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A Christian Awaking

Many people identify with and call themselves Christian—a person who believes Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah of biblical scriptures. Many have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and have been baptized in Jesus’ name yet they have never been “Salt and Light” witnesses to their fellow man. They talk the language in their social church settings, but they do not “walk the walk” in the heathen world as Jesus commanded.

Jesus gave words of caution in Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) when He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

The Holy Spirit is leading me to step out in faith and begin “An Awakening” ministry that will provide encouragement and support for all who claim to be Christian, but who if placed on trial for professing to be a Christian, would not be convicted because of the lack of sufficient evidence required to convict them. At my trial I was found innocent, not enough evidence to convict, and I was on my way to hell until I surrendered all to Jesus and His Holy Spirit.

I was so self-righteous that I jokingly talked of carrying a bag of stones on my belt; in case I ran across a potential stoning I would be prepared to cast the first stone. My mantra was, “I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t go with girls who do.” I was a Pharisee, to put it in a Biblical light, who had few dates.

There must be a foundation built on the fundamental teaching, person and deity of Jesus Christ in order to understand what it means to be called a Christian. In the world, to be called “Christian” can conjure up many perceptions, some positive and some negative. Examine the literature and writings and you will find many opinions. I will not argue the merits or attempt to explain all the various “word-plays” of the Christian name, but I will seek to motivate and encourage all who choose: to “live their Christ centered faith” and to witness to those who are “burdened with sin” and are feeling the call of Jesus Christ in their soul and spirit.

The Awakening Message that I espouse is the affirmation from biblical scriptures of the redemption and salvation message of Jesus Christ through His birth, death, resurrection and future second coming. My awakening ministry is a one-on-one ministry that seeks to motivate, instruct and teach all who seek to follow the commands of Jesus Christ. It is the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ. See Blog Post 03-27-10 – Good News.

In our two worlds, the physical and spiritual, most will never discover the spiritual. By not discovering the spiritual, man will toll, struggle, live and die only to spend eternity in what the Bible calls, “The Lake of Fire:” an eternity without God. If you do not believe in God or in a spiritual dimension, go back to your toll and struggles and enjoy what you can. However, if you are being burdened in your soul and spirit by the sinfulness of life, God is calling you. Everyone will not hear the call of God because of their unbelief and the “hardening” of their soul and spirit by their continual, past and present, rejection of God’s calling. If you are hearing His call, surrender and begin your journey to discover the best that a Christian life has to offer.

The first step to becoming a Christian if to heed the calling of Jesus Christ—a process called salvation. The second step is to allow the Holy Spirit to instruct you in your Christian walk. The third step is to follow the Holy Spirits directions. Most Christians will never make it to steps two and three; it is a travesty in that they will never find the peace that surpasses all understanding and true salvation. To heed the calling of Jesus Christ one must acknowledge and accept as truth the following:

There is but one God.

There is but one God, and God is a Trinity: God the Father (Spirit), God the Son (A physical, visual manifestation of God in Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit (God’s Holy Spirit lives in those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.) This is a unique concept for the human mind to understand, and is unlike any other religion in its message or saving power. See Blog Post 06-25-09 – The Trinity of God.

The Reverend Clarence Larkin in his book, “The Spirit World,” explained it in these simple terms. “As neither the “Heat” or the “Light” or the “Chemical Action” of the Sun is in itself the Sun, it takes all three to make the Sun.” Just as the human body is made up of individual components, they in their united whole make up the human body, soul and spirit.

Although each attribute or component of the Sun or body have their separate work to perform, so the “Father,” “Son,” and the “Holy Spirit” of the Trinity have their roles. They should not be considered separately as individual Gods but in their total working as the one true God. Thus, separate in their functions but equal in the Trinity. They in Their united capacity give us a picture and understanding of God. Each person of the Trinity performs Their sovereign works in the on going creation and preservation of the Universe and for our limited humanistic minds, a clearer and more easily understood explanation of the deity and unity of God’s Trinity.

Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

Jesus Christ is the only path to heaven. You must confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and allow the Holy Spirit to indwell your human body and soul and surrender your will to His Spirit’s leading. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” If you will not confess or believe Jesus, you cannot claim the Christian believe of eternal life.

There is no other name by which man can be saved.

Consider the words of Peter, an Apostle of Jesus, who on the day of Pentecost proclaimed the following about the deity of Jesus, “…Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Act 4:12 (NKJV). Peter walked and talked with Jesus so he had first hand knowledge of the words spoken by Jesus.

You may well argue your own believe in that there are multiple ways to heaven, but you cannot support your believe thorough Biblical scriptures found in the Bible—there are no scriptures that support multiple paths to heaven. The Bible in its entirety supports only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. You cannot pick and chose scripture, believing some and disbelieving others, to support another way to be saved other than through Jesus Christ. If you believe otherwise you cannot use the Bible to support your view as the Bible must be taken as a “whole” and not segmented to justify an unscriptural view.

The Bible is the inspired word of God and all of it is, “Truth.”

It is important to read and study the Biblical scriptures recorded in the Bible. Fill your mind with Truth rather than the garbage of Hollywood and the world. If you do not believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, then what is your “foundation” source for the god you believe in and the heaven he/she lives in. If you have not read and studied the Bible with the belief that the written words are true, you will never discover the amazing power found therein.

For the unbelieving, the power and truth of the Bible will not be revealed but will be veiled. Until the truth is revealed to you, an understanding and an acceptance of the Bible will never make sense, and you will remain in your ignorance until the time of the end when you will be judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. There will not be a second chance at the Great White Throne Judgment. For additional insight read Revelation 20:7-15.

There is life after death:

There is life after death whether you chose to believe it or not—a life to be spent with Jesus Christ in heaven or a life to be spent in the Lake of Fire. Heaven and hell are real places as taught in Biblical scriptures. If you do not believe in a heaven or hell then that is your choice. God gave you free will to choose. I would hate to have made such a choice without having searched the truths found in the written word of God.

Do not blindly accept the message of the world. It only leads to death; the death of your soul and spirit. Read, pray and seek God. Do not fall prey to false gods through ignorance and pride.

We live during a time when the god (Satan) of this world has blinded the lost so that they cannot see or discern the truth of the one living God. Satan has spiritual dimension over the earth. Satan offered Jesus, “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor,” if Jesus would only bow down and worship him. Read “The Temptation of Jesus” in Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus refused!

God is under attack and His words, written in the Bible by inspired “men of God,” are being challenged. But note this, God does not need man to justify or defend Him. However, man needs God to find the peace that surpasses all understanding.

The teachings of scripture are being repudiated by the godlessness of twenty-first century man. As the world accepts Allah, the god of Islam, the true Christian still remains a beacon of hope for the lost of the world. I believe John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General, clearly differentiated between Islam and Christianity when he wrote; “Islam is a religion in which Allah requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son to die for you.” In other words, God gave His son for your sins and transgressions; Allah demands your son die for him.

Who will you choose to follow? The choice is obvious for those who have had the veil removed from their eyes. Why not ask God to remove the veil from your eyes and enjoy the beauty and peace offered only by the Creator.

These words of Paul recorded 2 Thessalonians and the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew should make most who are Christian in name only shudder. Consider or better still, study and pray about the scriptures quoted in the next two paragraphs.

As recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NIV), “The coming of the lawless one (Antichrist) will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, sign and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” And as recorded in Matthew 25:41-46 (NKJV), “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Are you ready to stand up and proclaim your faith? As a Christian you are to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ. Are you truly committed to Jesus Christ and are you ready to serve Him? I pray your answer will be “Yes.”

If you are in need of help in discovering how to overcome your reluctance or inhibitions in becoming an effective witness, check out the “Eight Step Plan” (Blog Post 06-24-09 – Eight Step Plan) available at this site.