"What you talkin' about Willis?"
The title of this blog comes from the old TV show “ Different Strokes”. Frequently said by Gary Coleman. On the show "Good Times".J.J. Walker would say.”.Dynomite!” Google it. Lol
So, I've been thinking about this blog and I had all sorts of different titles come to my mind. In case you haven't noticed, I have a very interesting mind...yep. I own it! It makes me happy, others, not so much sometimes, but that's okay.
I wrote a previous blog about salvation and asking Jesus to come into a persons life. But I didn't mention the X factor. There are many X factors in this world. There's; generation X, X-mas (uh oh), Cross roads (X). X's are everywhere. Of course I use the word X-man. My X is literal and it keeps that person anonymous.
But I forgot to mention the biggest X in the world! Sin! Oh no! Sin? Yep. You see, I thought about mentioning sin and repentance, but then I thought...oh why? Won't that turn people off from Jesus? Really? Really? I mean, I've already turned some people off from me, but turn away from Jesus by mentioning "Captain Obvious" :Sin.
What is sin? Well..nothing to feel condemned about. Sin has gotten a bad wrap. What? Yes. Sin to most people equals blame! So, when we talk about sin and Jesus we start blaming people for their imperfections.
I have some news! We all suck! Uh oh! No seriously. We were born into a sucky world and we sucked when we entered into it. Yep, we might have been cute and cuddly, but we sucked!
But...I hear you saying, "I didn't do anything wrong by being born!" My response is: EXACTLY!
Sin is not about "doing something wrong". Oh, I have your attention now.
What about moral compass sin? What about it? You do realize that the person committing moral compass sin knows that they are wrong, right?
Jesus didn't only come for those of us who know we've done something wrong... He also came for those of us who think we are "right."
I was born again at a very early age. Yes, my sin nature was turned into a Jesus nature. I didn't learn how to sin. But I was born with it.
What is sin? Sin is the absence of God in any and all situations and circumstances. Adam did it! Yes, he really did. Not going to get into theological debate, but if you read Genesis you'll see that Eve was deceived, but Adam decided. OH NO! No debate: If you belong to Jesus, you belong with me. If you don't belong to Jesus, you still belong with me!
So, thanks Adam. He messed up The World! (see previous blogs). In reality you didn't do anything. You and I walked into sin just like every other person on the planet. You didn't have to break the Ten Commandments to sin, you just had to breathe.
So, the Bible says that we are supposed to confess our sins to one another. What does that mean? Does it mean that I need to tell you every bad thing I've done? No, because sin doesn't require a negative action. Sin just is...sin.
Sin has one job: separate us from the love of God, from the presence of God, from the ability to talk to God. Yep, sin is anything that stops you from communicating openly with God through Jesus.
Now, do people do things that stop them from communicating openly with God...yes. Do people break the Ten Commandments...yes. Do we need to ask God to forgive us for those things...yes. BUT that's not what the "sinners prayer" is about.
We are repenting for the original sin of denying God His right to be in our lives. We are repenting for ignoring Him. We are repenting for not recognizing the sacrifice He gave us through His son Jesus Christ.
So, when we ask Jesus to come into our lives we DO NOT have to go through a list of all the bad things we've done.
We are asking Jesus to come into our lives to replace the sin of Adam with His life. Have you ever asked Jesus to come into your life? Are you waiting to get better at X? or to get over X? or to stop doing X? Bubble bursting moment...it will NEVER happen. You will never deserve it, you will never earn it, You do not have the power to stop doing anything evil because evil isn't just about doing, it's about being.
Once you are born onto this planet you are a being before you start doing.
So, where's the hope in all of this? Here's the plan. Jesus came to save us from our separation from God. God loved us so much that He decided He didn't want life without us. John 3:16 " For God so loved the world (us) that he gave his only Son, (a separate part of himself as a sacrifice in the form of Jesus) that whoever...(meaning...who ever) believes in Him (Jesus) shall not perish (shall not be separated from God), but will have everlasting life (permanent residence with God). " I added the parenthetical emphasis.
So, what do we do? Well, we take the X out of Christmas... and we accept that we have sinned, not just by actions, because we all do it, but because of the original sin of Adam which was rejecting God. I don't want to live my life without God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit in it. So, I willingly said, "Jesus, forgive my sin! Come into my life! Restore me to God! Make things right again!" I also ask Him to bring my dead spirit (because it's separated from God) to life and teach me how to live that life. I recognize His sacrifice through Jesus' Death on the Cross and I accept the truth of Him, (I don't know how He did it, but that's not the point) that Jesus was raised from the dead and now sits beside God and gives me permission to talk to God directly. That is salvation from sin.
Remember, sin is not a doing....it's a state of being. Simple; yes. Jesus made it so simple that a child (like me) could understand it and say "Yes" to Him.
If you do not know Him today, please just tell Him that you recognize that you were born into a fallen world where the sin of separation has held you hostage. Ask Him to enter into your life and change that fallen nature into a God nature. Ask Him to change your heart and teach you how to love Him and to live for Him. Say "I recognize that Jesus came into this world, not to condemn me, but that through Him I might be saved. I recognize that Jesus came in the flesh. He died and rose again so that I could talk to God myself." Then finally, just say, "thank you."
The word "Amen" simply means, "I agree". So, if you've just prayed that prayer (prayer is just talking to God from your heart), I add my Amen!
The next step is to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. "With the heart man belies unto righteousness (right standing with God, or acceptance by God); and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:10 . So, here's your chance. Leave a comment. Tell me that Jesus is now your Lord. I admit that I don't know exactly how it works, I just know that it does.
I will help you find someone that will guide you in your walk with Jesus. He is the light of the World, but we need a guide to find Him.
So, Jesus, I give you my life...my ability to choose...to You and ask You to open my eyes to the wonder of salvation. Amen!
So, I've been thinking about this blog and I had all sorts of different titles come to my mind. In case you haven't noticed, I have a very interesting mind...yep. I own it! It makes me happy, others, not so much sometimes, but that's okay.
I wrote a previous blog about salvation and asking Jesus to come into a persons life. But I didn't mention the X factor. There are many X factors in this world. There's; generation X, X-mas (uh oh), Cross roads (X). X's are everywhere. Of course I use the word X-man. My X is literal and it keeps that person anonymous.
But I forgot to mention the biggest X in the world! Sin! Oh no! Sin? Yep. You see, I thought about mentioning sin and repentance, but then I thought...oh why? Won't that turn people off from Jesus? Really? Really? I mean, I've already turned some people off from me, but turn away from Jesus by mentioning "Captain Obvious" :Sin.
What is sin? Well..nothing to feel condemned about. Sin has gotten a bad wrap. What? Yes. Sin to most people equals blame! So, when we talk about sin and Jesus we start blaming people for their imperfections.
I have some news! We all suck! Uh oh! No seriously. We were born into a sucky world and we sucked when we entered into it. Yep, we might have been cute and cuddly, but we sucked!
But...I hear you saying, "I didn't do anything wrong by being born!" My response is: EXACTLY!
Sin is not about "doing something wrong". Oh, I have your attention now.
What about moral compass sin? What about it? You do realize that the person committing moral compass sin knows that they are wrong, right?
Jesus didn't only come for those of us who know we've done something wrong... He also came for those of us who think we are "right."
I was born again at a very early age. Yes, my sin nature was turned into a Jesus nature. I didn't learn how to sin. But I was born with it.
What is sin? Sin is the absence of God in any and all situations and circumstances. Adam did it! Yes, he really did. Not going to get into theological debate, but if you read Genesis you'll see that Eve was deceived, but Adam decided. OH NO! No debate: If you belong to Jesus, you belong with me. If you don't belong to Jesus, you still belong with me!
So, thanks Adam. He messed up The World! (see previous blogs). In reality you didn't do anything. You and I walked into sin just like every other person on the planet. You didn't have to break the Ten Commandments to sin, you just had to breathe.
So, the Bible says that we are supposed to confess our sins to one another. What does that mean? Does it mean that I need to tell you every bad thing I've done? No, because sin doesn't require a negative action. Sin just is...sin.
Sin has one job: separate us from the love of God, from the presence of God, from the ability to talk to God. Yep, sin is anything that stops you from communicating openly with God through Jesus.
Now, do people do things that stop them from communicating openly with God...yes. Do people break the Ten Commandments...yes. Do we need to ask God to forgive us for those things...yes. BUT that's not what the "sinners prayer" is about.
We are repenting for the original sin of denying God His right to be in our lives. We are repenting for ignoring Him. We are repenting for not recognizing the sacrifice He gave us through His son Jesus Christ.
So, when we ask Jesus to come into our lives we DO NOT have to go through a list of all the bad things we've done.
We are asking Jesus to come into our lives to replace the sin of Adam with His life. Have you ever asked Jesus to come into your life? Are you waiting to get better at X? or to get over X? or to stop doing X? Bubble bursting moment...it will NEVER happen. You will never deserve it, you will never earn it, You do not have the power to stop doing anything evil because evil isn't just about doing, it's about being.
Once you are born onto this planet you are a being before you start doing.
So, where's the hope in all of this? Here's the plan. Jesus came to save us from our separation from God. God loved us so much that He decided He didn't want life without us. John 3:16 " For God so loved the world (us) that he gave his only Son, (a separate part of himself as a sacrifice in the form of Jesus) that whoever...(meaning...who ever) believes in Him (Jesus) shall not perish (shall not be separated from God), but will have everlasting life (permanent residence with God). " I added the parenthetical emphasis.
So, what do we do? Well, we take the X out of Christmas... and we accept that we have sinned, not just by actions, because we all do it, but because of the original sin of Adam which was rejecting God. I don't want to live my life without God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit in it. So, I willingly said, "Jesus, forgive my sin! Come into my life! Restore me to God! Make things right again!" I also ask Him to bring my dead spirit (because it's separated from God) to life and teach me how to live that life. I recognize His sacrifice through Jesus' Death on the Cross and I accept the truth of Him, (I don't know how He did it, but that's not the point) that Jesus was raised from the dead and now sits beside God and gives me permission to talk to God directly. That is salvation from sin.
Remember, sin is not a doing....it's a state of being. Simple; yes. Jesus made it so simple that a child (like me) could understand it and say "Yes" to Him.
If you do not know Him today, please just tell Him that you recognize that you were born into a fallen world where the sin of separation has held you hostage. Ask Him to enter into your life and change that fallen nature into a God nature. Ask Him to change your heart and teach you how to love Him and to live for Him. Say "I recognize that Jesus came into this world, not to condemn me, but that through Him I might be saved. I recognize that Jesus came in the flesh. He died and rose again so that I could talk to God myself." Then finally, just say, "thank you."
The word "Amen" simply means, "I agree". So, if you've just prayed that prayer (prayer is just talking to God from your heart), I add my Amen!
The next step is to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. "With the heart man belies unto righteousness (right standing with God, or acceptance by God); and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:10 . So, here's your chance. Leave a comment. Tell me that Jesus is now your Lord. I admit that I don't know exactly how it works, I just know that it does.
I will help you find someone that will guide you in your walk with Jesus. He is the light of the World, but we need a guide to find Him.
So, Jesus, I give you my life...my ability to choose...to You and ask You to open my eyes to the wonder of salvation. Amen!
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