What I saw…Success!
Medals, plaques, state and national recognition, landowner and businessman – everything I touched turned to gold. I was successful, in control and proud of it. At age 27 in ‘85, I was making a significant income with nowhere to go but up. I had my sights set high and there was nothing that could stop me. I liked the man I saw in the mirror…or so I thought.
…things began to blur. Success was replaced by numerous failures. My hope and peace in life was dependent on me. No amount of extra effort on my part brought lasting hope. Work became my escape; perfection was my master. No matter how hard I worked or how perfect I tried to become, I was EMPTY and began to hate the man I saw in the mirror.
The word “confess” means “to agree with.” So who was I going to get to agree with me that my life was empty and hopeless? The church? Religious people? No way…I felt many of them were just as empty as I was and I mocked them. Maybe Jesus? Are you kidding…I thought anyone that spoke of Him was a religious fanatic. I was too cool and prideful for “church” or “Jesus” stuff.
By June ’93, I had tried everything I could to find peace and hope to no avail. Life was miserable and I had hit bottom. It was then that I dumped my pride and asked Jesus to help me. I asked Him to take control of a life…my life…that was out of control. Since that day, the hopelessness and emptiness that darkened my life has been replaced with joy, peace and hope. Today, life is exciting and there’s reason to live! God’s love is magnificent and unrelenting!!!
Are you empty? Do you question whether life is worth living? Is your life out of control? Do you have purpose in your life? It may be time for you to admit that you can’t make it on your own. Let Jesus show you the way! Let today be the day that you smile when you look in the mirror! All it takes for this to happen is for you to believe by faith in the grace and mercy of God.
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.”
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death [hell], but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
John 14:6: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Ephesians 2:8-9: “God save[s] you by his special favor when you believe[]. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Romans 10:9-10: “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”
II Corinthians 5:15: “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
Revelation 3:20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”
Questions to Consider
If you are ready to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, just pray…
Dear Heavenly Father, I am a sinner and desire Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again. Father, I turn away from my sinfulness and turn back to You and surrender my life to You so that You can be my Savior, my Lord and my Master. I want Jesus to come into my life and my heart. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you sincerely prayed this prayer and genuinely repented of your sins, you can be assured that God has forgiven you and that you now have eternal life through a relationship with Christ Jesus. His promises are outlined in the Bible through the following verses:
You are now forgiven!
I John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Colossians 2:13-14: You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross.
Ephesians 1:7: He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.
You are now a child of God!
John 1:12-13: But to all who believed him [Christ] and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
I John 3: See how much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!
You now have eternal life!
I John 5:11-13: And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in this Son. So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life.
John 10:27-29: My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.
Now what?
Find a Bible-based church or contact me and I will help you identify the next step in your new walk with Christ.