Understanding what it means to accept Christ

02/07/2020

29/06/2020

Fear Knocks
and invited them to step into the room where
Dee's body lay. Holding each other, they
walked through the doors and saw his final
message. His hand was resting on the top of his
thigh with the two center fingers folded in and
the thumb extended, the universal sign￾language symbol for "I love you."
I've tried to envision the final moments of
my brother's earthly life: racing down a Texas
highway in an ambulance through an inky
night, paramedics buzzing around him, his
heart weakening within him. Struggling for
each breath, at some point he realized only a
few remained. But rather than panic, he
quarried some courage.
Perhaps you could use some. An ambulance
isn't the only ride that demands valor. You may
not be down to your final heartbeat, but you
may be down to your last paycheck, solution, or
thimble of faith. Each sunrise seems to bring
fresh reasons for fear.
They're talking layoffs at work,
in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East,
turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the

29/06/2020

Imagine Your Life Without Fear
Who can say why resolve sometimes wins
and sometimes loses, but at the age of fifty-four
my brother discovered an aquifer of willpower,
drilled deep, and enjoyed a season of sobriety.
He emptied his bottles, stabilized his marriage,
reached out to his children, and exchanged the
liquor store for the local AA. But the hard living
had taken its toll. Three decades of three-packs￾a-day smoking had turned his big heart into
ground meat.
On a January night during the week I began
writing this book, he told Donna, his wife, that
he couldn't breathe well. He already had a
doctor's appointment for a related concern, so
he decided to try to sleep. Little success. He
awoke at 4:00 a.m. with chest pains severe
enough to warrant a call to the emergency
room. The rescue team loaded Dee on the
gurney and told Donna to meet them at the
hospital. My brother waved weakly and smiled
bravely and told Donna not to worry, but by
the time she and one of Dee's sons reached the
hospital, he was gone.
The attending physician told them the news

29/06/2020

Fear Knocks
Take courage. I am here!
—MATTHEW 14:27 NLT
ou would have liked my brother. Everyone
did. Dee made friends the way bakers
make bread: daily, easily, warmly. Handshake
—big and eager; laughter—contagious and
volcanic. He permitted no stranger to remain
one for long. I, the shy younger brother, relied
on him to make introductions for us both.
When a family moved onto the street or a
newcomer walked onto the playground, Dee
was the ambassador.
Y
But in his mid-teen years, he made one
acquaintance he should have avoided—a
bootlegger who would sell beer to underage
drinkers. Alcohol made a play for us both, but
although it entwined me, it enchained him.
Over the next four decades my brother drank
away health, relationships, jobs, money, and all
but the last two years of his life.

29/06/2020

WE HAVE ALL SINNED
hSin is deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.
We have all sinned. There is no one on the earth who never
sins (Romans 3:23, Ecclesiastes 7:20). That’s the bad news,
but there is also good news. We can all be forgiven and made
right with God.
Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor
and glory which God bestows and receives.
[All] are justifi ed and made upright and in right
standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace
(His unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemp￾tion which is [provided] in Christ Jesus.
—ROMANS 3:23–24
Jesus has already paid for your sins; all you need to do is
believe it and receive it. If you will admit your sins, be sorry

29/06/2020

27/06/2020

The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make

27/06/2020

This decision is more important than your career choice,
where you will attend college, whom you will marry, how
you will invest your money, or where you will live. This de￾cision concerns eternity. Eternity is time without end, and
each of us needs to know where we will spend it. There is life
after death. When you die, you don’t cease to exist, you just
begin to exist in another place. It has been said that dying
is like going through a revolving door. You simply leave one
place and go to another.
Do you want to have a relationship with God here on
earth and live with Him for eternity? If so, you need to re￾ceive Jesus Christ as your Savior. We have all sinned and we
all need a Savior. God sent His only Son to pay the penalty
for our sins. He was crucifi ed and shed His innocent blood
as payment for our wrongdoing. He died and was buried, but
on the third day He rose from the dead and is now seated in
heaven, at the right hand of God the Father. He is your only
hope of having peace, joy and right standing with God.
In order to be saved from our sins, the Bible teaches that we
must confess and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and we must
believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead.
Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips
that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to,
trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved. —ROMANS 10:9
A NEW WAY OF LIVING

27/06/2020

THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION
YOU WILL EVER MAKE

hAre you dissatisfi ed with your life? If so, you are not alone.
Multitudes of people are tired, weary, empty, and unfulfi lled.
Some have tried religion in hopes of fi nding a solution to
the way they feel, only to be burdened with lifeless and un￾reasonable rules that they couldn’t keep. If you have tried
religion, it does not mean you’ve tried God as the solution to
your empty, frustrating, guilt-ridden life.
If you need to feel loved, if you need a friend, if you need
your sins forgiven, and if you need a future . . . Jesus Christ is
your answer. He is waiting to give you a new life and make
you a brand new creation.
If you are not satisfi ed with your life, you must change
something. If we keep doing the same things we have always
done, we will have the life we have always had. You need to
make a decision, and it is the most important decision you
will ever make.