Posted: 02/08/2005 at 2:08pm | IP Logged

Is there a God?

Is God real?

What's a relationship with God all about,
and what's Jesus Christ got to do with it?

Perhaps you've had friends who seem to discover this reality, they'd love to introduce you to this experience?

Perhaps you're not ready, but deep down you'd like to know more. This site identifies some of the resources that detail the issues and beliefs, a chance to discover faith for yourself.


MY SEARCH FOR REALITY

How God became real for me

Geoff Pick

During my childhood years in Surrey, England I had a brother and pleasant home and family. I occasionally visited a church with my mother or Grandparents when we stayed with them. Such visits to church although not actively unpleasant were, no more than something that "good" people ought to do... and should do to retain senior adult approval. Once beyond the early school years, my brother and I preferred not to attend, as we had more attractive options for energetic leisure time.

As I grew up my interests moved toward non religious areas and I developed ability in art, and psychology, and my perspective on the world took shape.

In my teen years I considered myself "agnostic" in that I did not know if I believed that God existed, and generally hoped that he did not. I rarely thought that God had any relevance to my life, or specific interest in me. God was only as real as the people in history or as characters in a book.

I was not naturally empathetic and in my early teens endeavored to understand the hidden side of people. I thought that I could find out some of the answers by reading astrology books, unaware of the deception I had embraced. Although I was independently minded, I did not step out of line any more than typical teenagers, bored with the interests and life of their parents... I was searching for reality.

Uncertain about a future career path, I was invited to a church based career discussion, where various professional people i.e. policeman and teacher etc. provided an insider introduction to their work for a small group of teenagers, I had the chance to ask questions. Weeks later I had an opportunity to talk with an older Christian man, who was a family friend. Peter, was old enough to be my dad, but was a very warm and open person. The first thing that struck me about Peter was he was interested and listened to what I had to say. When he spoke about his own faith I was struck that this was not a stuffy history lesson, but something that was very real to him personally.

He explained that Jesus, was God's son and that the reason he came to earth was to save us from our sins.

When Jesus died on the cross, his crime "claiming to be the son of God", it was a way God used of paying for the wrong doing in all of us and opening the way to heaven to all who would believe in him.

The sense that God was real to him made me realize that God, who I had shut out of my life view, might just be for real. If he was real then I did not feel prepared to meet God, but these were my silent thoughts. He explained further that we all need to come to a point in our lives where we were prepared to:

Honestly confess our guilt and wrong doing to God remembering particular events.
Acknowledge our need for God's forgiveness for all our sin.
Believe in Jesus who died to take the punishment we justly deserved.
Ask Jesus to forgive me personally for my own sin and invite Jesus to come into my life.

Peter said that the moment that he had done this himself God had come into his life and he knew that he was different… had been "saved"..

This sounded like a real experience of God was on offer, I had prayed prayers as a child, but never got through to God, so wondered if praying this way would make any difference.
"OK I'll try it" I said thinking that there's no harm to try it, but feeling exposed and embarrassed to admit the possibility of a need of God and forgiveness for my sin. My pride took a knock.

I realized that having prayed as a child that it would be hard to concentrate and might be unlikely to work, so I set an appointment time 2:30pm to make the prayer more definite, I had expected that there would be a need to pray for over half an hour for anything to occur.

As I sat at the desk table in my room doing homework, I was aware that I sensed a deep sense of anticipation building, it was only 2pm, in my heart I felt that what was about to occur was going to be the decisive moment of my life. The feelings grew stronger, this was no longer an experiment to test whether God is real, it was a sense that God was calling me to my knees in surrender and repentance. It was not yet "my" chosen time, but I could resist these feelings no longer, and I got down on my knees and began to pray. I confessed every memory that I felt guilty about and asked for God to forgive all the sins I could not remember. I then asked Jesus to come into my life and forgive my sin, acknowledging his sacrifice and the pain he went through on my behalf and in my place. Jesus come into my life I receive you and your forgiveness.

From the feeling of deep conviction came a warm breeze of love and sense of beautiful lightness and deep peace. I could not believe that in just a few minutes God had broken my pride and come into my life, and was totally there. This sense of God's love stayed with me for days, I felt incredibly free. The feelings were so deep I could not talk about it, it was far too personal.

Further contact with a Church where people were really alive and happy in their relationship with God,and shared similar experiences with God, helped me work out and continue to discover more about the Christian Life.

Being part of church meant deeper friendships. The Bible became really interesting, prayers got answers and the Holy Spirit brought me a deep sense of peace and new brighter outlook on life.

Geoff Pick

-------------------

God already carried the heaviest burden ever. When his son Jesus Christ died on the cross, he took all the guilt of our sin upon himself. And yet he said in the Bible, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest, for my burden is easy and my yoke is light." Jesus was God and because he was God, he was able to carry the burden of the world like a fly on a camel’s back. It was easy for him. He wants to carry our burdens; they add no weight to his load. He pleads for the privilege of bearing our worries and concerns and pain. For although he can carry our burdens with a leap of joy, one little particle of our pain, our suffering, our anxious thoughts will crush us. It will kill us. It was killing me.

God in Jesus Christ is the heart surgeon standing on the path crying and pleading to help us. For, indeed, we are the ones dying of heart failure. He is begging us to put our trust in him, in his expert hands. But so often we push him away with the last vestige of our strength and say, "No, I don’t need you. I will get better. I can heal myself. Or someone else will come along and heal me."

Don’t wait any longer. Simply tell him you accept him. Reach out and ask for his forgiveness for your reluctance and belligerence. Discover his love flood your heart in return.

Take a look at your life.  How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times.  There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget.  In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new.  What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here's a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. I give my life into your hands. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?
If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you'll experience life to the fullest.

Kristi’s Story

Kristi was in high school when she visited a friend at James Madison University and saw EveryStudent [www.everystudent.com] advertised. She visited the site and was challenged.
• Video story | Read it

Patricia’s Story

“Is there a God?” Patricia typed into her computer. Ask Jeeves, the Internet search engine, boasts the ability to find the answer to any question. This was just one of many search engines Patricia frequently used to find all kinds of information, from news to music. But could it really tell her about God?
• Read her story

Kevin and Cathy’s story

Pornography, drinking and guilt dominated Kevin’s life. Then he noticed a TV advert for the PowertoChange.com website. He and wife Cathy were at their wits end.
• Video story | Read it

Christina’s Story

Her life was in a total mess when she went to see Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ. This challenged here, and she went online to look for answers, and found CCCI’s evangelistic site The Life [www.thelife.com/lifestories/cvogt.html] based on the film.
• Video story | Read it [www.thelife.com/lifestories/cvogt.html]

Kasia’s Story

“I accidentally started chatting with somebody on the Internet.” Polish student Kasia was looking for meaning in life when she contacted a web evangelist based in US. He suggested she visit Polish websites including VitaNovis.
• Read her story

Shoshy’s Story

“On September 11, 2001 I said my first prayer. My son was a police officer with the New York Police Department. As I sat watching the Twin Towers burn, at first I thought that he was fine since he worked a desk job at One Police Plaza. But what if he went over to help? ‘Please God,’ I said, ‘if you’re listening, don’t let them go in there. You can take my car, my house, take anything you want, but don’t let them go in that building. He doesn’t even have a baby yet, God!’”
• Video story | Read her story 

Posted: 02/08/2005 at 2:23pm | IP Logged

Kevin and Cathy’s story

TV adverts for the outreach site PowertoChange.com attracted their attention, but Kevin and Cathy were at first skeptical. They went online to check it out. There they found a clear message of truth with the promise of help to change their ways.

Pornography, drinking and guilt dominated Kevin’s life. Kevin knew that he needed to change and prayed to receive Christ. He emailed the site about his decision and requested follow-up. The request was passed on to a church right in his community. Soon after, someone from the church called and was invited to come over with a Power to Change booklet and CD. They had a long discussion and that weekend Kevin and Cathy began attending the church.

Kevin’s life changed and Cathy noticed. He was not the same father and husband he was before. When Cathy saw the incredible change in Kevin’s life and in their marriage, she too committed her life to Christ. They were both baptized and are busy sharing the Power to Change with others.

They tell their story
Kevin remembers, “Five years ago, the most important things in my life were football, drinking, pornography – everything that I shouldn’t do, pretty much ... escaping reality in any way, shape or form ... drugs too. And I was the big bad daddy at home. I ruled the house, instead of with a loving hand, with a bad hand. I’d come home from work and my children would run away from me rather than run to me. I didn’t enjoy running out of the house in a rage, jumping in my company truck, and driving off to the liquor store to pick up rum, sitting on some country road drinking, and then coming home, thinkng, ‘There, everything will be better now.’”

TV ads
PowertoChange.com were running TV adverts at that time. Kevin had noticed one of these screened several times, and vaguely thought it could be an advert for the Mormons. Finally, he says, “It touched me, and I thought, ‘Hey, there’s a website. I didn’ know they were on the Internet. Maybe we should check it out and see who these jokers are.’ Something was drawing me, obviously. So I got up, and went and logged on. Sat there for a few minutes looking at it, and asked Cathy to come and join me. We started reading what was on the site – it was very eye-opening.

“Not condemning”
The thing that struck me the most was – it wasn’t condemning, it wasn’t pushy. It was just offering the truth. The thing that I found was most intriguing was the offer of a relationship with Jesus Christ. I think the reason that it connected with us so quickly and intensely was that we were both at our wits end. We had no-one to turn to, nowhere to go; it offered so much hope. It offered something that no man could give, and – I don’t know – was it the second time we visited the website, I prayed the prayer that’s offered online.”

“Glow I hadn’t seen before”
Cathy says, “Just the look in his face, his eyes – you could definitely see it right away. He didn’t look so hard and angry any more. He always used to look angry and mad about something. Now he had this ‘glow’ that I hadn’t seen before. It was proably four or five months after he did it, that I actually also accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, because I was thinking, ‘Hey, if anything can change him for the better, let's go for it.’”

The children could see it too. Kevin recalls, ”My son came up to me the other day, and said, ‘I really really like the new daddy.’ That was great!”

Posted: 02/08/2005 at 2:25pm | IP Logged

A new passion for life

Christina was at a crisis in her life when she went to see The Passion of the Christ film. She went to buy a Bible, and then viewed an outreach website based on The Passion. Watch her story on this 5-minute video or read it here.

Early in January of 2004 I came to a crossroad in my life. I was living away from my family and going to college. I began to isolate myself from my friends. I remember lying in bed one night and coming to the realization that if I didn’t do something about my life now, I would lose it. I could see that I was stumbling blindly into more darkness. I decided to pack up my bags and move home to my family. I wanted to begin a search for some meaning in my life.

Choosing to move back home proved to be a smart decision. Living with my family, I stopped using drugs. But I still felt worthless. My mind and heart where filled with regret and guilt. About a month after I had moved home I heard about an upcoming movie about Jesus that was coming to theaters. It was a film surrounded by controversy and I quickly became very interested in seeing it. Something, somewhere was telling me to see this film.

Seeing The Passion of the Christ

In early March I went to see the movie The Passion of the Christ with my parents. I have never experienced emotions like the ones I felt as I watched that movie. I was clenching the arm rest of my chair, sobbing, and shaking. What I was seeing was true and I couldn’t deny the compassion that touched my heart. I saw Jesus for the first time on that screen.

I left the theater stunned, feeling numb, overwhelmed and anxious. My parents wanted to discuss the film but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. That night, before I went to sleep, I talked to Jesus for the first time. I didn�t know how to pray. I didn�t know anything about God or religion but I knew when I spoke to Jesus that night I felt this overwhelming sense of peace. I cried and prayed and then fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Asking questions about Jesus

I started reading my Bible in the New Testament with the Gospel of Matthew. I powered through it in seven days! Initially, I had so many questions. As I read I found that the questions began answering themselves.

I was browsing TheLife.com, www.thelife.com] a website designed around The Passion movie, and I read an article called “Are you looking for forgiveness?” I certainly was looking for forgiveness! I needed forgiveness from others and forgiveness from myself. Before I read this article, I didn’t believe that I could ever be forgiven. I prayed this prayer for the first time:
“God, thank you for what You have done for me. I believe You sent Jesus to die for my sins. I believe Jesus rose again to give me everlasting life. Please forgive me for the wrong things I have done. Please give me a new and clean heart. I invite you into my life. Teach me to do everything You want me to do and to follow You all the days of my life. I pray this believing in what Jesus did for me. Amen.”

Getting to know Jesus

Before, I had always been on a search for something to fill this empty void in my life. I tried filling it with drugs, alcohol, sex, with whatever I could to get a feeling of pleasure and self-worth. Now Jesus fills that void. After I read the New Testament, and Jesus became the reason and focus of my life, I began to see the world differently. It was as if someone had lifted the veil covering my eyes and I finally understood the truth about what my existence in this life really means.

Faith and freedom

My Dad told me that he had known about my drug use and was watching my life unravel. He had felt so helpless, and at that time he begged for God�s help. He told me that he prayed to God, saying that he would give up anything and everything he owned to have me back to how I used to be. His prayers were answered! Here I was strong and full of joy, speaking about how God had changed my life, full of confidence and love. I was completely transformed. God had answered his prayer tenfold. At that moment he knew that God truly did exist. In a very short time, my parents and my brother have also become followers of Jesus.

Although my spiritual walk with Jesus has been brief, I have complete trust in God. I have exposed my vulnerability and weaknesses in order for God to use me to serve others. I will use my past hurts, struggles and weaknesses to help others as God sees fit. God created me as I am and my history has become part of His purpose. My personality and strengths are a result of His love for me.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

Thanks to TruthMedia www.truthmedia.com], the Canada-based web evangelism team, for permission to use this story and video. Christina’s story also appears at TheLife.com. www.thelife.com]

• 5-minute video of Christina’s story

• Discussion questions

Posted: 02/08/2005 at 2:34pm | IP Logged

Kristi’s story

Kristi was a student with no interest in the Gospel, until she visited EveryStudent.com. Watch her story on this 5-minute video. Windows Media Player
28k | 56k | ISDN  QuickTime 56k ISDN

“I didn’t think that organized religion was an important thing, I didn’t think it was necessary, and I had no interest whatsoever. I had had some bad experiences with people saying, “Oh you’re going to hell,” and I was very very turned off. Up until that point, if someone had asked me, “How do I become a Christian?”, I wouldn’t have known what to tell them. It would have been, “I don’t know, just try going to church, see if something clicks.”

T-shirt message

I was in the habit at the time of staying up late at night, talking to friends on Instant Messenger, and checking email, and so I just decided, “Why not – I might as well go to this site” and I just read one article after another, and I have no clue how long I must have spent the first time I was on the site – an hour or more.

“...things that had been troubling me”

Then I came across the prayer to invite Jesus into your heart and I had never heard of that. I didn’t know anything about it. I was blown away that I could actually have a relationship with God. And so I remember sitting there in my desk chair at home, just praying – and crying – I was so happy. It was something I had never thought about, that God could be living within me.

A safe place to go

After I went to the site and I became a Christian, I wanted to share EveryStudent.com with other people and I wanted my friends to ask about it so I actually borrowed Adam’s t-shirt and started wearing it around my high school. And people would stop and ask me about it. EveryStsudent.com led me to the most important decision I have ever made and the best thing that has ever happened to me in my whole life.

I didn’t think that anything on the web could actually change my life. But it did, and I now realize that was just God directing me to what would be the best way to reach me. That was God – using this tool that I was on every single day – to reach me.

24/7 help

Every student needs to know the website is out there and they can have their questions answered in a non-confrontational way – that they can be reached by the gospel 24 hours seven days a week from their dorm room. It’s just part of our nature now to surf onto a website. And if they know that it’s out there, people will go just out of curiosity, and they can make a life-changing decision right there in front of their computer.

• More web-mediated testimonies

• Discussion questions

Posted: 12/14/2006 at 9:00am | IP Logged

Hearing God's Voice

by Os Hillman,

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. - 1 Samuel 3:7

Samuel was born to Hannah, a woman who had a deep commitment to God. She was barren, but she cried out to God for a son. The Lord gave her Samuel, whom she completely gave to the Lord for His service. After weaning him, she took him to the house of the Lord to be reared by the priests. Eli was the priest of Israel, but he was not a godly leader. He had allowed much corruption, including the sins of his sons, in God's house. God was not pleased with Eli and later judged him and his household.

Samuel grew up in the temple serving God. He also grew up seeing the hypocrisy of Eli's household, yet this did not change the young man. God was with him. We learn that even though young Samuel had a belief in God, he had not yet experienced a personal relationship with Him. God called to Samuel three times, but Samuel thought it was Eli, the priest, calling him. Finally, Eli told him to say, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening" (1 Sam. 3:9b). This is what Samuel did, and God began telling Samuel important things to come.

Many of us grow up in religious environments. We go to church every week. We have a head knowledge of God, but we do not recognize God's voice in our lives. There comes a time when we must recognize God's voice for ourselves. God does not want us to have a religion; He wants us to have a two-way relationship with Him. Samuel was never the same after this encounter. He would know God's voice and would respond to Him in obedience.

Do you know God's voice? Can you recognize it when He speaks? In order to hear God's voice, you must be clean before Him and listen. Listen to God's voice today and follow His plans for you.

Life's Issues prayer counselors  or available send an email to: Larry Silverman nhministry@yahoo.com  or post a reply to this message.

Or if you like you can contact us by email here: http://archive.openheaven.com/contact/

Posted: 12/22/2006 at 3:03pm | IP Logged

The Gospel of the Kingdom

by Os Hillman,

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." - Matthew 6:9-10

Imagine that you have never driven a car. You are not aware of all the features of a car. Up to this point, you have had to walk everywhere you go. All you are told is that you are about to receive something that will get you anywhere you need to go. The day arrives and you are given a brand new car. You get in and drive the car. However, the emergency brake is on, preventing you from going faster than 20 miles per hour. No one tells you that you should unlock the brake. Regardless, you are excited because you no longer have to walk to your destination. You are not told that the car has lights, which would allow you to drive at night. Neither are you told about the many other wonderful features of the car. You just know you have a new car that will get you anywhere you want to go at 20 miles per hour. For the rest of your life, you drive this incredible car during the daytime only at 20 miles per hour.

Why would Jesus pray that things in earth would be like they are in Heaven if it were not possible? When Jesus came to earth, He came in order to penetrate the very kingdom of darkness with light. He came to bring healing to sickness, replace sadness with joy, and fill meaninglessness with purpose. He came to change things for the better for a world that had no hope outside of God.

Using the illustration above, Jesus did not come to merely give us a ticket to Heaven (a car that you drive only in the daytime at 20 miles per hour). He came to bring us much more-the Kingdom of God on earth. Nowhere in the Bible will you find the term, gospel of salvation. The Church does not exist for Heaven, but for earth. If it existed only for Heaven, then each of us would immediately be taken to Heaven. There would be no reason for us to remain on earth. So why has God allowed us to receive this new birth and remain on earth? It is so that we might bring the Kingdom of God into our world-our families, our workplace, and our communities.

God wants you to bring the Kingdom of God into the territory He has given you so that His will can be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Your domain is your workplace, family, and community. Ask God to show you how He wants to penetrate the darkness of your domain with His light. Then you will see and experience all the features of this gift that has been given to you.

Posted: 04/23/2007 at 7:23am | IP Logged

God’s Great Offer

By Daniel Garza

Matthews 11:28 --- “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, I will give you rest”

When a man responds to the call of the gospel: and opens up his heart for the Lord Jesus to come in. God cleanses and purges him from sin. Forgiveness of sins is such a great blessing: it restores a man into the arms of our savior. It brings him into a close fellowship and sweet communion with the Most High God Himself.

God declares with all authority, “Your sins and iniquities I will remember no more: When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

When we come under the blood of Jesus, every judgment of sin; every calamity that sin afflicts on a soul; every poverty that sin brings to a man; and every misery and sorrow that sin brings; will pass over us. God in mercy shields us with His arm of love (because of Jesus) and says to all destroyers and devourers “Touch him not; stop at that! “That one is under my favor”. What a privilege it is to have our sins forgiven! The guilt of sin is gone.

When we come to Jesus he gives us peace, joy and liberty. It brings boldness. Sin weakens a man. It makes him run when no one pursues him.
 

Deliverance from sin makes a man bold as a lion. Righteousness exalts a man, a family and a nation, whereas sin brings reproach and disgrace. To be released from sins is the greatest thing that can happen to a man in life. And this is what God will do to every man that comes to Him.

“I will give you rest,” Have you heard His call into your life? Have you heard this knock on the door of your heart? Have you let the Savior in? Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power; are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Take this advantage! Why will you die, oh sinner? Why allow the devil rob you of eternal rest in the arms of the loving savior?

Yet, God’s package of salvation is fare more than forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins however is but the first installment of God’s blessing to a repentant soul. Look at what God offers every one that comes to Him.

John 1:12 --- “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

God is not just willing to forgive and cleanse us; He desires to make us His children. He wants to be our Father. The implication of this must dawn in your heart now, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Name. Our inheritance (when we become His children) is not just some material things we can gather here and there. All that God is and has, all His power, all His wisdom, all His creation are laid out for us to inherit.

2Cor. 6:18 --- “I will be a Father unto you and you will be my sons and daughters, say the Lord Almighty.”

Gal. 4:6-7 --- “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

Amen.

Blessings and Love

Daniel Garza

White Wings Int’l Healing Ministry
healerdan@sbcglobal.net

Life's Issues prayer counselors  or available send an email to: Larry Silverman nhministry@yahoo.com  or post a reply to this message.

Or if you like you can contact us by email here: http://archive.openheaven.com/contact/

Posted: 05/03/2007 at 6:00am | IP Logged

 Wow Ron , the way you described Samuel hearing God's voice and how Eli said to say speak Lord your servant is listening !  I cried out as Hannah did and the Lord did speak to me and even this morning woke me and spoke to me ! God is amazing and his love does endure forever ! I have heard his voice also since a child but was not obedient to his voice in all until much later in life ! I asked the Lord to speak to me like a river and he does !

                                                                                Blessings brother ,

Posted: 08/20/2008 at 7:26pm | IP Logged

His Ultimate Plan

By Jerry Joyner
 
   You must come to Him, believing He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  This is the only way you will ever hear God speak to you.  It must be by faith.  The faith which may begin as the size of a mustard seed, the word tells us.  I believe the only way you will ever hear God in this life is to seek Him, believing, He is.  I really think you must get desperate for Him.  After reading the word for many years, and trying to live the way the word was telling me to, and always coming up short, I finally told God one night; I give up.  I was crying out to God for the first time in my life as I prayed to Him.  I said, God I want to follow you with all of my heart, but I cannot.  You have got to help me.  I believe it was the very next morning when the Holy Spirit overwhelmed me.  I heard God speaking to me supernaturally, in a way which I never imagined.  At that time, I knew beyond any doubt, just how real He was and is.
 
   I really believe there are many people in this world who go to church, read their bibles, and never experience this.  The reason is pride.  God hates pride.  Pride says you are good.  Pride says you can do it.  Pride says you can obey God.  Pride says you are better than the Christian next to you.  Pride causes a veil to overshadow you.  Pride causes you to believe a lie.  If you are reading this and think you are humble, yet you have not heard God's voice, supernaturally, I exhort you to ask God to reveal to you why.  Remember, He says, "my children know my voice."

   Now, back to His ultimate plan.  His plan is that Christ be formed in you.  Jesus came to show us the nature of God, which is love.  This is the only hope for the world.  He is beginning to form in a people.  The nature of Christ is being formed, or developed in a people who have totally lost any desire for their own life, but only want to please Him.  This is a mystery which has been hidden for many generations, but is now being made manifest to His people.

   While most of the Christian world is trying to look good and be highly thought of by doing good works (giving to the poor, cleaning the church, etc.), there is an unknown people, who have given up all rights to themselves, in whom Christ is forming Himself, who are going to usher in the Kingdom of God.
 
   Many Christians have been deceived and think all they had to do is accept the fact that Jesus died for their sins.  There are many people who believe, the world is going to hell and God is going to rapture them away from here.  This is exactly what the devil wants you to think.  Why, you may ask.  If you are sitting around waiting for the rapture, and believing you cannot do anything about the condition of the world, satan has you where he wants you.  God has many promises for those who overcome until the end.  It is possible to overcome our flesh nature and have Christ in us fully if that is our quest.  We can not do anything.  With Christ living in and through us we can do all things.
  
  God will not give His glory to another.  He will settle for nothing less than all of you.  I plead with you; give God all of your life.  You will find a joy you never fathomed.  You will see the scriptures begin to jump off the page as God unveils the hidden mysteries to you.  He has a great plan for mankind.  But first man has to see that God's way is the only way.  Can you imagine what the world will be like when love is ruling?  All starvation will be done away with.  How wonderful it will be when love replaces greed.  Greed is the problem.  The word says the lust of life, which is greed.  The good news is satan is almost out of time.  Just think; what if we were united in one goal, instead of competing with each other and trying to keep others down.  How much less expensive would food, gas, clothing, and everything be.  This can only happen with Christ being formed in us.  This is the way the knowledge of the glory of the Lord is going to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
       
   I hope and pray you will not be one of the many Christians who will be gnashing their teeth and weeping in that day, when they realize they could have been so much more in the Kingdom if only they had chosen to give up "their" life and allow Christ to live in and through them.
 
   To summarize it all up, Christ (which means anointed one) is returning as Lord of Lords and King of Kings in His people.  This is the ultimate plan of God.  I sincerely pray you will grasp this and ask God to show you the truth.

Jerry Joyner
joynerjerryl@aol.com