I have often heard it mentioned that I should "surrender my life to Jesus."
Jesus does call us to completely surrender to Him. You may already "believe" in Jesus, but this is far more than merely that. Jesus said in Matthew 10:39, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." This may seem like a lot to demand of a person, but let me explain the situation.
Say you have committed murder and stand before a judge (for those of you who say you have never murdered, keep in mind God's Word says that if we so much as "hate" another, we are murderers at heart [1 John 3:15]) . The verdict rendered against you is guilty. Your judgment is either a fine of a million dollars (if you happen to have a million dollars, make this an amount you could never pay- a billion, or trillion dollars) or life in jail.
You don't have a million dollars and the only option left is to serve your sentence in jail. The judge asks you if you have anything to say for yourself, and you say "But, judge, I'm such a good person. I've done more good than bad." The judge says, "That may be true, but even so, justice still needs to be served."
The judge is about to slam the gavel down and render judgment when someone walks into the court room and says, "Judge, I've sold everything I owned and I have come up with a million dollars." He places the million dollars in front of the judge and the judge looks at you and says, "You are free to go. Not because you are innocent, not because you are 'good,' but because your fine has been paid." That is what Jesus did for us. He paid the fine for our sins through His life's blood on the cross.
How would you feel towards that person? You would owe him everything, including your life. That is what we owe Jesus. He laid down His life for our sins and bore death upon Himself on the cross. He calls on us to repent (turn from our sins) and place our trust in Him. How selfish of us to give Him anything less than everything. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price."
Luke 9:59-62: To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
When you surrender your life to Jesus, you have to completely abandon your old ways and not look back. Jesus tells us that if we look back, we are not fit for the kingdom of God. At one point, I thought I had surrendered my life to Jesus, but I realized I was far from it. I believed Jesus was my savior and I repented of some of the sins- the ones I was comfortable with. There were sins I thought I couldn’t overcome- and as long as I thought that- I never did.
When you surrender your life to Jesus, you need to repent of all your sins- not just the ones you are comfortable with. It will be different for each of us- perhaps for you it is lust, dirty language, dirty TV shows and movies, gossiping, lying, coveting, and the list goes on.
Someone recently posted this in a discussion on my Facebook wall: "I think that everyone has some kind of sin in their life that they don't want to give up, as you said Jesus died for us and our sins implying that we are all sinners, I think this is human nature." This is true for a lot of people- there are sins standing in between them and their Savior. This does not negate our responsibility to repent, though. It all comes back to what Jesus did on the cross for us. We are not our own anymore, and our sin is pure selfishness in the sight of God. We owe our lives to someone who sacrificed His for us, yet we continue to rebel.
John 14:15-17 says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
I hope you know how amazing it is to have the Holy Spirit dwelling among you. Jesus tells us we can know the Holy Spirit. He also tells us how to receive the Holy Spirit: keep His commandments. If you repent of your sins and place your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior, He will send the Holy Spirit to dwell among you. If there is sin in your life you refuse to repent of, do not be surprised when the Holy Spirit is not sent to dwell among you.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “When once God the Holy Spirit applies the Law to the conscience, secret sins are dragged to light, little sins are magnified to their true size, and things apparently harmless become exceedingly sinful. Before that dread searcher of the hearts and trier of the reins makes His entrances into the soul, it appears righteous, just, lovely, and holy; but when He reveals the hidden evils, the scene is changed. Offenses which were once styled peccadilloes, trifles, freaks of youth, follies, indulgences, little slips, etc., then appear in the true color, as breaches of the Law of God, deserving condign punishment.”
Luke 17:33 says: “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” If you seek to hold on to your life and control it, you will lose it, but if you surrender your life to Jesus, you will gain eternal life.
Once you give your life to Jesus, you won’t have any more decisions to make- they are all up to God. If there are decisions in your life you want to remain in control of or sin you will not repent of, please surrender your life completely to Jesus Christ. For me, the hardest thing to give up was offensive TV shows and songs. I have a "blasphemy rule" for the TV and radio. Whenever I hear the Lord's name taken in vain, I turn the TV off. I sometimes allow it when I hear it on the news due to the nature of the programming (it is reporting), but I generally make it a point not to even watch TV to begin with because nothing (not even PBS- cable got the ax long ago) is safe.
I want to make this a personal challenge to everyone to replace their TV time with Bible reading. The average American watches 5 hours of TV a day. This may sound like a lot, but it easily adds up. I know people who like to rewind in front of TV every night for 2 hours from 8 to 10. Imagine if you took all the time you watch TV and spent it reading the Bible. You will be amazed at how much reading you can do.
The other thing I have found is that my mind used to be filled with useless information about what happened the previous night on all the TV shows I watched. Not only that, but I was also recalling all the previous information from episodes prior to that.
Imagine if instead of recalling last night's TV shows, you were recalling God's Word. This is, in fact, what Jesus calls us to do. Jesus said in John 15: 7-8, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." By abiding in the Word, you will glorify the Father!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted - 1/22/2010
Today, I went to the intersection of Dover Center and Lorain in North Olmsted from 3:10 to 4:10. Traffic starts to get heavy around 3 o'clock in the areas around here. It's been a while since I've been at this spot with the cross. Today was about 40 degrees, so I wanted to get out while it was still relatively warm (compared to the 20's and low 30's). Someone told me "God bless you," I got a few honks, at least one thumbs up, and I also got some jeering.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Back on the Streets - 1/14/2010
Last Thursday, I went back out on the street for the first time in about a month. Prior to this date, for about the last three weeks, temps have been bitterly cold in the area and I haven't been out. Temps are starting to edge back north of the freezing point lately and I hope to get back out on the streets more often.
Thursday, with some of the snow finally gone, I went to the intersection of Andrews and Detroit in downtown Lakewood from 11:00 to 11:45. No conversations, but a lot of people saw and noticed the cross. Hope to get back out there more often, soon!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Once Saved, Always Saved?
Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:22-23, "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God."
I do believe the statement, "Once saved, always saved," but let me clarify this statement. If someone accepts Jesus into their life and truly repents of their sins, their life will be completely transformed. They will abandon their old way of living and begin living for the Lord. The Lord will be continually revealing new sins to them they need to repent of. This is completely different from someone who "prays a prayer," doesn't change anything in their life and continues being a part of the world system.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
1 John 2:15-17 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
Jesus said in John 10:1-5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Jesus explains the meaning of this parable in the following verses. In verse 9, He says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Among the best known Bible verses is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” While this is true, this verse has to be taken in context with the rest of the Bible. John 3:3 says one must be born again to be saved. To be saved, one must both believe and repent of their sins (Matthew 4:17, Luke 5:32, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3; Luke 24:47)
Jesus said in Luke 6:46-49, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” The rock foundation is repentance and faith.
Both are necessary.
One cannot be saved and continue to live their old lifestyle. Jesus and is not someone that can be added to your list of other gods (money, lust, unrighteous desires, etc.). You can not go on living in your old sinful lifestyle and be saved. One might call someone who accepts Jesus into their life for a time and then falls away a “back slider.” I prefer to call them a “false convert” who never “slid forward” in the first place.
Our churches are filled with these type of people. In Mark 4:3-8, Jesus said, "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
Jesus explains the meaning of this parable a few verses later in Mark 4:14-20: "The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." There are so many "thorns" in our churches who outwardly profess Christianity.
As Paul said in Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Jesus said in Luke 3:17, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” There are undoubtedly people who proclaim to profess to be Christians among us who are not saved. It is our job to make sure they are saved while there is still time.
Just because one “believes” in Jesus does not mean they are necessarily saved. Jesus says in Matthew 7:22-23 “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” I used to be one of those who would have said this to our Lord on Judgment Day. Make sure you know where you stand in the eyes of our Lord.
I do believe the statement, "Once saved, always saved," but let me clarify this statement. If someone accepts Jesus into their life and truly repents of their sins, their life will be completely transformed. They will abandon their old way of living and begin living for the Lord. The Lord will be continually revealing new sins to them they need to repent of. This is completely different from someone who "prays a prayer," doesn't change anything in their life and continues being a part of the world system.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
1 John 2:15-17 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
Jesus said in John 10:1-5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Jesus explains the meaning of this parable in the following verses. In verse 9, He says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Among the best known Bible verses is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” While this is true, this verse has to be taken in context with the rest of the Bible. John 3:3 says one must be born again to be saved. To be saved, one must both believe and repent of their sins (Matthew 4:17, Luke 5:32, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3; Luke 24:47)
Jesus said in Luke 6:46-49, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” The rock foundation is repentance and faith.
Both are necessary.
One cannot be saved and continue to live their old lifestyle. Jesus and is not someone that can be added to your list of other gods (money, lust, unrighteous desires, etc.). You can not go on living in your old sinful lifestyle and be saved. One might call someone who accepts Jesus into their life for a time and then falls away a “back slider.” I prefer to call them a “false convert” who never “slid forward” in the first place.
Our churches are filled with these type of people. In Mark 4:3-8, Jesus said, "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
Jesus explains the meaning of this parable a few verses later in Mark 4:14-20: "The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." There are so many "thorns" in our churches who outwardly profess Christianity.
As Paul said in Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Jesus said in Luke 3:17, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” There are undoubtedly people who proclaim to profess to be Christians among us who are not saved. It is our job to make sure they are saved while there is still time.
Just because one “believes” in Jesus does not mean they are necessarily saved. Jesus says in Matthew 7:22-23 “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” I used to be one of those who would have said this to our Lord on Judgment Day. Make sure you know where you stand in the eyes of our Lord.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Witnessing Online
I recently found a site through another brother in Christ called Omegle. In their own words, "Omegle is a brand-new service for meeting new friends. When you use Omegle, we pick another user at random and let you have a one-on-one chat with each other."
It is a great way to witness to people online, but beware of some of the people you may come into contact with on the site. Also, I just noticed an advertisement on the site that could clearly cause a lot of people to violate the seventh commandment, so just beware. I will be posting some conversations I have on Omegle on this blog.
It is a great way to witness to people online, but beware of some of the people you may come into contact with on the site. Also, I just noticed an advertisement on the site that could clearly cause a lot of people to violate the seventh commandment, so just beware. I will be posting some conversations I have on Omegle on this blog.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Grace by Faith Alone - Is Repentance a "Work"?
Ephesians 2:8-9 tell us that, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Scripture taken as a whole also requires repentance for salvation (Matthew 4:17, Luke 5:32, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3; Luke 24:47).
These two statements may seem to be at odds at each other- grace by faith alone but the act of repentance is required for salvation.
The answer to this problem is that repentance is not a work of our own doing- it is a gift from God. Acts 11:18 tells us that it is God who grants repentance that leads to life. 2 Timothy 2:25 also speaks of God granting repentance "leading to a knowledge of the truth."
These two statements may seem to be at odds at each other- grace by faith alone but the act of repentance is required for salvation.
The answer to this problem is that repentance is not a work of our own doing- it is a gift from God. Acts 11:18 tells us that it is God who grants repentance that leads to life. 2 Timothy 2:25 also speaks of God granting repentance "leading to a knowledge of the truth."
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Calling on Local Business, Churches, Clubs, etc.
With winter in full blast in Cleveland and temperatures only in the teens and twenties for highs and windchill values dangerously low, I have not been on the streets recently. I am calling on local businesses, churches, clubs, etc., that would be willing to allow me to display my cross inside, possibly talking about the message of the cross. If you know of a place that would allow me to do this, please direct them to this page and/or email me at mark@htmlideas.com. Thank you!
What About Homosexuality?
Our current culture tells us we must accept homosexuality. Even some inside the church tell us the same thing.
I want you to take a careful look at the following list of sins and tell me which ones are permissible and which aren't:
-sexually immorality (pornography, sex outside of marriage, lust)
-idolatry
-adultery
-homosexuality
-stealing
-greed/coveting
-drunkenness
-reviling
-swindling/extortion
These are the sins listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Homosexuality is included in this list. There is a solemn warning at the end of verse 10: none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.
There is good news, though. If you will repent and place your trust in Jesus, you can be saved. Verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 6 says this: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
God calls on all sinners alike to repent and place their trust in Him and Him alone. Today is the day of salvation.
I want you to take a careful look at the following list of sins and tell me which ones are permissible and which aren't:
-sexually immorality (pornography, sex outside of marriage, lust)
-idolatry
-adultery
-homosexuality
-stealing
-greed/coveting
-drunkenness
-reviling
-swindling/extortion
These are the sins listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Homosexuality is included in this list. There is a solemn warning at the end of verse 10: none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.
There is good news, though. If you will repent and place your trust in Jesus, you can be saved. Verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 6 says this: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
God calls on all sinners alike to repent and place their trust in Him and Him alone. Today is the day of salvation.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Motto For 2010
Happy New Year! Here is my motto for 2010:
"I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified"
-1 Corinthians 2:2 (ESV).
"I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified"
-1 Corinthians 2:2 (ESV).
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