Monthly Archives: June 2013

No Longer Embarrassed

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“God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”1

A young boy asked his mother if she would go with him to his elementary school’s first teacher-parent conference. To his surprise she said she would go. This embarrassed the boy because, though his mother was beautiful, she had a terrible scar right across one side of her face.

This was the first time his teacher and classmates saw his mother and because of his embarrassment, he withdrew from them and tried to hide himself. However, he overheard his teacher ask how his mother’s face was scarred.

“When my son was a baby,” the mother replied, “he was in a room that caught on fire. Everyone was afraid to go in because the fire was out of control, so I went in. As I was running toward his crib, I saw a beam coming down and I placed myself over him to shield him. I was knocked unconscious but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us…the scar is permanent but to this day, I have never regretted doing what I did.”

Hearing what his mother did for him, the boy ran towards her with tears in his eyes. He hugged her and felt an overwhelming sense of thanks for the sacrifice she made to save his life.2

May we, too, feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us in giving his life to save us from our sins and a lost eternity.

Suggested prayer: “Dear Jesus God, once again I thank you for all that you did for me in giving your life to save me from a lost eternity. I offer my life as a living sacrifice to live for and serve you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: If you have never thanked God for giving his Son, Jesus, to die in your place so your sins could be forgiven, and thanked Jesus for doing this for you, so you could also be given the gift of eternal life to live with God in Heaven after this life, then I encourage you to do this today. For help, please read the article, “God’s Invitation,” at: http://tinyurl.com/gods-invitation; and/or the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. John 4:9-10 (NLT).

2. Adapted from a story by Lih Yuh Kuo in Chicken Soup for the Soul.

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Worse Than Abortion?

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“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”1

Jonathon (name changed), a Daily Encounter readers writes: “In response to views on abortion, I certainly don’t support the irresponsibility and thoughtlessness of the sex that abortionists support. I will only say the only thing worse than having an abortion is having an unwanted child. I know, I am one.”

How extremely sad it is to come into the world as an unwanted child, and if we remain unwanted by our own parents, this can be very emotionally damaging. If truth be told, however, who knows how many of us were unwanted … that is, unwanted (or at least unplanned) by the ones who brought us into the world?

Carol, a dear friend of ours, shared how when she was 14 her mother told her that when she was pregnant with her, her doctor told her that she wasn’t strong enough to bear another child and that she should abort. She did—but it was her fraternal twin—but she held on and survived. Even now, many years later, she is still finding it very difficult to overcome this memory of her lost sibling.

On the other hand, many years ago when my youngest son was only about ten or so, he was very angry at me—about something that I have long since forgotten—and in his frustration blurted out, “Why did you have me anyhow?”

I replied, “Because you were a part of God’s eternal plan.”

And that is true of Jonathon, Carol, you, and me. We were born into this world because we are a part of God’s eternal plan, and God knew us long before we were ever thought of in this world. God wanted us and still wants us. He loves us devotedly and has a purpose for each of us. A vital part of living a meaningful life is finding and fulfilling that purpose. The same is also true of every aborted child in that they, too, were known and loved by God before the foundation of the world.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know and feel in the very core of my being that I am wanted and loved by you, my Heavenly Father, and help me to live a life according to your purpo­­se for my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV).

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According to His/Her Ability

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“The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.”1

“There is a story of a 33-year-old truck driver by the name of Larry Walters who was sitting in his lawn chair in his backyard one day wishing he could fly. For as long as he could remember he had wanted to fly but he had never had the time, money, or the opportunity to be a pilot. Hang gliding was out because there was no good place for gliding near his home. So he spent a lot of summer afternoons sitting in his backyard in his ordinary old aluminum chair—the kind with the webbing and the rivets, the kind most of us have.

“One day Larry hooked 45 helium-filled surplus weather balloons to his chair, put a CB radio in his lap, tied a paper bag full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to his leg, and slung a BB-gun over his shoulder to pop the balloons when he wanted to come down. He lifted off in his lawn chair expecting to climb a couple of hundred feet over his neighborhood. Instead he shot up 11,000 feet right through the approach corridor to the Los Angeles International Airport. When asked by the press why he did it, Larry answered: ‘Well, you can’t just sit there.’ When asked if he was scared, he answered, ‘Yes … wonderfully so.’”2

Oops! Surprise! Surprise! Admittedly, Larry had no idea what he was getting himself into. Sure, he would have been wise to get some practical advice from the folk who use weather balloons. Crazy? Yes, but at least he had the courage to give what he wanted to do a try. I’m not suggesting that we do anything crazy, but at least let’s do something worthwhile with our lives.

As I’ve said before, just about every Christian I have ever asked the question, “Do you believe God has a purpose for your life?” answer, “Yes, I do.” But when I ask them what it is, most don’t have the vaguest idea what it might be. In a sense they just sit there and do nothing about it. As the old adage puts it, “Better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.”

God’s instruction to each of us is to give/do/work “each according to his/her ability.” In other words, whatever abilities we have we need to put them to the best possible use doing God’s work here on earth. The way we do this is by helping others according to their need—according to our ability to help.

Suggested prayer; “Dear God, please help me to get with your program—what you are doing in the world today—and not sit around waiting for some kind of a ‘special’ call, but by putting to use my God-given abilities in your work for your Kingdom. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Acts 11:29 (NIV).

2. Robert Fulghum, Everything I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten (New York: Villard Books, 1988), p. 139

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Talk Is Cheap

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“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”1

A man bought a parrot at an auction after some heavy bidding. “I hope this bird talks,” he told the auctioneer.

“Talk?” the auctioneer replied, “Who do you think has been bidding against you for the past ten minutes?”

Sad to say we seem to be living in a day when a person’s word has less and less value. Once upon a time a man’s word was his bond. Not any more I’m afraid. For far too many their word doesn’t mean a thing. We’ve become pretty adept at parroting what we think people want to hear.

I remember one of my college professors teaching us that a person’s character (among other things) could be measured by what value he or she puts on his/her word. People who don’t keep their word have a character issue and cannot be trusted.

Fortunately, however, of one thing we can be certain, God always keeps his word and always keeps his promises. To be Christ-like we need to do the same! For after all, it’s what we do, not what we say, that says the most of all.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please make me a man/woman of my word so I can always be trusted to say what I mean, mean what I say, and do what I say I will do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 14:23 (NIV).

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Wishes vs. Wants

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“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”1

One of my favorite quotes happens to be from a Buddhist monk who wisely said, “To know and not to do is not yet to know.”

To translate this into our Christian terminology we could put it this way: “To believe and not to act is not yet to believe because we only truly believe that which motivates us to action.”

For instance, many of us say we want to weigh less than we do. But do we? Really? Very few of us ever eat anything we don’t want to eat. And many of us don’t take the time to exercise enough to keep to our desired weight. In reality, often what we think we want is just a wish! We only truly want something when we are willing to make the commitment and pay the price to achieve it.

Furthermore, if we say we believe that our friends, neighbors and people throughout the world are lost eternally without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and give nothing or do nothing to help take, send or give the gospel to them, we don’t really believe this either. The fact is that we only truly believe that which motivates us to action!

And if I say I want to be made whole and don’t do what I need to do to be made whole, I choose by default not to be made whole. It is true regardless of who said it: “To know and not to do is not yet to know.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in all things worthy and noble please help me to be a ‘doer’ and not merely a ‘listener, talker, or wisher.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 1:22 (NIV).

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Are Our Days on Earth Numbered?

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King David prayed to God: “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.”1

A Daily Encounter reader asks, “As the Bible seems to indicate that our days are numbered, should we (and can we) attempt to extend our lives through better diet, surgery, and medications? And if our days are numbered, why should we pray for the healing of loved ones, our military, and others?”

Hi, Mike … When David asked God to show him the number of his days, I don’t believe he was implying that he (or we) had x number of days to live and that’s it. As David indicated, it really means that life is fleeting and our days on earth are limited, so we need to do the best we can with the one life we have been given.

Furthermore, God said to Solomon in a dream, “If you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”2 This indicates that if we live in harmony with God’s Word, will, and ways (which includes healthy living habits), under normal circumstances we can lengthen our life. Also the fifth of the Ten Commandments says, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”3

On the other hand, there is no doubt that we can shorten our life by not living in harmony with God’s ways, through an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, nursing grudges, an unforgiving spirit, unresolved super-charged repressed negative emotions, impaired relational conflicts, too much stress and anxiety, addictive behaviors and/or substances, and any of a score or more of other unhealthy habits and ways of living.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to so live in harmony with your will and the principles for healthy living as found in your Word, that my life on earth will be healthy, long, and fruitful for the glory of your Name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 39:4 (NIV).

2. 1 Kings 3:14 (NIV).

3. Exodus 20:12 (NIV).

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More About Hell? Part II

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“If anyone’s name was not found written in [God's] book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”1

Yesterday we shared experiences that Dr. Maurice Rawlings had when working with near-death patients. “Dr. Rawlings was a specialist in cardiovascular diseases at the Diagnostic Center and area hospitals of Chattanooga. He served in both the Army and the Navy and became chief of cardiology at the 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. He was the personal physician at the Pentagon for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which included Generals Marshall, Bradley, Patton, and Dwight Eisenhower. In civilian life Dr. Rawlings was appointed to the National Teaching Faculty of the American Heart Association, specializing in teaching methods for the retrieval of patients from sudden death.”2

A study of near-death cases by Dr. Rawlings was also reported in Omni magazine. “It is no longer unusual to hear about people who have almost died who speak of seeing a bright light, lush green meadows, rows of smiling relatives and experiencing a deep sense of peace. However, Dr. Rawlings obtained additional information from his patients by interviewing them immediately following resuscitation while they were very much in touch with their experience.

“Dr. Rawlings says that nearly fifty percent of the 300 people that he has interviewed have reported lakes of fire, devil-like figures and other sights reflecting the darkness of hell. Rawlings says that these people later change their story because they don’t want to admit where they’ve been, not even to their families. ‘Just listening to these patients has changed my whole life,’ claims Dr. Rawlings. ‘There is a life after death, and if I don’t know where I’m going, it’s not safe to die.’“3

Of one thing we can be certain and that is that death happens to us all as nobody gets out of this place alive. Life can be dreadfully uncertain. A friend’s husband was on his motorbike when a dog ran out at him. Trying to dodge the dog he fell from his bike and was killed. Last month another friend’s 49-year-old wife died of cancer. Last week a long-term friend of my wife’s died suddenly of a heart attack. Not so long ago my oldest sister died. I wrote today to another friend whose husband died suddenly in his sleep. He was in his early to mid-40s.

How foolish it is to make all sorts of preparation for this life but none for the next. Time and again God has warned us in his Word, the Bible, that there is a heaven for all who have accepted God’s forgiveness and a hell for all who haven’t. As Jesus said, “This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”4

As God warned ancient Israel, his Word also applies to us today: “Prepare to meet your God.”5 God’s Word also reminds us that, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”6 Also, God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”7

It’s not God’s will that anyone should go to hell. He has given his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins so we can be freely forgiven and delivered from hell. So whatever you do, don’t neglect God’s warning regarding the terrible doom of hell for all who have never accepted Jesus as their Savior, and God’s forgiveness and gift of eternal life.

Accepting Jesus as your Savior and God’s forgiveness is God’s “passport into heaven.” Whatever you do don’t leave earth without it. And don’t leave it until it’s too late to “apply for it.” You can receive it today by praying a simple prayer such as the following.

“Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs and sins that I have committed. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me and I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the want to be what you want me to be and the want to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer, please Click on: https://learning.actsweb.org/decision.php to let us know you have done this and to receive your e-copy of “How to Grow” and the URL for the “Ten Steps to Christian Growth” … all without charge.

For further help be sure to read the article, “Passport for Heaven,” online at: https://learning.actsweb.org/passport.php.

1. Revelation 20:15 (NIV).

2. Eugene P. Harder, “Positive Praying for People in Danger Pastor,” Sermon, April 20, 1996. New Hope Community Church.

3. Aaron Burgess. “Winning the Lost,” Sermon, SermonCentral.com, http://tinyurl.com/7n4xn.

4. Matthew 13:49-50 (NIV).

5. Amos 4:12 (NIV).

6. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).

7. 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV).

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More About Hell? Part I

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Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”1

Hell. Not a popular topic by any stretch of the imagination. And these days it isn’t a popular or politically correct topic to preach, write or talk about as if it were a reality. For many, hell is a place they hope doesn’t exist and, if it does, they don’t expect to go there. For others, hell is a figment of the imagination from outdated folklore, or a place to curse people to whom you don’t like. Many believe that death ends all.

Think of natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy that caused devastation over hundreds of miles in the eastern states of the U.S, or Hurricane Katrina that caused the city of New Orleans to be hopelessly flooded so that thousands were stranded and many lost their lives. How unthinkable it would have been had the “powers that be” known about these impending disasters and not warned the people to evacuate areas that were in danger zones. And how tragic it was for those who could have left but failed to heed the repeated warnings? How much greater the tragedy not to let people know about the warning that God’s Word has clearly given for all to flee from the wrath of hell to come. In fact, Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven. C.S. Lewis wrote, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than Hell … but it has the full support of Scripture and specifically of Jesus’ very own words.”

The Bible describes hell as a place of utter darkness … also as a lake of fire that burns day and night forever. Whether this is literal or figurative I do not know. What we do know is that Jesus described hell as a place of eternal torment. It is a place that was prepared for the devil and his fallen angels/demons—a place to where those who have never received forgiveness for their sins will be banned forever. It’s not that God sends us to hell, but that we send ourselves there when we don’t heed God’s warning and receive his forgiveness for all our sins and his gift of eternal life. Hell is a place where we choose to be when we choose to leave God out of our lives.

Eugene P. Harder shared how, “In his book titled, To Hell and Back, Cardiologist Maurice Rawlings recounts the startling near-death experience of a patient taking a cardio stress test on a treadmill.

“The patient became breathless and began to sweat profusely. The monitor showed a dangerous rapid heartbeat. This was followed by a long pause in the beat and then by a flat line. Charlie’s heart had stopped, his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell.

“One of the nurses breathed ‘the kiss of life into Charlie’s lungs.’ Another nurse started the IV but the heart would not beat properly. A temporary pacemaker was needed. Whenever Dr. Rawlings stopped pushing Charlie’s chest to adjust the pacemaker, his heart would stop. Charlie’s eyes would roll up and he would turn blue.

“This time when Charlie’s heart re-started he was screaming the words, ‘I’m in hell! I’m in hell!’ Hallucinations, Dr. Rawlings thought. Most victims scream, ‘Take your big hands off me, you’re breaking my ribs.’

“But Charlie was saying the opposite: ‘Don’t stop! Don’t stop. Every time you let go I’m back in hell!’

“When conscious, Charlie begged the Doctor to pray for him. Dr. Rawlings said, ‘I felt downright insulted. In fact, I told him to shut up. I said I was a doctor, not a minister and not a psychiatrist. The nurses looked at me as if to say, “Do something!”

“‘So I composed this make-believe prayer to keep Charlie off my back. “Jesus Christ is the Son of God, keep me out of hell. If I live, I’m on the hook. I’m yours.” Say it Charlie!’

“Charlie said the prayer and then a very strange thing happened that changed both the Doctor’s and Charlie’s lives. Dr. Rawlings said, ‘A religious conversion experience took place. I had never witnessed one before. Charlie was no longer the wild-eyed, screaming, combative lunatic who had been fighting me for his life. He was relaxed and calm and cooperative.’

“‘It frightened me. I was shaken by the events. Not only had that make-believe prayer saved Charlie McKaig, but it got me too. It was a conviction that to this day I cannot explain. Since then, Charlie has outlived three permanent pacemakers. It’s difficult to believe that my simple prayer opened the road to both Charlie’s and my own salvation.’”

To be continued ….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know for certain in my heart the facts about heaven and hell … and help me to make sure that I am prepared for the day that I meet you face to face and there give an account of my life.* Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 10:28 (NIV).

* NOTE: To be sure you are prepared for the day you meet God face to face, read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

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Rewarding Irresponsible Behavior

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“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”1

It seems, at least here in the U.S.A., that our society is plagued by frivolous lawsuits. A man sued MacDonald’s because he spilled hot coffee on himself—the coffee that he purchased! I have read that another man sued his company because he backed into his own car with a company vehicle. In student days in Chicago for two summers I drove a CTA passenger bus. We were informed that some passengers would purposely fall so they could sue the bus company.

I was listening to the news last night and once again I could hardly believe what I heard. A woman whose husband was a heavy smoker all his life died so she sued a well-known tobacco company for three billion dollars (yes, three billion) and ended up being awarded $50,000,000.00. Talk about the blame-game! Why judges and courts reward irresponsible behavior is beyond my comprehension.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not justifying the tobacco company in any way, shape or form. They are responsible too, but this man in question chose to smoke, just as the alcoholic chooses to drink. Both of these men are fully responsible for their irresponsible actions.

And when we who are codependents take responsibility for over-dependent family members and short circuit the natural consequences of their irresponsible behavior, we too, are being irresponsible. And when we, as parents, don’t discipline our children for their irresponsible behavior, we, too are being irresponsible and are guilty of reinforcing their negative behavior.

The same is true of societies as with driving on roads and highways. Irresponsible driving kills people. Irresponsible living destroys societies. From the cradle to the grave, responsibility (with consequences for irresponsible behavior) needs to be taught and adhered to. Among the richest to the poorest …from the lowliest positions to the highest offices in the land—including in the courts and with judges, ministers, politicians, lawyers and every other profession—responsibility needs to be taught, emphasized and enforced, without which we end up with mayhem and ultimately destroying ourselves.

True, while I was not responsible for my upbringing, as an adult I am fully responsible for what I become and for everything I do. And unless one is mentally handicapped, we are all fully responsible for what we allow and what we do that is within our capability.

Furthermore, before God we are also responsible and, in the end, will have to give an account to him for how we have lived, what we have done with our life, and whether or not we have confessed our sinfulness and accepted God’s gift of forgiveness through his Son, Jesus Christ.*

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to accept personal responsibility for every area of my life and so live that I will not be ashamed or embarrassed (or grief stricken) when I stand before you to give an account of my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV).

*Note: To ensure that you have received God’s forgiveness for all your sins be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

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Bowls With a Bias

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“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory [standard] of God.”1

In Australia, where I grew up, outdoor lawn bowls was a very popular sport. I never took an active interest in it even though my mother and some cousins were avid players. The idea is totally opposite to that of indoor bowls where the goal is to make a strike with your bowling ball so you knock down all the ten pins. Not so with lawn bowls. Simply put, the idea is to bowl so your ball gets as close as possible to the jack (the small white ball at the other end of the bowling green) without hitting it. There are other rules of course but basically, as I understand the game, the one whose ball ends up the closest to the jack, without hitting it, gains the highest score.

Sounds simple, but it’s a lot harder than it looks because the lawn bowl ball is more saucer shaped than the fully round indoor bowling ball, and has a weighted bias on one side. This bias causes the ball to pull to one side when bowled for which the bowler has to compensate.

In some ways this is similar to people in that we, too, have a bias that, if we don’t acknowledge and compensate for, will lead us astray. The bias is our sin nature that we inherited from birth. This is why we have a bent toward sinning. If you don’t believe this, take a look at all the evil in the world.

So how can we live so as to compensate for this bias? First, we need to admit that we have this sin bias (sin nature), and that we are guilty of sinning which, in turn, has separated us from a holy God.

Second, we need to confess our sins to God and ask for his forgiveness based on the fact that he gave his Son, Jesus, to die in our place on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins.

Third, we need to acknowledge God’s great solution for our sinfulness and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

Fourth, we need to grow in our Christian life so that we become whole and mature spiritually, and be filled with God’s Spirit to enable us to overcome our sinful bias and live a life pleasing to God.

Therefore, if you have never confessed your sins and sinfulness to God and received Jesus as your Savior, I encourage you to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious,” online at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that even though I am a sinner you loved me so much you gave your Son, Jesus, to die in my place on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins. Please help me to grow to become whole and mature, and fill me with your Holy Spirit to enable me to live a wholesome life that will bring glory to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 3:23 (NIV).

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