Spiritual warfare: Collection of Faith in the News Articles

BASIC REQUIREMENT IN JOINING GOD'S ARMY

Just as there are physical principles that govern the universe around us, so there are spiritual principles that govern our relationship with God. The first and most basic principle is that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives (John 3:16), but when sin entered the world it separated man from our holy God (Romans 2:23). Being a just and righteous God, sin cannot be overlooked but must be paid for and since there is no way we can pay for our own sins God Himself, in His great love, became the payment for our sins. That first Christmas celebrates the fact that He voluntarily left heaven to come to earth as a human being. Although we celebrate Jesus' birth on Christmas, we know that He wasn't born just to give us a holiday where we remember Him as a baby - He was born to die in order to pay the price for our sins. We worship Jesus as a baby, but the story doesn't end there. He Jesus grew up and went through all the things we go through in life. He was rejected and crucified, but while dying on the cross He suffered the eternal punishment of every sin we would ever commit. In other words, He went through our hell so we wouldn't have to (Romans 5:8). Because He was man He could represent us and take our place. Because He was God He could endure punishment way beyond anything we could ever experience. At the end of the crucifixion Jesus said "It is finished" and His spirit returned to heaven. His body went into a grave but 3 days later came back to life, proving forever that sin and death had been conquered. He is in Heaven today! There He has made a place for us if we will only accept the gift and the joy that He has offered us. Salvation is freely available to every person (Ephesians 2:8-9), but it is a gift we must voluntarily receive by recognizing our need and asking Him to forgive us and live in us (John 1:12). He Himself then lives within us and gives us new meaning and ability in life. If you haven't received this wonderful free gift do so now by asking God for His gift of salvation. While there are no special or magical words to use, here is the idea of a prayer to pray to accept God's free gift of salvation. It's not saying the words but meaning them that makes the difference.

Here is a sample prayer you can use:

"Dear Jesus, I recognize my need of you. I know I sin and am guilty in your sight. Thank you for leaving heaven to come to earth and die on the cross for my sins. I know you took my eternal condemnation on Yourself on the cross and paid for it all. Please forgive sin and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I freely accept your gift of salvation. I want to live for you and only you. I put you first in my life and want to serve You. I reject any other forces or powers and forbid any them to have any influence on me. Dear Jesus, fill me and use me. Thank you for hearing and answering me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

Know that if you have ever prayed this prayer or something similar to it you are born again into God's family and nothing can take your salvation away. One of Satan's first lies is to get us to doubt our salvation, to question it we are a child of God or not. If you have doubts about having done this in the past just pray it again now, write your name and the date below, and you'll know for sure that you are a child of God and in God's army.

© Rev. Dr. Jerry Schmoyer