Testimony

Acts 22:2-3

"Then he said: 'I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.'"
NKJV

My Comments: Many of you have read my past blogging and know my story yet I think I would like to put it in as concise a way as Paul did his testimony. I encourage all who are Born Again, to try to do the same. If any would like me to elaborate I will if asked in the comment area or a private message.

I was brought up in a very Traditional church with many very strict rules, guidelines and rituals much like the Jewish of Paul's day. I was very zealous toward God all my life. I never had a time in my life I did not feel close to God. I knew who the Father, Son and Holy Ghost was and I was certain I was going to Heaven because I had confessed my sin to a designated person in our church like the Jewish people who had animals sacrificed for their sin and went through a man I went through a man to be forgiven (and had been Baptized as an infant) and thought I was, until I met Jesus on my "Road to Emmaus."

I realized I was a sinner who was in need of the Savior Jesus Christ and just before 911 happened I asked Jesus to be my Savior and come into me and He did. I have never been the same since. Even in adversity I find Joy in the Lord because I am saved and know when I leave this place I will be at home with the Lord. 

That is my testimony and here is a little background for those who do not know.

I was not one who changed quickly or overnight it was gradual.After accepting the Lord as my Savior I was still in the cult with my husband and children though we were on the fringe and prayed in our home. It took my 13 year old daughter inviting me to go to the church where she attended a youth group, for God to bring me totally out of the cult. The Lord delivered me from the cult and a year later delivered my husband yet I still did not know all that was meant as I did not have a true teaching or a true Bible which is the Word of God.

 My husband was not Born Again for many years and then only after listening to a good solid Bible teaching Christian radio station (CSN) and going to a solid Bible teaching Church (we attended Calvary Chapel) for a few years. Both of us grew in the Lord together doing all the Lord asked of us until the Lord called him home a couple of years ago. Now I carry on serving the Lord as He asks of me and praying to touch as many lives with the Gospel as the Lord allows.

The Gospel is, Jesus the Son of God, Son of Man, fully God and fully man, came to earth which He created and was born to a virgin was Crucified for our sin and willingly died in our place on the Cross, was buried and was dead for three days, rose again as foretold by Moses and the Prophets on the third day (fulfilling all prophecies foretold of Him). He appeared to, talked with, broke bread and ate with His Apostles and disciples for 40 days then rose to Heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father and He will come again. To be Born Again you must believe He died for and will forgive your sin and you must accept His free gift because He will not force it upon you.

Confess your sin to Jesus and in faith ask Him to be your Savior and you will be Born Again. If you are Born Again remember your testimony and share it as Paul did, not to glorify yourself or your accomplishments because it is not about us. It is to lead others to Christ by explaining who we were before Jesus and what He did for us and the joy we have now because of Jesus. It is one of the most effective ways of sharing the Gospel of Jesus. God will use your "God story" to change lives around you and bring joy, peace, forgiveness and Love as He brings people to the foot of the Cross and Salvation.

Abba Father I pray for all who read Your story of Love and see themselves through Your eyes. I pray they will open their hearts to You and accept the free gift of Salvation Your Son Jesus the Christ has purchased for them. If they are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation in them. Praise be to You the Living God. Fill them Abba with Your Holy Spirit, give them discernment, knowledge, understanding, faith, hope and abundant Love. Open their mouths to proclaim Your glory and may their lives bring praise and glory to You in all they say, think and do. In Jesus name, in union with Your Holy Spirit, I pray. Amen.

Rebishka

Know the Truth

Matthew 28:5-7

"But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."New King James Version. NKJV

The Bible mentions several people involved in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is something that you rarely, if ever, find in fairy tales and folklore. You find Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimethea, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and five hundred other witnesses. Either this was the most cleverly concocted hoax ever perpetuated on the world even fooling Roman politicians and Jewish spiritual leaders, or it really was the most pivotal event in human history.

Life Lesson: The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus are historically recorded events that would stand up in a court of law.

The intriguing thing to note is that how you look at this tells how you look at heaven, hell, life, death, faith, love and forgiveness. There were five hundred witnesses and some of them were famous. There was overwhelming and undeniable proof!

Millions of lives today have changed because of this, including mine. The calendar itself forever changed with the birth and death of Jesus (BC and AD). The church would forever after worship on Sunday. Are you still waiting for more information? Friend, you have enough information to make an educated decision but it still requires a step of faith. Take the chance. I did. My life was forever changed for the better. Today can be the start of a brand new life for you. Ask God to forgive you right now and He will.

Life Lesson: Jesus claimed the power to heal illness. He did it. He also claimed He had the power to forgive sins. He did it.

Dear Jesus:
Thank You for dying for me so that I could be forgiven. Thank You for being resurrected, and that I could have a new life. I ask You to forgive me of all of my sins. Lord, I have done wrong things, and I am sorry. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Please give me the power to live for You, all the days of my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Congratulations, you just made the best decision you will ever make or recommitted yourself to the greatest cause...the cause of Christ.

Please forward this to anyone if you are unsure of their faith in Jesus.

Living to tell what He died to say, Pastor David McGee Senior Pastor The Bridge

My Comments: This is the way I started out in my blog. I would repost David McGee's message and then my comments followed. Today I felt it would be a good thing to do as he was spot on and it was a good message. I hope you were inspired by it as I was.

So often I know I am challenged by non-believers who question my beliefs in what they perceive as fairy tales and myths and even say Christians are only Christians because they are fearful. Nothing could be further from the truth and their eyes are clouded and their ears stopped to the truth of the message God the Father sent when He sent His Son to die on the Cross for us.

I am loved. I feel loved by my Heavenly Father. I do things to please Him as any child does for a loving Father. Not out of fear but out of Love. 

I am grateful Jesus chose to go to the Cross and die in my place. I am grateful He loved me so much. His Resurrection was the seal of His truth. He told His Disciples and Apostles He would have to die and then on the third day He would be Resurrected and He was. Oh, what a glorious day!

Today we remember Christ in the grave. Tomorrow we celebrate His Resurrection. May you all know the glory of His Resurrection and have a Blessed Resurrection Sunday.

Abba Father fill us with the knowledge and understanding of Your gift to us and Jesus fill us with the knowledge and understanding of Your gift to us and Holy Spirit fill us with Your knowledge and Understanding of Your gifts to us that we may share Your gifts God with all who are in need of Your saving grace. In Jesus name in union with His Holy Spirit I pray. Amen

Rebishka

For Our Lord Jesus

"Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts 21:12-13 New King James Version NKJV

Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 NKJV

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 NKJV

My Comments: Peter before Christ was Crucified, denied the Lord Jesus, and the others ran in fear. After the Lord rose again proving He was Christ the Lord God, then nothing anyone did made the faithful turn from Christ. All, but John, died (John lived professing Jesus and telling all to Love) professing Jesus as the Son of God and their redeemer Savior. John went through many severe situations rather than deny the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are we willing to die for the Gospel of Jesus and die to self to proclaim Jesus the living God?

Many in countries around the world, China, North Korea, Russia, Africa and others have and are experiencing persecution, punishment, torture, and death not only for themselves but for their families in order to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and they are willing to do whatever needs to be done to bring “others” to the true knowledge and understanding of the salvation Jesus died and rose again for all to have.

Christ tells us that if we are ashamed of Him before men then He will be ashamed of us before His Father. It can be intimidating to speak out with our families, friends, coworkers and strangers yet if we do not and they die without hearing the Word of God… Well I for one do not want to stand before the Great White Throne and hear of all the ones who did not make it because I was the only one who could have planted the seed or watered it or even harvested it. I hope to one day go home and hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” I once was one of those who needed to hear the truth. God brought it to me in a very (for me) unlikely way. I know He can do that with others if we do not step up and step out and give the Gospel to a dieing world. Yet He wants us to do it. He told the Apostles and His followers to go out and tell the world. We are to go out and tell the world. So I say to you Brothers and Sisters, Beloveds go out and tell the world and let the Lord take care of you.

Abba Father, strengthen our resolve to share Your Sons Gospel with those we meet. Holy Spirit fill our mouths with Your Word the Word of God Almighty that many will be won and become Children of God. Jesus our Redeemer thank You for coming to earth, being born of a women in a stable, thank You for allowing Yourself to be Crucified and thank You for the Resurrection so we may know and believe the truth of Your Word. Holy Spirit fill our minds with Knowledge and wisdom and discernment on how to use them for the glory of God the Father. In Jesus name in union with His Holy Spirit I pray. Amen.

Rebishka

Love God, Love your neighbor and have Joy

"And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:18-21

Paul wrote, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1 New King James Version NKJV

 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV

He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 1 John 2:4-5 NKJV

My Comments: Paul’s life made a difference as did all the Apostles who were with Him after the Crucifixion. Their lives showed their changes from lives not lived for God to ones lived for the Lord Jesus who they knew was the Son of God, God incarnate who had dwelt among them. We know Him as well when we are truly Born Again and ask Him to dwell within us. We show the change in our lives by what we turn away from and what we then do with our lives.

Bear on another’s burdens, cry with one who suffers, rejoice with one who rejoices, turn the other cheek, pray for one another; in other words we live our lives to bring glory and honor to Abba Father as Christ Jesus did when He dwelt among His Apostles and Disciples 2,000 years ago. How do we bring Him glory and honor? We do it daily by the lives we live for Him. We do it daily by living by His commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind.” And “Love your neighbor as yourself.” These two exemplify the whole of the Ten Commandments God the Father gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai.

And as John the Beloved said, “Love.” You see if we love God above all else even above ourselves, children, spouses, parents, “things,” positions, pride, self,  then we will love our neighbor and always seek to serve and help others with joy in our hearts because we are serving the Lord God when we serve others. We are and will be happy when our eyes are on God the Father and not on ourselves and our situations. If we love then we are in Him and He is in us and that my beloved is the Joy of the Lord.

It is not enough that when we are Born Again that we turn from all the things we were “into.” If we are truly Born Again there is a real significant difference in our lives and how we live. For some the change is gradually but even then it is a steady change away from the old life. As a flower slowly opens so your life may slowly change yet when the flower is under the sun and watered correctly and nurtured with good soil then it may open even faster. So it is true with us. When we are in the Word of God and going to a good sound Bible believing church and fellowshipping and praying then we grow faster in the grace and humility of the Lord Jesus Christ because we allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. Those who do not change and remain essentially the same as the day before they said some words to accept Jesus as their savior, They may not be Born Again. They are like the seed planted on bad ground. Be sure your ground is healthy and that you water the soil with the Word of God and turn to Him for Your nourishment and you will bring Him glory and honor and one day stand before Him and hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Abba Father, help us to turn totally to You. Help us to turn our lives and everything over to You. Help us to serve others as serving You. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so we may love others as You love them, see others as You see them and serve others as You would have us serve them with Your love. Write Your Commandments on our hearts and keep us as the apple of Your eye.  In Jesus name in union with Your Holy Spirit I pray. Amen.

Rebishka