My whole life... every decision I make each day... revolves around my relationship with God.  I try to base my life on Biblical principles, but more than that, the Bible has become the focus of my attitude about everything.  You see, even though I had gone to church for as long as I can remember, there came a point in my life when I realized that my life was empty.  Oh, to look at the outside, I was just fine.  Things were going well - I had a great husband and two terrific kids - and I was fairly happy.  But I knew I was empty.  I had been going to a Ladies' Bible Study for quite awhile.  It was great!  I was learning a lot about the Bible, and a lot about God.

        But I still didn't know HIM!  And that was what I wanted more than anything.  The Bible says "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God"... so as I was diligently studying the Bible, the Holy Spirit began to tug on my  heart  and reveal to me my need for a Savior.  Yes, I was a "pretty good" person, but I still had  sin  in my life.  And no matter how hard I WORKED at being better, I still didn't have any peace that I would be good enough to make it to heaven.  How was I to know which way the scales would tilt if I would die that day?

        However, it was through reading the Bible (the MIND OF GOD!) that I began to realize that it was true... I NEVER would be able to be  good enough  to make it to heaven.  No matter how hard I tried, I would always fail.  But the wonderful news was that it didn't really matter!  What I learned was that 2000 years ago, Christ (God in the flesh) came to this earth.  He lived a perfect, sinless life, even though tempted just as much as we are every day!  He  submitted  to a sacrificial death on the cross... not for some perverse mutilation....  but to take on the sins of the world as the perfect Passover Lamb.  Most people believe that... they have heard it... after all, we celebrate Christmas and Easter, don't we?  But what we must realize is that even though Christ died for everyone's sins, not everyone has taken the step to accept this  gift  of eternal life.   No decision IS a decision!

       How do you accept it?  Well, in the Old Testament, when the Hebrew children were getting ready to be set free from Pharoah's rule, God prescribed a remedy.  He was going to be sending the Angel of Death to kill the firstborn in each family.  The prescription to prevent the death in each house didn't sound very pleasant, but it was simple.  The  blood  of a little lamb, the PASSOVER Lamb, was to be put on each doorpost.  Any home that had that blood on it was safe from the Angel of Death.

        Once Christ died, He BECAME that  Passover Lamb  for all of us.  Not only did He  die  for us, He conquered DEATH!  He rose again on the  third day ... and appeared to many of his followers.  It was amazing!  The group of disciples who were so distraught, some of whom had even turned from Him and denied Him during the time of His trial,  NOW were able to understood the power of God and the resurrection from the dead.

       We have to come to a decision to receive this gift on our own... no one else can do it for us... to paint His Blood on the doorpost of our heart.  We must accept Him as Lord and Saviour.   The Gospel Story tells you how.   So there came a point in my life, after realizing that even though I thought I believed in God, I wanted to have a personal relationship with Him.  I offered up a prayer of surrender to God... it was a simple prayer... and that was all I had to do!  It was amazing!  No, there weren't any fireworks or bells ringing, but a total  peace  engulfed me.  I actually had been adopted into the family of my Heavenly Father.  (Becoming a Son of God)

       From that time on, Scriptures that I had learned in my past suddenly took on new  light  to me.  I found myself saying, "Oh THAT is what that means!"   Why?  Because once you accept the work of Christ on the cross for your sin, the Holy Spirit becomes an indwelling  Comforter and Teacher.   He will guide you into all  truth.   There was a freshness to everything around me.  Of course, I had SO much to learn, and, by the way... I still do!  But it was a new  beginning  for me.  As I studied the Bible I learned that I could be assured of my future with my Heavenly Father... I didn't have to guess any more!   (Assurance!)

        I wish I could tell you that from that point on, my life was a bed of roses!  NOT!!  You see, I still had a lot of growing to do, plus I still had an enemy trying to keep me defeated and ineffective.  And besides, if God was going to help me learn to be more like Christ,  conforming  to the image of His Son  (Romans 12:1-2), then isn't it only natural there would be some suffering involved in the process?
 

    I am so thankful for the mercy of God, for his faithfulness to me, for the people He brought into my life to disciple me, for His protection over me as His child.   And I have an  inheritance  to look forward to... a heavenly one!   Are you interested?  I encourage you to  search  for yourself and see!