“For I know the plans I have for you, they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11). We all make plans in our lives, some fail and some succeed. Contrary to popular belief, God has great plans for us. He is not out to destroy us and make our lives miserable. According to John 10:10 Jesus came to give us an abundant life. Satan is the destroyer! If anything is destroyed in our lives, Satan is to blame, not God!
Anything you can do, God can do better. . .
Many of us have the idea that “I should know better than anyone else what makes me happy.” Actually, the opposite is true! God is our creator or our manufacturer, and no one has a better plan for us than Him. Job 33:16-18 says “Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.” This scripture says that God speaks to us and gives us instruction to pull us back from our own purpose. Why would he have to pull us back from our own purpose if we had such a wonderful plan? It is pride that makes us think we have a better plan than what God has for us. He created us all for a purpose and we are never going to be fully satisfied until we are walking in that purpose.
Although, God has a specific purpose for each of our lives, he has given us all a free will and His purpose is not going to happen unless we choose. The first choice we must make in order for God’s purpose to happen in our lives is salvation.
How can I be saved?
You may have come to a point in your life where you are seeking for more? The status quo is not enough. You may be thinking “There has got to be more to life than what I am experiencing. If so, I am here to tell you that there is more. God has an awesome plan for all of our lives. In order to experience his awesome plan for your life, you must first be born again. John 3:16 says For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
You notice it says, believes in, trusts in, clings to, relies on. That is the true meaning of believing in Jesus. Simply believing that he exists does not make you born again. James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Even Satan believes that Jesus exists and he is even aware of Jesus’ power. It says that the devils believe and tremble, but obviously that is not enough. You must trust in, cling to and rely on Jesus.
Romans 10:9 is the start of receiving salvation. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” Believing and confession are the first steps to salvation. Confession is simply speaking out loud. Once again, I will use the amplified version. It says, 9Because 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. If you are truly believing in Jesus and the Truth, you will adhere to, trust in, and rely on the Truth that He has told us in His Word.
In the Book of Acts, Peter was preaching and it said the people were cut to the heart or stung to the heart which means they were convicted and they asked Peter what to do. And this is what he told them in Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This is the complete steps to being born again. The first step after believing and confessing is REPENTANCE.
Repentance is not just saying “I’m sorry” and then running out and doing the same stuff. According to dictionary.com repent is defined as “to feel such regret for past conduct as to change one’s mind regarding it.” The Greek definition of the word repentance in this passage is “to think differently” True repentance is when you think differently and act differently!!! The next step is baptism. This is a public profession of your faith and your repentance. This is just as an important step as the others. You will see all through the new testament where people where baptized and even Jesus was baptized. The next step to being born again is receiving the Holy Spirit. You must “receive” the Holy Spirit. Acts 19 says “ 1And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, (Notice he said disciples, these were people that believed in Jesus) 2He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? (Also notice that he didn’t ask were they baptized, but unto what were they baptized meaning that since they were disciples that they were baptized) And they said, Unto John's baptism. 4Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
That is the full plan for salvation. You must first believe, then confess Jesus is Lord, then repent of your sins. And finally be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. Let me repeat the steps for salvation again. They are believing, confession, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit.
If you would like to start experiencing God’s plan for your life, then pray the following prayer with me. Jesus, I welcome you in to my life. I believe that you are the son of God and you died for my sins and I receive your forgiveness. I acknowledge that I have been a sinner and repent of all my sins. Jesus, I will cling to, adhere to you, and trust you. I will follow these steps with baptism. And finally, Jesus, thank you for your Holy Spirit. I welcome your Spirit into me. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
If you would like Prayer, baptism, or if you would like to visit us please call 972- 292- 7129 or go to www.theplaceic.com ... also email me at maineak83@yahoo.com Thank you and God Bless you!!!
Awesome! I hope many come to Christ
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