I'm Saved--Now What?

I did this on my website as a Bible study; but the Lord has laid it on my heart to use this today for my post. So here is "I'm Saved--Now What?"

Thank God, you took the right path and accepted Jesus Christ as your LORD and Savior! However, at this point you may be a little uncertain as to what you should do next.
Realize where you are in the plan of salvation. You are a "babe" in Christ. I Corinthians 3:1-2 states, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."

What does that mean? Let's take for an example a newborn baby. When that baby first comes into this world it doesn't know how to talk, crawl, walk, or eat. "Baby" doesn't even know how to eat; and even if it did, it doesn't yet have teeth and can only take milk specially prepared for him or her. "Baby" has to be taught first how to feed on this specially prepared milk. The Bible is a Christian's specially prepared "milk of the Word." God took great care in preparing this milk for His babes. So what do you do now?

Step one would be to obtain a Bible--God's Holy Word and read it. If you don't know where to start reading, start with the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why? Because this will give you a good look at the Savior Jesus Christ. You will learn what He suffered, how tender His heart, and how loving and caring our God, the Father is for you.

Now, you know how to feed yourself the milk (reading the Bible), the next step is to learn how to talk. Prayer is a wonderful gift God has given to His "babes." There is no mysterious secret to prayer. Prayer is having a conversation with God. This can be done through thought (thinking within yourself) or speaking out loud. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to you to guide you and tell you what to speak to Him. Tell God what is in your heart. He wants to talk with you. He loves to hear your praise. He wants you to tell Him about your troubles, fears, doubts. You don't have to be in a special place or certain position (physically) to talk with God. you can talk to Him kneeling on the floor, laying on the bed, driving in your car, when you are at work. The place, time and position doesn't matter. What matters is that you do talk to God.

Still afraid and concerned about starting a conversation with God? Jesus left us an example in the LORD's Prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.)

Now, you know how to feed yourself (read the Bible) and how to talk (pray). It's time to learn to crawl and walk. You learn to walk one step at a time. You have already taken your first two steps by learning to feed and to talk. Learning to walk is a never-ending lesson. To be able to walk a Christian walk you must continue to read and study the Bible daily. You must continue to pray constantly.

There is one thing that will be a tremendous help to you when learning to walk. Pray for God to send you someone who has been a Christian for a while. Pray that this will be a Christian that earnestly walks the walk of a true follower of Christ. This Christian will take you under his or her wing and will help you learn. He or she will hold your hand when you don't have the strength to take the next step. Remember, you are a baby. A baby, when first learning to walk, needs to know that there is someone in front of them to help keep them from falling. Or, if "Baby" does fall, someone will be there to pick them up and comfort them and give them the courage to try again. You need someone like that to help you too. Pray earnestly for this person and God will send them to you.

May God keep you, protect you, and lead you.

© 2003-2004 Linda Sedrick Pearson

A Message to All Military Personnel Away From Home

Dear Military Personnel,
My family wants to thank you for your service to our country. We greatly appreciate the sacrifices you give every day. We realize that you are away from your families during their birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, birth of babies, deaths of loved ones. We are sorry that you must miss out on many pieces of your family history as you serve our nation in foreign countries. Thank you for keeping us safe.

On behalf of all families in the United States that have loved ones serving away from home, my family has created a special tribute to you. You can view that tribute by visiting our specially created page here: A Message to All Military Personnel.

Once again, from my family, thank you for your service. You are appreciated and we pray for you daily. May God keep you all safe and bring you home to your loved ones soon.

Sincerely,
Linda

What Is An Intercessor?

An intercessor is one who helps another plead their cause before the Lord. God, according to Isaiah 59:16, thinks it is very important to have an intercessor available.
"And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him."

An intercessor works hard praying for the needs of others. Without my mother interceding for me, I might not have ever accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. An intercessor also listens to the prayers of others and prays with them. The intercessor intreats God to listen to the prayers of the other person that is in need and pleads for God to answer that persons prayer. The intercessor prays most of the time in agreement with another during a prayer. Sometimes the intercessor can not pray in agreement if the person is asking for something that is not biblical.

The intercessor is one who prays in behalf of another, also. Intercession is also called supplication in the Bible. Ephesians 6:18 says: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; The person who does what is stated in this verse is the same as an intercessor. They are continually in prayer for others.

I found the the definition of the word intercessor interesting:
1. Ambassador
2. Interpreter
3. Teacher
4. Someone who prays for needs of others

When I looked up the word intercede, I found these definitions:
1. To intreat
2. To pray for
3. To make supplication for
4. In behalf of

Next time you see a hard working prayer warrior (intercessor), you tell them you appreciate the job they are doing and that God is listening to their prayers.

God bless all you intercessors out there. Don't give up. Be encouraged. God is listening to your supplications.

Until next time,
Linda

Families Are A Gift From God

Families are truly a gift from God. I thank God for my family. Each and every one is a very special person to me. They each have a personality that is different than the rest. That is what makes them unique and special. I thank God for making each one different. Yet, we are all members of the same family. We have some traits that are the same; but it is the differences that gives them each a special place in my heart.

That is the way it is with the Christian family, also. Each person is different, unique and special; yet, we all have some traits that are the same. For instance, we all have Jesus as our Saviour. God called us all in to His service. We all have the same Father, God in heaven. We all have the same Spirit--the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us on our day to day walk. So, where are we different?

We are different because God took great care to give each one a special talent. That talent is to be applied to a job in His service. Each job fits together with the jobs of the others to promote the Kingdom of God. Each job glorifies God and leads others to Jesus. No job is smaller in importance than another. Some jobs take less time to complete than others, but that doesn't mean it is of less importance to God's Kingdom.

The purpose of each job is to bring glory and honour to God. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, so that we could be saved and brought in to the family of God. That is very special. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave up His wonderful life in heaven to come to earth, suffer, and die for the sins of everyone who has lived, lives now, or will ever live before He comes back to earth to receive His own unto Himself. Because Jesus arose from the grave and now sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven, we can have peace in a world of torment.

Thank you, Jesus, for what you did for all of us. Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to us and for giving us each our special talents. Thank you, Father, for being a forgiving God. Thank you, Father, that no matter what sin we have committed, you are there waiting to forgive us. All we have to do is ask God to forgive us. We have to accept Jesus as payment in full for all sins we have committed.

I thank God that there is no sin that we commit, except one, that God doesn't forgive. That one unforgiveable sin, is to blaspheme the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit).


Mar 3:28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
Mar 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

When a person continually rejects the call of God through the Holy Ghost, and absolutely refuses to accept Jesus as payment for his or her sins, that is to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) who is sent to each person to call them to God. Refusing to accept that call and refusing to accept Jesus as payment for your sins, and then dying in your sinful state because you refuse God, brings to you eternal damnation. You have blasphemed the Holy Ghost.

Where do you stand? Have you accepted the call of the Holy Ghost? Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? Have you become a part of God's family and let God be your Father?

If you haven't, what are you waiting for? God never promised us tomorrow. The day of salvation is now! The time to become a part of our family is now! Don't delay any longer.

Until next time,
Linda