Plan of Salvation referred to in other posts

Welcome to the most important blog on this blogspot.

In some of the blogs I have posted, you were asked the following questions:

Do you know what is meant by a Christ-follower?
Then you were asked to view the bog called "Plan of Salvation"  in order to answer that question.
This is the blog you're looking for.

a Christ-follower is (in your own words).

____________________________________________________________________________
You can answer this question after you read this blog.

If you know your Bible, then you have probably read some thing about God and Who He is.  God is holy. (Leviticus 11:44)  He is the Creator of all of us and all the animals and trees and every living thing.  He made the world and all that is in it.  (See Genesis chapter 1 in the Bible.)  Also, God loves you.  (Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16)

He also made an awesome place called Heaven where He wants you to be with Him forever.  You can read about Heaven in Revelation 21, the last book in the Bible.

Revelation 21:23 "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb [that's Jesus] is its lamp. 
Revelation 21:27  "Nothing impure will ever enter it..."

BUT

There's a problem.  If you read all about Heaven you will see that there is no sin there.  All the wickedness and bad things we see on the news will not be happening in Heaven because there is no sin allowed.
Well, what is sin?  Sin is anything we think, say or do that is against God's Word.  There are rules in the Bible, God's Word.  Since God created us and every living thing, then He gets to make the rules.  The best known rules in the Bible are the Ten Commandments.  You can find them in Exodus chapter 20, starting with verse 3.  The Bible also says that every single one of us has broken God's rules at one time or another. 

You may think:  "But I have never killed anyone or stolen anything."  However, we were all born with a desire (a want-to) to break God's rules.  The Bible says in Romans 3:23  "For all have sinned ans fall short of the glory of God."  So, if we all have sin in us and there can be no sin in heaven, does that man that none of us can go to heaven?

NO

God made a way. He sent His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth as a baby to take our sins away.  Jesus came just to do the Father, God's, will.  He lived on earth and when He was thirty-three years old, He was hung on a cross.  You've heard the Easter story about Jesus coming out of the grave.  He died and God put all of our sins on His dear Son.  Yes, Jesus died so that you and I could have our sins forgiven by God the Father.  You see, God said that the payment for sin is death, the kind of death that is being separated from God forever.   So instead of us being separated from God forever, God made an escape for us.  He sent His Son to die in our place.  He took the punishment for our sins that we've already done and those we will do. 

Does that mean that everyone gets to go to heaven when they leave this earth?

Sorry, it does not mean everyone automatically goes to heaven. 
When Jesus was nailed to that cross so long ago, His blood spilled out and that blood is the payment.  Hebrews 9:22 says that God made another rule.  "...the law requires (insists) that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding (or spilling) of blood there is no forgiveness."

So God allowed His Holy son who had never sinned to be the One who could wash our sins away and pay for our sins.  (Romans 6:23 The wages (or payment) for sin is death)  Because He had never sinned, He was the only one who could be our substitute.
However, we must tell God that we want Christ's blood to count for our sins.  NOt everyone will automatically go to heaven.  We must admit (agree with God) that we have sinned and that we know Jesus is the payment and really is God's Son.

Here's why you should tell God that and ask Him to forgive your sins and become a Christ-follower:
I John 5:11-13  "...this is the testimony:  God has given us eternal lif, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who dos not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these thing toyou who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."


You can talk ot God just as you would talk to ay person.  He always keeps His promises and He promises that anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God may have eternal life. 

He also promises also that He will never leave you nor forsake you in Hebrews 13:5b.  Do you think God would ever break a promise?  He is holy.  He never did or does anything wrong.  He will not lie.  He will not break a promise.  He will never leave you.  If you want God to forgive your isns and make you His child, just tell Him right now.  You can say it like this:

"God, I admit that I have sinned (thought, said and done things against your rules).  Please forgive my sins and make Jesus' blood count to wash my sins away so that I can live for you and spend forever with you.  Thank you."

If you did that and meant it, does that make you a Christ-follower?

YES
Write a comment below and let me know that you are now a child of God.  Write yourself a note with today's date on it and you can remember when you became a child of God.  YOu can celebrate your "second birth" day.

Finally "Who Is This God We Pray to?"

Wow!  Who Is This God We Pray to?  That is such a loaded question.  I could tell you things about who God is for at least ten blogs.  But I'll save the names of God, which tell us much about Him for next time.

Today, I will start with some things that are related to our prayers to Him.

The God we pray to is:

A Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  Hebrews 11:6b (the "b" means the second part of the verse)  in the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible says: 
"...He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

Revelation 2:17 also says that those who overcome will be rewarded with hidden manna and a white stone with a new name.


In Matthew 5:12 Jesus tells those who are persecuted because of righteousness that they will be given great rewards in heaven.

Of course, the reason He rewards us is because He loves us.  There are so many verses on God's love I could not begin to list them all in this blog.

Here are just a couple.
A GOD OF LOVE

Jeremiah 31:3 NIV "The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."
Psalms 63:3 NIV "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."
and of course, the most popular one:
John 3:16 NIV "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

(see also Ephesians 2:4 and the entire book of I John especially chapter 3)

He is a STRONG TOWER AND PROTECTOR.
Proverbs 18:10 NIV   "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."
Psalm 62:11 NIV "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard:  that you, O God, are strong."
Psalm 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOD WHO WE CAN TRUST DOESN'T IT! 
He is the Creator of all things as we mentioned in a former blog.  See Genesis 1:1

He is God of the impossible.  Luke 18:22 NIV "Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

OH, there is so much we can see about God in the Bible.  You can see that He tells us all about Who He is in His message to us in the Bible.  He wants us to know Him and that way we can trust Him more as we see all these interesting things about Him.  We can look at the answered prayers of people in the Bible also.  One very interesting Bible lesson where God showed the prophets of a false God who He really is, calls Him "The God who brings down fire."  So that tells us He is a powerful God.  (see I Kings chapter 18, you'll love this passage...it's very interesting.)

Write down some of the things you learn about God after you read it

Or how about reading about David and Goliath, the eight foot giant, who David killed with a little sling.  He trusted God and believed that God would be the one who would direct the rock at just the right place to kill the enemy of God's people who was threatening the Israelite soldiers every day.  That is a God who is worthy of our trust. 

We must believe God is able or we are calling Him a liar.  We will talk more about this in a coming blog called "Prerequisites to Prayer". 

Here are just a few more things about Who God is:

He is a God who CARES.   Psalm  34:18NIV "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

He is a MERCIFUL God. Ephesians 4:2 NIV "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions."

He is our refuge and fortress, a HIDING PLACE from storms.   Psalm 62:2 and 8

He is a PRAYER ANSWERING GOD.  You simply must read your Bible every day and see all the answers to prayer that God has given to those who pray to Him believing.  As you pray and see His answers in your life, I am asking you to leave comments on this blog and tell me how God answers your prayers.  Did He say "yes" or did He say wait?  He knows what is best for us so sometimes He asks us to wait.  Then as we wait, we learn more about Him.  It can bring us closer to God as we pray and wait. 

Susanah Wesley's definition of sin

Well, I didn't get to the post on "WHO IS THIS GOD WE PRAY TO?"  but I do want to share a little something about Susanah Wesley.

John Wesley wrote to his mom while he was in college and asked, "What is sin?"

What is sin?

Instead of giving him a list of do's and don't's she made this wise statement:

 'Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things. whatever increases the strength and authority of body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself."