Originally posted by Klodomir:
Hm. Well, mottos, quotes and slogans don't really do it for me. I guess I was hoping for people to really speak from the heart, both those who believe and those who don't.
For now I believe that Jesus was a prophet. Nothing more, nothing less.
I'm not sure what you mean by "motos, quotes, and slogans". I believe we all wrote exactly who we believe Jesus is. I believe (with all my heart!) that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins. That's what I believe. That's from my heart. If you want something a little more personal, I'll tell you how he has helped me in the past.
In 1989, I lost my brother to a car accident. He was a great Christian man. He left behind 2 young children. The following year, my son died. 3 years later, in 1993, my father died. That's a lot to take. But even though these things caused me to grieve deeply, Christ gave nme his peace and brought me through. It's very odd, but I did feel peace through these things.
Now, about another form of peace. In 1994-1996 I began to discover something about the grace of God that has made my life so much more enjoyable than it was before that.
I'll give you a little background. I became a Christian when I was 12 (1979). For years after that, I always tried to do the right thing and keep myself from sinning. But, of course, I failed. I often felt miserable (especially in college) because I was trying so hard to "be a good Christian", but would fail as much, if not more, than I succeeded at resisting temptation. It was a life filled with guilt, because I thought I would never "win this battle with myself". But then, starting in 1994, I began to discover something - something that is at the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I really looked hard at the truth of exactly what it was that Christ?s death on the cross really does for people. I knew that ?Christ died for our sins?, but to me that had always meant that he died so we could have our sins erased and go to Heaven when we died. And yes, it does mean that. But I began to see that it was more, so much more than that. The sacrifice of Christ does more than forgive us of our sins?it provides us an opportunity to live life with a new power control at the helm. You see, when Christ came into your life, when his spirit took up residence in me, he didn?t say to my sinful nature ?move over, I?m here now, give me some room?. Nope, that?s not it all. He kicked the sinful nature right out of there! The Bible says that our sinful nature was ?crucified with Christ? and that when a person becomes a Christian, he is ?a new creation. Behold all things are new and the old has passed away?. The Bible also tells us that ?darkness and light cannot abide together?. So, where am I going with all this? Well, all my Christian life up to this point, I had thought that it sure was good that I was a Christian because that meant I could go to Heaven, but oh man was this life hard, having to keep fighting the battle of good vs. evil within me. I never realized that the battle was over. It had been won when I became a Christian. Christ moved in and my ?sinful nature? was put to death. The Bible says that my spirit is blamesless before the Lord, because he has given me His righteousness. I?m not saying that I don?t sin anymore, but when I do give into temptation, it is temptation from an EXTERNAL source (The Devil and his demons telling me lies) not an INTERNAL source (my spirit). Spiritual warfare is real. The demons tell me that I want to do these things, and I am sorry to say that I do sometimes listen to them. However, you may ask ?why does this matter, the distinction of where temptation comes from?? Well, it makes a very big difference, and it certainly did in my life. That?s when I realized that all these years, when I thought I was fighting a battle that could never be won ? a battle between the ?old bad me? and the ?new good me? (a theory espoused by many churches, unfortunately), I was lying to myself. It?s much easier to deal with if you know that it?s something from outside of you trying to cause you to sin rather than something within your own spirit. That?s when I began to understand that life doesn?t have to be an ?up and down? thing anymore ? high one minute because I?ve overcome temptation, and low the next because I gave in. I fully realized what it meant to have the Holy Spirit living in me. He is now my power source. He wants control of my life. He wants me to stop trying to ?be a good Christian? in my own power and give him control. That?s what Christ?s death is all about ? no just to give you Heaven when you die, but to give you power to live. It?s all about grace. Christ died because all my good works, good intentions, all that could never get me into Heaven or into a relationship with God. Sin demands a price and only a perfect man could pay that price ? Jesus Christ. And he willingly gave his life to pay the price. Now, instead of trying my hardest to overcome temptation by my own power and will, I pray consistently that I will listen to the Hly Spirit and let Him guide my life. And you know what? Whenever I pray that pray in earnest, I do overcome the temptation. Times that I do sin, it?s because I overlook the Holy Spirit?s power, and don?t give him control of the situation. My life is so much more peaceful now, because I know that I?m not fighting some uphill battle with myself that is impossible to win. I have the Holy Spirit within me, and he gives me peace.
Anyway, that long-winded story is definitely ?from the heart?. That is exactly who Jesus is to me. Thanks for reading.
