TESTIMONY
In an effort to share my testimony and that with which I
believe, I have elected to ink this for my family friends, and anyone who will
listen!
I am a Christian,
What that means: I have read and accepted the testimony of
Jesus Christ and his apostles from the New Testament of the Bible. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God in the
living flesh. There is by the way no question from historical scholars that
Jesus did exist. So, if he did exist and proclaimed the things that he did,
then we can safely assume he was crazy or telling the truth. Jesus claimed to be God.
John 14:6 New
King James Version (NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:9b, 10a (NIV)
... Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father... Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
... Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father... Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
Matthew 26:63-64
The high priest said to him, “I
charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the
Son of God.” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
He said to them, “And who do you say
that I am?” 16 Simon
Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed,
Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my
Father in heaven!” (Matthew 16:15-17).
Because Jesus stirred so many millions of people over 2000
years, and without getting tremendously detailed here.. it is safe to assume
after my many years of studying history and researching the bible, that Jesus
life and death are recorded accurately, and Christianity is powerfully true.
Here are some bullet points that have lead me to my own
convictions:
·
Our current calendar is based on the life
and death of Jesus Christ.
·
A group of disciples to Christ died in his
name in brutal ways, however people spoke of their peace at the times of their
deaths and were surprised further compelling Christians to grow world wide. Many
Christians have died for their beliefs and Christians are not violent people.
·
The bible is composed of many books and
testimonies of many men. All of which give their varying however extremely
similar testimonies of the "miracles, healings and teachings of
Christ"
·
If anyone today were to a mass that many
testimonies, it would be difficult to deny that all of those men who wrote
their accounts made them up.
·
I have not seen life change without Christ
as the impetus. I have witnessed with my own eyes dramatic life transformation
of those who have accepted Christ as their Savior.
·
Acts of obedience have brought me literal
blessing.
·
Tithing is an act of obedience where one is
to offer a 10th of his earnings or first fruits to the Church. In an effort to
put this to the test, I began tithing regularly and was able to demonstrate to
my husband, Sunny, unequivocally that after tithing we had received more work
and opportunity in business. As he began
to trust me and try it for himself he was shocked and surprised to see checks
coming in for not almost but the very same amount to the dollar that he had
tithed days before. This was no coincidence. It happened for consecutive months
and each time.. he was stunned. We have never looked back and tithe regularly
and continue to live under the obvious blessing of God and with little effort.
There are more proponents to my convictions but are too
many to list, however, please do not hesitate to ask as I am excited to share.
SALVATION
The bible lays out series of events throughout time to
both teach and prepare us for the return of Christ.
2000 years ago Jesus was crucified for seemingly no
reason at all. However, it was His destiny to suffer and hang on a cross. In doing so he was the Sacrificial Lamb, the only One whom can save the lives
of the lost (of us).
Contrary to popular belief, it is not enough to be
agnostic and mediocre. It is not enough to just live quietly and in solitude.
People often say " I am a good person therefore if there is a God I
will be fine." or,"God will see that I did good things and was a law
abiding citizen."
This is what the bible has to say about that:
John 14:6 New King James Version (NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
This is what the bible has to say about that:
John 14:6 New King James Version (NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
God provided a Book, His Holy Word. There you will find testimonies, stories, prophesies, commandments and truth. Truth about our beginnings, the story of
Christ and that which is to come.
The bible clearly teaches that we are to believe in the
Son of God, Jesus Christ in order to be saved.
PROPHESY
The bible is so complete a book that it teaches of
events that have not even happened yet. But they are coming to light. The book
of Revelation (which is supported by many other books in the bible) specifically
focuses on the end days.
Here are a few bullet points that the Book of Revelation
broken down into two categories:
1. Revelation
prophesies currently unfolding
A world full of abortions, fornications, idolatry and worldly
passions.. and scoffers.
Signs in the moons and on the earth (ex: blood moons,
waste lands, disease, red bacteria algae blooms in water)
Nation will rise against nation
Many wars and rumors of wars
Many famines and injustices
Many false prophets
One world currency
Everyone will hear of me and see me (television and
missionaries have made this possible)
2. Revelation
Prophesies that will unfold (soon)
One world government
One world religion (worshipping the antichrist)
The end of democracy (one world order, US Marshal law)
The mark of the beast (could be the deeds of our hands
or literally an implant required to trade, buy and sell)
A magnificent and horrifying event that precipitates the
above (possibly a natural or manmade disaster)
Huge earthquakes that move mountains and change
landscapes
The death of millions
The return of Christ
The rapture
The day of judgment
The new world
-Now all of this may sound fanciful and silly-
but I can assure you that it will be very real. We are close and God does reveal to us through
certain people and chain of events how soon all of this is going to happen:
“For the Lord God does nothing without revealing
his secret to his servants the prophets."
Revelation
22:8 ESV / 4
I, John, am the one who
heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to
worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,
Revelation
22:6 ESV / 4
And he said to me, “These
words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the
prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.
I share this because although we have had innumerable false
prophets false religions, people invoking fear and irrational behavior leading those who will
follow to either their untimely death or whatever deceptive path they take,
there are currently people that have been given gifts of prophesy through
dreams, visions and the like.
Here are is just one that is extremely compelling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H0MDGIXZ0o
(his own parents have denounced him, they are not religious..but
he must obey God and respect His message, and share
The gift of being in the blessing of God
All of this becomes clear. The path, purpose and direction of both
my life and earths life. Of spiritual life and eternal life. God fuels thirst
and hunger for truth, and shelters you with blessings and clarity.
DOUBTS
I believe that everyone has doubts, I had doubts, its normal. I believe
however that in some way or another God has attempted to reveal Himself to you
and you have chosen perhaps to put it on the back burner or look the other way.
It takes effort that you may prefer to invest in other areas. But
God whispers first, then knocks louder, and so on. He is trying always to get
your attention.
This is just the way it is. And you will ask yourself..why? Why
does it have to be like this.. and how do I know, and why do I care.
I am telling you with all the certainty that I possess. Jesus is
real and the end is near. You don't have time to waste. Get to know your maker
now.
The bible teaches that anyone who calls on the name of Jesus will
be saved. This prayer is called "Prayer of Salvation"
Prayer of Salvation - Our First Real Conversation With God
- We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live;
that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we
deserve.
- We confess we are sinners and repent (turn from sin-stop sinning-despise sin)
- We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
- We ask the Holy Ghost to come into our heart, take up residence
there, and begin living through us.
Prayer of Salvation - It Begins With Faith in God
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're letting God know we believe His Word is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The Bible tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're letting God know we believe His Word is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The Bible tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
"Father, I believe that your son, Jesus
Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my
prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my
heart from this day forward. 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."
-http://www.allaboutgod.com/prayer-of-salvation.htm
FAITH
Faith does not always come easily or first. It is hard to have
faith sometimes in something seemingly intangible. Sometimes we need evidence and
once the scale tips in the direction of belief we can then have faith. For others it is instant.
So for those of you who are not sure and need evidence, please
use the following links to educate yourself. (important, these folks were non
believers.. just like me, but after doing their own investigating, became
faithful servants of Christ)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z0EkWRF7t8 (Jim Warner The Cold Case for God's Existence)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5wKYcK_kUs (Lee Strobel, the
case for the resurrection of Jesus)
CONCLUSION
For those of you who are wondering if I have lost my mind.. I have
not. It takes a lot of courage to speak the truth and share your beliefs. It's
much easier to jump on a popular band wagon or fad and speak someone else's truth. But
deep down inside, if we are honest with ourselves, there is a longing for
something larger than we can put our finger on. And if we look we will find it,
if we ask it will be revealed.
There is also a sense of urgency that I possess that I cannot describe.
It has been with me for a long time now.
I am not one that believes in imposing
my beliefs on others, however my love for my friends and family outweighs any
backlash or judgment that I may face as a result of sharing my position of faith
with you. Not being able to share or speak my truth is like being in prison and
not being honest or living fully.
Christians are no doubt called to witness to others, and that is
what I am doing.
I genuinely hope that some of you will ask me more about faith and
the coming events.. even if you think they are ridiculous. I would rather have
the debate with you and hear your point of view than miss the opportunity.
Thank you for taking the time to read.
