this newsletter, I've shared many personal episodes in the faith journey of my later years. Now I realize I am a "Born Again Christian" but, oddly enough, I never considered myself as such.

I faced a lot of trials in my life and realized that God hadn't left me but I was trying to do things on my own and He was sitting back saying, "How is that working out for you?" He'd say, "Are you ready to come back to me yet?" When the old, stubborn "me" realized He wanted a better life for me, I let Him take over. The old "me" was gone forever and life has been one blessing after another.

It's incredibly easy to give yourself to the Lord but we make it extremely hard because He gives us free will and as soon as we think He is not looking, we insist we know better. It sounds childish but we are all God's children and we are acting accordingly. Just as our own children challenge our authority, we challenge His.

What I have to say is meant for those of you who are struggling to understand that God really does love you unconditionally and He wants a better life for you. You may already have a good life as far as having possessions and money in the bank and a house full of kids. In a way, you're right but you feel as though something is missing.

Through prayer and careful observance of changes in your life you will find out exactly what was missing. No amount of money or things can match a single blessing from the Lord. Get ready, "all you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin, don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord".

GOD LOVES YOU

God loves you and wants you to know Him so He can fill you with peace and give you real life forever. The Bible says, "Because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God (Romans 5:1). God loved the people of this world so much that He gave His only son, so that everyone who has faith in Him will have eternal life and never die (John 3:16).

God loveus said: "I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest" (John 10:10). Since God planned for us to have peace and real life right now, why are so many people hurting or angry inside?

Our Problem...Separation From God

God created us in His own image so we can know Him personally and have a joy-filled life. He did not make us as robots to automatically love and obey Him, but gave us a will and a freedom of choice. Since the beginning of time, we have chosen to disobey God and go our own willful way. We still make this choice today. This results in separation from God and ends in misery.

The Bible says, "All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's holiness" (Romans 3:23).

"The result of unforgiven sin is death. But, God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

The Bible says that disobeying God results in being separated from Him. Our attempts can never unite us with God. Through the ages, people have tried many ways to bridge this gap and reach God without success.

The Bible says, "Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die" (Romans 5:12).

You may think you are on the right road and still end up dead (Proverbs 14:12).

There is only one way to reach God.