Personal Note
A Journey Into Faith
Once in every life there comes a time, alone with our thoughts, we wonder why, but then we see, there's more than me, and then we believe. Like an innocent child-- heart of gold--we're born with the spirit, the spirit of love, but somewhere along the path of life we drift away, and "I" becomes more important than "He."
This is a message for those who have reached the point in their lives where they are asking: "Is this all there is?" There's restlessness, emptiness, and frustration. Not truly happy? Looking for a way to calm this restlessness and to fill the void?
There were times in my life when I wondered why I was born. I wasn't suicidal or depressed. I was just in a philosophical mood, doing a lot of thinking. What was life all about, anyway? Surely there was more to it than striving to make a living, feeding my ego, and working to have all the "good things" in life. I had accomplished these things to my satisfaction, and had a great family, but still I felt that something was missing. That something gnawed at me and wouldn't let go.
My thoughts began to surprise me. I wondered what it was that I wasn't "seeing?" Was someone trying to tell me something? Maybe some power in the Universe had a plan for me that I didn't know about. How could I know? In my search for answers, I came to realize that faith in God played a major role in the lives of those who were truly happy. I was always a believer and went to church, but these folks had something I didn't. It is known as the fruit of the Spirit. The Bible tells us about this spirit as the Holy Spirit--never to be addressed as "it"--who can occupy our minds once we accept Jesus Christ as the son of the living God. For years, I avoided any commitment to the reading of "The Word," to find out more about the Lord because I thought I was too busy. That's what I told myself, and consequently, didn't have to carry around guilt and condemnation. So I thought. Reading scripture was a sacrifice that I wasn't ready to make at the time until I was "tormented" into realizing who it was that made the greatest sacrifice in recorded history? Jesus Christ, of course, laying down his life for me. Why? He had to, because he had that spirit of love, and he had to suffer to remove my sins. This concept was hard to phantom. That someone could love me so much he'd subject himself to one of the worst beatings, unbelievable humiliation--being spit upon, cursed, ridiculed--followed by a horrible death. How does one react to such love? How do we respond to Him who gave his life because he loved us? When Jesus was in Gethsemane, praying to his Father, he heard the roar of the Roman soldiers pounding their way into the garden to rip his life from him. He waited, knowing the price he had to pay. Would you have waited? Not I. I would have taken off like a gazelle, knowing what awaited me. I was awed that this "man" would do such a thing for me.
So, I opened my Bible. In my readings, I was struck by Isaiah's prophecies; particularly, in Chapters 52 & 53 (Suffering and Glory of the Servant; by his wounds we are healed). Nearly 700 years before Christ walked the earth, Isaiah prophesied Christ's Passion, the crucifixion, and resurrection (26:19). This revelation--that Isaiah could "see" into the future so many years before it happened--did more for me than anything else to reinforce my belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God. I wanted to read more.
Seeing the movie about the Passion crushed my heart, but I was relieved once I understood why Jesus faced such a death--to forgive my sins and to allow me to live eternally with Him, if I believed that His Father raised him from the dead.
God wants us to have a personal relationship with His son, Jesus Christ. When united with the Lord, we become one spirit with Him. Accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior and surrendering my life to Him gave me the peace that I needed to fill that void in my life. I also learned that happiness comes to those who are happy with themselves.
And how does one accomplish this? Easy, do something for someone else. Give something away. Giving, changes you. Happiness will begin filling your life when you bring joy to others. Real worth arrives when you no longer have to prove your worth.
That comes when you accept yourself for what you are, and no longer need validation from others to feel worthy. You matter. And that's all that counts. You are valuable to one higher than anyone on this earth, and the "He"--as mentioned in the first paragraph above--is Jesus Christ, the only one that we need to validate our worthiness.
It is my hope that you will accept Jesus Christ into your life and follow Him more closely and come into His Kingdom (". . . thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven . . ."). Begin by reading Isaiah's Chapters 52 & 53.
You can accept Jesus Christ now as your Lord and Savior, by telling Him: That you are a sinner, and that you repent of your sins, and ask Him to come into your heart, that you surrender your life to Him and that you accept Him as your Lord and Savior.
He will fill you with the Holy Spirit.
Then read the Gospel of John (written by one of Jesus' twelve apostles; the one he favored the most), and his two letters. Learn about God's Kingdom in the Gospel of Matthew. Try to read scripture a little each day and memorize passages that touch your heart. Recite them often, to saturate your subconscious so His messages will eventually seep into your soul.
May God bless you and richly favor you!
