Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Begin Your Relationship with God.

God Loves You
The very God who created the universe desires a relationship with you. Not because He is needy, but because His very nature is love. God wants you to know Him and enjoy His magnificence. You are significant because the Creator of the Universe custom designed you in His image.
God is committed to your well-being. Think about that . . . God cares about you! Not only did He design you, He also has mapped out a perfect course for your life that will result in your utmost joy and fulfillment. Listen to God’s words,
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)
God has a wonderful plan for your life. So it’s all good, right? Wrong! There’s a problem. . .
Separation from God
The problem is SIN. It’s a small word with enormous implications. Sin separates us from God.
The problem is we all have made wrong choices in life. The Bible calls these wrong choices “sin” which in the original Greek language means “missing the mark” … like an archer missing his target.
The Apostle Paul explains,
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23, NIV).
Have you ever really thought about your own personal sin?
The Bible teaches us that God is absolutely pure and holy … and that He cannot tolerate sin. The Bible states,
For the wages of sin is death…(Romans 6:23, NLT)
Just when it all seems so hopeless, God intervenes. He has made a way for sin to no longer be a barrier. God has a solution. . 
Jesus Died for You
The Apostle Paul explained God’s solution,
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV).
In spite of our sinfulness, our loving and merciful God found a way for us to have a personal relationship with Him!
Jesus was crucified on a cross and then buried in a heavily guarded tomb. All hope seemed lost. But, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day … just as He had promised (Matthew 16:21)!
Wow! Isn’t that incredible? Jesus paid the penalty for our sins so we can spend eternity in heaven with God.
God’s Free Gift
God has made it possible for us to have eternal life!
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NIV).
But you may be thinking, “What about all the good things I’ve done in my life? They must count for something!” However, because God is holy, He demands absolute perfection.
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. (James 2:10, NLT)
So regardless whether you keep most of God’s laws or just a few of them, you will fall short of His required standards. It’s not possible to earn your way into heaven through your good deeds. God can only accept sinless perfection. And Jesus was the only one who ever accomplished that.
Jesus is the only way into heaven.
Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me’ (John 14:6, NIV).
Jesus Christ paid for all your sins on the cross … and God’s perfect justice is totally satisfied by the blood of Jesus. He offers you the free gift of eternal life. The questions is, “Will you accept it?”
Spiritual New Birth
So what does it take to begin your personal relationship with God?
Jesus explained the process to a religious leader who came to meet with him secretly one night. He told him, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”John 3:3, NLT
In order for you to begin the journey that leads to heaven you must be born again — this time spiritually. Physical birth produces physical life. Spiritual birth creates spiritual life.
Spiritual new birth is the gateway to a new beginning — the start of your journey with God.
Choose Eternal Life
Jesus came to earth to make it possible for us to have a personal relationship with God for all eternity. When He rose from the dead, His mission was accomplished. He is now offering you a pardon for your sins.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12, NIV).
Will you accept this free gift from God by receiving Jesus Christ into your life?
Eternal life is a gift from God. You can’t do anything to earn it! But, like any gift, you can choose to accept or reject it.
Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony … God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:10-12, NIV).
In the original Greek language, the word “believe” means to “trust in, cling to, rely upon.” Becoming a Christian is putting your faith (trust) in Jesus’ death for you on the cross, and in His resurrection for your eternal life. It is a choice that you make.
Receive Christ by Faith
Do you want the forgiveness for sin that Jesus offers?
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV).
In order to receive God’s forgiveness for your sins, you must honestly face the claims of Jesus Christ and believe that He is God, that He died for your sins and rose again, and that He wants to come into your life.
God knows your thoughts and motives. He desires you to come to Him, thanking Him for Jesus’ death for you on the cross. You receive Jesus Christ into your life by personally asking Him to come into your life and forgive your sins. He wants to be your Lord and Savior.
If you haven’t ever invited Jesus into your life, simply pray the following words. But remember, it’s not the words you say but the attitude of your heart that is important.
“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for all my sins—past, present, and future. Thank you for giving me eternal life, which you made possible by your death and resurrection. I receive you as my Savior by faith, and desire you to be Lord of my life.”
When you ask Jesus Christ into your life, you begin a life with Him here on earth that will extend into all eternity. There are blessings for you to experience now as well as in heaven!

Reference:
http://jesusonline.com/lp/begin-e/


Thursday, January 29, 2015

Update.

WOW! My last post was last August 24, 2014. It's been months. I was not able to post for the reason that I have no stable connection. 2014 was crazy, very different year from all the years. I stayed in Manila for almost eight months. I learned so much there, good and bad. I've been happy and sad. For the first two months of 2014, I was in Australia with my family. Things were not really good because I had problems with my visa but I tried to enjoy every second of it. I was able to study for I think three weeks, made some good friends. I did some drinking sesh with Mom's office mates. I was able to go to Melbourne and around Canberra. It was fun, really fun. I am in love with Australia, with Canberra specifically. And the only thing I want to happen is to be back in Canberra, to be with my Mom, to start anew. I hope the Lord God will give it to me. So anyway, I arrived in Manila last March 10, 2014. Few hours since I got there, crazy things happened already, memorable ones, not good stuff but it is something I cannot forget. And I passed the IELTS exam! I could not believe it but the one month self review helped. I went to NSO and NBI alone and it felt so good. I did it! It was sad though, I was alone in the condo, I just cried and cried. I am missing my mom so much, until now. To be with her is all I want. After three months of staying in the condo, I transferred where my brother was staying, in a dormitory. I was in different room, I had two roommates, both are working. I was not aware that I was capable of dealing with those kind of things. I learned to wash my clothes, iron them, to eat what I can afford, it was pretty difficult, I was not used to that kind of living but I survived. Having my brother with me was a big help. I would not know what to do if he was not there with me. I went crazy, it was like I got out of the prison when I stayed in the dorm. I made new friends, I was able to get to know some people deeper and I am not happy really. HAHA! But I am still glad they were part of my life, I learned something from them. I enjoyed coffee so much, coffee and someone you can talk to, it is just the best. Thank you, Kuya Dave. I had a lot of gay friends, something new for me but really fun. I love them, they mean so much to them. They saw me crazy and all, we did a lot of drinking sesh. HAHA! Late 2014, I learned about me being a Diabetic. It was sad, had to stop eating the foods I am used to and lessen some. I am still working on it. November 2, 2014, back to my hometown, Zamboanga. I did not really felt happy but I had no choice. Surprisingly, the best! Dad, grandma, cousins, aunts, uncles, happiness and of course good old friends. I had one drinking sesh here and it is enough. Not anymore, I hope. There are also things that happened which I cannot share here. HAHA! And it is also the year when my Uncle got sick, stroke. He is now recovering, slowly. Thank You, Lord. The year ended okay, I am still alive, family is still alive but it would have been better if all of us were together. I miss my mom so much. She is everything to me. I just really hope I will be with her soon. I am flying back to Manila next month to submit my visa requirements. I hope you could spare me a minute to pray for a good result. Hear and grant our petition, Lord. Okay, I wrote too long but it feels good to write. It has been awhile. I will try to update again soon but I do not think it will be possible. No stable connection again, back to washing clothes and all those. We will see, hope things will fall into place. Lord, always guide and protect me, my family and everyone. Thank you. Until then! 

Sunday, August 24, 2014

26th. :D

God is Awesome. Life is beautiful.
Thank you everyone.