How to Become a Christian

What does it mean to be a Christian? The term “Christian” means “little Christ” and was first used of followers of Christ at Antioch in the first century AD. Believers in Antioch must have been extraordinary in their commitment and obedience to Christ if they were so associated with his teachings as to be nicknamed “little Christ!” This of course begs the question, “Would you warrant such a nickname?”

Unfortunately, many people believe being a Christian simply means ascent to certain ideas or beliefs. Many claim to be a Christian solely on the basis of their belief in God or Jesus Christ. Others believe being a Christian simply means being a good or moral person. Still others believe being a Christian has to do with the country or family to which they were born.

The truth is, becoming a Christian means far more than mental ascent to a collection of facts, being a moral person or being born in a certain place. Only those who believe and place their trust in the facts about Christ AND give their life to Him are actually transformed into a Christian, a “little Christ.” Becoming a Christian is just that, an actual transformation into a new person with a new identity, new desires and a new way of life. Jesus referred to this transformation as being “born again” during his conversation with Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Becoming a Christian is the equivalent of starting life over as a brand new person!

Have you genuinely believed the truth concerning Jesus Christ as presented in the Bible and entrusted yourself to these truths by giving your life to Jesus? If not, why not? There is no better time than right now to pray the following prayer and in so doing become “born again” as a follower of Jesus Christ!

“Jesus I am sorry for all my sins and I ask you to forgive me. I turn away from my sin and turn to You. I believe you died on the cross to pay the penalty for all of my sins. I give my life to you and ask you to save me from my sin and transform me into a Christian. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.”

If you have prayed this prayer drop us a line and let us know!

James

Trust...Not Always Easy But With God It Is Always Best!

During my prayer time this morning God reminded me of how much "striving" I do on a regular basis to make life just the way I want it to be. We all love to be in control don't we? Perhaps the most difficult, yet most beneficial, of all things we do as believers is letting go of control. Letting go of control involves releasing our life to God, especially the really important parts we value the most!

God can be trusted! To trust is to rely upon the character and ability of another. God is of perfect character and infinite ability!

James

35% of American Women Have An Abortion By Age 45

Last Sunday was "Sanctity of Life" Sunday and I thought "life" a subject worthy of a little extra time this week. Tragically, 35% of all American women will have an abortion by the time they reach age 45. Click here For Story This means there are women (and men) all around us who have a secret they are carrying around with them every day. Millions, many of which are surely among our friends and family, are carrying around the secret of abortion.

There have been more than 30 studies in the past five years which have given conclusive evidence of the serious negative psychological affects of abortion. Click Here For Story Of course, the spiritual consequences for those having an abortion are the same as those of any sin but when one considers the mental anguish which accompanies this particular sin the opportunity for ministry becomes obvious. Christians must reach out to those enduring the anguish of post-abortion life. Pray and ask God how He might use you and your church to minister to these devastated women (and men) hidden all around us. Pray for God to embolden "adult" victims of abortion to come forward and seek the love, support and ministry they so desperately need.

Pray for an end to the holocaust going on all around us every day.

James

What You Will Not See At President Obama's State of The Union Speech Tonight

Our country was founded by those who believed in Jehovah God. This is an irrefutable fact of our history and the blessing we have enjoyed as a nation is the result of the fact. God blesses those who put their life in His hands. Unfortunately, there are those who would have us forget or denounce our heritage. Click Here to see what you WON'T see at President's Obama's State of The Union speech tonight.

James

Sanctity of Life Sunday

I generally steer clear of politics, preferring instead to make our blog more devotional in nature. However, on this "Sanctity of Life Sunday" I must take issue with the current president and those who join his stance on abortion. (Click Here For Story) Abortion is no more a "private family matter" than any other type of murder and it must be stopped! Today let us pray for an end to the holocaust in this country. Twenty percent of all pregnancies in the United States now end in abortion.

There is forgiveness and grace you if you have ever had an abortion,

James

School Administrator Tells Children World War III Has Begun

So let me get this straight...Someone walks into your office and says, "Let's tell the children World War III has begun and London is being bombed, rush the children into the school basement and set off fireworks outside to simulate bombs going off nearby." Your response as school administrator? "What a fine idea! Sounds like a fine way to whip these kids into shape and teach them about the horrors of war!" I imagine those of you with kids join me in disbelief at the absurdity of this ridiculous exercise. Click Here for the whole story.

Don't these kids have enough to deal with in the real world without ruining the world of "make-believe?" Praying for these kids to get some peaceful sleep tonight!

James

Hold Out Hope For The Seemingly Impossible Dream

"In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord." -- 1 Samuel 1:10

Are you holding onto a dream and it seems like it will never come true? Is it a dream of a family, spouse or some new job opportunity? Have you had dreams which you have let die and walked away from because they seemed out of reach or were taking too long to realize? What should we do when it seems the odds are against those things we long for the most?

Hannah was a woman with a deep longing to have children yet year after year her dream for a family went unfulfilled. In the midst of her pain she continued to love and serve God faithfully. We never see a time when Hannah lost hope or in any way let her dream die. She believed her desire for a family was from God and depended upon Him to make the dream a reality. If her dream really was from God He would come through for her!

Our dreams should always be prayed over and submitted to God. Scripture teaches, when we submit our heart and plans to God He writes the desires He has for our life on our heart (Psalm 37:4). This means we won't be called to be a missionary in Africa unless God first writes the desire to be so on our heart! God takes the heart submitted to Him and creates new desires within it. Once we know our desires are from Him we can depend upon His ability to make the dreams He has given us a reality!

Don't give up on your God given dreams. While it is difficult to wait on God and His timing for those things we desire most, God's will and timing are always best! God is working things out in your life to make the dreams He has given you a reality! God's plans are worth waiting for no matter how long it takes! Hannah ended up having 5 children and a firstborn son who turned out to be the greatest Judge Israel ever had! Wait on the Lord, don't lose hope and see what He does with the dreams he has given you! It may be that God's plans for you are so big that it will take a little extra time for them to be realized in your life!

James

George Lucas Believes The World Will End in 2012

George Lucas may or may not believe the world is going to end in 2012 Click Here but regardless of his thoughts on the matter God is sovereign and has decided when the world is going to end. The Mayans and other ancient cultures may have us all checking out at the end of next year but Jesus Christ said, no man knows the day or hour of the end! I am betting we, God willing, will all be around to see the ball drop in 2013!

James

What Happens When We Die...Part 2

So what exactly happens at the moment we die? We (Christians) are promised in Scripture (2 Corinthians 5:8) that the moment we leave our earthly body we enter the presence of Christ. There will never be a moment when we are alone, confused or scared. When we close our eyes in death we open them in the presence of Christ and Heaven!

Heaven is a place filled with eternal joy and emptied of pain or tears. Whatever pain we may experience on earth is instantaneously gone the moment we leave for Heaven! Heaven is a place of unsurpassed beauty and unbroken fellowship with God! Heaven is a place we will never want to leave!

If you have recently lost a loved one I encourage you to read Revelation 22 and meditate upon the light, life and joy found in the presence of Christ and the Heaven He has prepared for those who love Him. There are simply no words to describe the wonder, joy and amazement found in the Heaven God has prepared for His people!

Jesus said in John 14 that He was leaving earth to go and prepare a place in Heaven for His followers. God is building a special place with YOU in mind if you are a Christian! Someday, we will enter the presence of Christ to live with Him forever in the place He has prepared for us!

James

Evander Holyfield's "Comeback of The Century"

Speaking of retirement...There comes the time when the child must become the parent and take the keys to the car away from dear old dad...where are Evander Holyfield's children??? Click Here This just seems immoral. Hasn't anyone seen Muhammed Ali lately?

James

Brett Favre Retires

Can Brett Favre Rehabilitate His Marred Reputation In Retirement?

Brett Favre has decided to hang up the cleats and retire from football. Perhaps it would have been better for his reputation had his retirement happened just a year or two earlier. The future hall of fame quarterback has taken a hit or two off the field in the past year. Favre's flirtations and inappropriate behavior with a reporter during his time with the New York Jets has made for endless gossip these past months. As the old saying goes, it only takes a moment to undo what it took years to build. Favre's all-american image has been diminished by his recent indiscretions and failures. Can his reputation be rehabilitated? Can a man regain honor and respect once he has so publicly fallen?

Christ came to save us from our sin and deliver us from the power of sin; we readily accept these two facets of the Cross of Christ. But Christ also came to deliver us from the condemnation associated with sin (Romans 8:1). Once we confess our sin and repent from it, we are never to entertain condemnation for it, not from others, Satan or even ourself. Respect and reputation with others may take time to rebuild after we stumble but our forgiveness and deliverance from condemnation are instantaneous through the Cross of Christ. The fact we can be a new person in Christ, free from sin's consequence and condemnation, gives us hope for a renewed reputation should we stumble and fall.

Because we are a new creation through the Cross of Christ, we can, in time, rebuild our reputation after we sin. In time, our reputation can be repaired so it reflects the person we are in Christ. Should Brett Favre love Christ and seek forgiveness for sin, his rehabilitation is assured. In Christ we are a new creation and in time the world will see us for the new, cleaned up person, we are in Him!

Tomorrow...Part 2 on What Happens When We Die,

James

Ricky Gervais' Atheist Sign-Off On Golden Globes

Gervais Puts An Exclamation Point On Hollywood's Delusional Night

Last night Ricky Gervais closed the Golden Globes by thanking God for making him an atheist. What a fitting end to a night of immoral banter and the usual Hollywood self-righteousness which accompanies these shows. While Hollywood continues to push its leftist social agenda the American public continues to support family oriented entertainment with their dollars. Seven of the top ten grossing films of 2010 were family oriented films and none of the top 10 were rated R. See list Here

Let's pray for Ricky to know God through Jesus Christ!

James

What Happens When We Die...Part 1

Every single last one of you reading this article today have two things in common: death and judgment. Scripture teaches that each of us will die once and then face a judgement day in which we will be called to account for how we live our life (Hebrews 9:27). Are you ready for these two certain events?

Physical death is a certainty and all of us are going to face it someday. This particular certainty is hard to deny even if we do tend to put it out of our mind most of the time. Most of us have lost loved ones and know the pain of death and the grief it brings. But death does not have to be a hopeless, fearful unknown! Nor must we grieve the passing of loved ones the way those without the hope of Christ do.

For the Christian, physical death is a passing from this life to eternal life with Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:8, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." The moment a believer in Christ leaves his or her body on earth he or she immediately enters the presence of Christ! What wonderful comfort to those left behind on earth! What amazing hope we have when someone we love experiences physical death!

If you are not a Christian, or if you are not sure you are a Christian, I encourage you to make certain you are one today! Stop and pray! Tell God you are sorry for your sins, believe Jesus died on the Cross to pay for all of your sins and rose from the dead three days later. Tell Jesus you give Him your life and receive His salvation from sin and death! Don't hesitate or wait one more day! Give your life to Jesus Christ and be certain of your relationship with God before death takes the opportunity for salvation from you. Once a person dies there is no more opportunity for forgiveness of sin and life in Christ.

More tomorrow,

James

Schedule for This Week

My uncle passed away Sunday morning so this week's writings will be a little sparse. I will make sure to post something everyday but will likely only have a couple of personal writings from me this week. Hope to see life get back to normal next week!

James

Following Christ Cost You Something

Great thoughts from Oswald Chambers today! Click Here

James

Is Your Life On Mission or Is It a Monument?

I was forwarded an email over the weekend and thought enough of it to ask the author if I could publish it here. Great stuff to ponder today!

Dear Friends and Family,

As we look this new year to reach more kids with the Gospel of Christ I truly believe we have much to learn from the history of the Church.

Church historians will tell you that a church can typically go through three life phases... Mission, Maintenance, or Monument.

1. The Mission Phase... the point at which everyone is excited about reaching out and changing the community and sharing the Good News of Christ

2. Maintenance... people begin to look around and think "we're fine right where we are". We're paying the bills... we've got more people than so and so church down the block... let's just keep this thing going. We don't need any new ideas. We're fine just where we are.

Finally, those who study Church history will tell you that if a church moves to the Maintenance phase, it is a given that is will move to the Monument phase. It may be five years down the road or a hundred years down the road but Monument phase always follows Maintenance phase.

3. The Monument Phase... best summed up by the cathedrals in Europe. They are beautiful architecturally with incredible marble, wood, stained glass, and acoustics but they sit empty on Sunday mornings... just a monument to what a group of people used to be excited about a long time ago but no longer are.

I've had the privilege, with your help, to travel the country these past two years and ask Young Life staff and volunteers where their area, club, or heart reside. Is it in Mission phase.. ready and excited to change an entire community with the love of Christ. Have they moved to Maintenance phase... thinking they are fine right where they are, paying the bills, bigger than the next area, filling a bus, in no need of growth or challenge. Or sadly have they moved to Monument phase... where their area or club is just a monument or reminder of what a group of people in the 70's used to be excited about but no longer are.

Maybe it's time for a heart test for all of us.

A Monument Club cares for it's club kids... A Mission club cares for all kids.

A Monument Club is proud of their club... A Mission club want to share their club with others.

A Monument Club talks about Christ... A Mission club becomes like Christ.

A Monument Club holds the fort... A Mission club takes the next hill and knows where it is.

A Monument Club loves their schools kids... A Mission Club loves all kids regardless of mascot.

A Monument Club plays not to lose... A Mission Club plays to win.

A Monument Club feeds their sheep... A Mission Club still looks for lost sheep.

So where are you and your church?

James

Living The Paradox

Good word from Chambers for your Saturday...Click Here

James

Your Children Are Watching You!

In Genesis 11 we are given the genealogy of Abraham and told his father, Terah, intended to lead his family from Ur to the land of Canaan. The journey to Canaan was embarked upon but for some reason, a reason we are not given in Scripture, he stopped in Haran and never completed the journey. Had God called Terah to go to Canaan? Did his disobedience mean some part of God's purpose for Terah's life went unfulfilled? Did Terah's failure to complete the journey teach Abraham the consequences of a life in which one does not follow a call or vision given from God? Or was Terah being obedient to God when he stopped in Haran? Was God stopping Terah because God wanted Abraham himself to have the faith building journey to Canaan? It is interesting to consider such questions as we "read between the lines" and meditate upon the Scriptures.

We know Abraham was watching his father's life and learning important life lessons as he did. Terah's decision not to follow through on his plans would certainly have been on the mind of Abraham when he received his call from God to head to Canaan. How fortunate to learn from the mistakes and shortcomings of those who go before us! How much more fortunate to learn from the faithfulness, righteousness and good decisions of those who go before us!

Your children are watching you today and learning important life lessons as they do. Consider your words, actions and decisions carefully. How much better for your children to learn from those things you do right rather than from those which you do wrong!

James

Remember...Remember...Remember

A great take on Scripture memory found here. I am convicted to begin memorizing Scripture in 2011 and am praying about what to work on right now. Hope you will make a plan to do the same!

James

Monumental: A Documentary with Kirk Cameron

Keep an eye out for this movie and please pray it has great impact on our country!

Click Here

James

God-Size Events Require Extraordinary People

Recently, Kim and I began a reading program which breaks the Bible down into 365 daily snippets. The program is found on a iPhone application called Youversion (youversion.com for you non Apple folks) if you are interested in joining us. During one of our readings this week we encountered the story of Noah and God has convicted me of a few things I would like to share with you today.

Have you ever considered what Noah must have felt or thought when he received the order from God to build an ark? The undertaken must have seemed absurd on many levels. We see no evidence Noah was ever a fisherman or sailor of any kind; by all accounts his knowledge of seafaring was likely very limited. Scripture doesn't give us an enormous amount of information about Noah but we do know he was a man who knew quite a bit about farming and the planting of vineyards! Seafaring doesn't seem to be a notable attribute of the man called to build an ark and captain mankind's greatest seagoing adventure.

The building of an ark the size of which Noah was told to build must have seemed a daunting task to the ancient mind. God had obviously blessed Noah with financial means to acquire the materials necessary to build the great ark but the manpower needed to construct something of such a scope must have left Noah completely overwhelmed. The ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high! Such an undertaking would overwhelm anyone of any age but especially one not privy to the tools and machinery we enjoy in the modern world!

Noah may have been overwhelmed or in awe of the task before him but he was prepared for God's extraordinary call; Noah was a righteous man. Noah was already God's kind of man, living God's kind of way, so when God approached him with a God sized task he was prepared. Noah was ready for the extraordinary because he himself had been living a life beyond the ordinary all along! The ark was just another "God event" in the life of a man who enjoyed God's way of doing things.

Are you prepared for God's extraordinary presence and activity in your life? If you are a righteous man or woman then the answer is yes. Those living in right relationship with God are ready to join Him as He does God sized things in 2011!

James

Fear Not...2011 Is In God's Hands!

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -- John 16:33b

Life can be fun, exciting, sad, depressing, hopeful, inspiring, gloom and doom. Life has many wonderful, and not so wonderful facets, the whole of which makes for an interesting roller coaster ride. What 2011 holds for each of us is anybody's guess but one thing we can be assured of is the "topsy-turvy" ride it will hold for each of us.

Jesus told His disciples they would have trouble in this world. Those preaching a health and wealth gospel in which everyone is meant to become perpetually healthy, wealthy and happy are misguided at best and liars at worst. At one time or another life is hard for all of us but the difficulties of life don't have to derail and defeat us. Believers in Christ can choose to trust in the One who has overcome the world and loves us with incomprehensible love.

Jesus told the disciples not to fear the trouble which lies ahead but to instead take comfort in the fact He has overcome the world. Jesus is always in control, regardless of how unfair or difficult the journey may seem at times. As we look ahead to 2011 let us hold fast to the faith we confess! Let us trust the God who created all things and holds each of us in the palm of His hand!

James

How You Can Keep Your Resolutions This Year

"The key to success is found under the alarm clock" -- Benjamin Franklin

Most of us approach the New Year hoping for some type of change in our life. For some this hope finds expression in a thinner waistline, healthier lifestyle or more time in the gym. Many others hope to read more, go back to school or learn a new language. Believers in Christ might express their hope for change by resolving to have a closer walk with God or greater faith in Him. Whatever the change, be assured, the realization of our dreams will always require faith, discipline and hard work. Success comes to those willing to pay the price for its attainment.

As Christians we have a leg up on the rest of the world when it comes to changing things in our life. From the very first moment we become a follower of Christ, God's Spirit begins to work in us to mold our will and actions. God does this so we might become the kind of person He wants us to be (Phil 2:13). The desire and "tools" necessary for the change we need in our life are found in Christ; we have the Spirit of Christ within us! God's Holy Spirit gives believers the self-control needed to follow through on our New Year Resolutions. In 2 Timothy 2:7 God assures us that the Holy Spirit gives each of us the discipline to exercise the kind of moderation necessary for success. It is when we decide to live outside of the boundaries and plans of our Lord that we fail in the plans (and change) He intends for our life.

God is creating a whole new and improved version of you in 2011! Put your faith, hope and hard work in the hands of Christ so you might realize all of the changes you seek in 2011!

James

You Can Make a Difference in 2011!

I was going to open the week with a devotional I have been working on but after reading this article I felt I needed to share it today. This is really, really good and I hope you will take the time to read it and be inspired!

Click Here

James