Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 12:00:42 EST From: Jabez1Chr4@aol.

com
Subject: AnInvitationToAcceptJesusAsYourKing AN INVITATION TO
ACCEPT JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR-KING. Precious reader, do you know
exactly where you stand with the God and Creator of the universe?
Have you asked Him to be your Father in the Heavens? Have you
believed/trusted/relied/depended on the Lord/King Jesus Christ ---the
God anointed Saviour King of Israel ----to save you from your faults,
failures and mistakes? Salvation from personal faults/failures/mistakes
belongs to the poor in spirit. Matt. 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." If you recognize that you
are spiritually destitute---totally incapable of deserving or earning
salvation from your errors in any way, you are poor in spirit-- you are
humble. The poor in spirit, the humble, understand that they are
sinners, totally impotent to please or to serve God. To acknowledge
that you are a sinner unable to save yourself is humility. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). Isaiah said, "When
You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see [His] seed. He shall
prolong [His] days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His
hand. He shall see the distressing travail of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall
bear their iniquities." Poverty of spirit (humility) is interwoven in the
act of repentance, the life-altering change of mind about you, your sin
and God. When you repent (change your mind), you see yourself as
you really are and you change your mind in respect to your relationship
to God the Father and to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The act of
repentance brings you to see your sin as ugly as it is, as God sees it,
and you come to a point where you want to be free from it. Of course,
freedom from sin comes only by believing/ trusting/relying on the Lord
Jesus Christ. The one who is regularly committing sin is the slave of sin.
However, if the Son shall set you free from regularly committing sin,
you shall be free indeed (John 8:334,36) The poor in spirit see their
impotence to free themselves from sin/failures/faults/errors. They see
that freedom is possible only through Christ's death for us as our
substitute. They recognize that salvation/deliverance comes by God's
act of undeserved and unmeritted kindness and mercy alone. They
choose to believe God and His Word about themselves and their
relationship with Him. One cannot speak of the Crucifixion apart from
the Resurrection. It is the resurrection that gives us newness of life.
Christ's resurrection testifies to two vital truths. One, it shows that God
was propitiated, or satisfied, with the substitutionary death of Jesus
Christ. Jesus became the bearer of our sins. Isaiah's word is "But he
was wounded/pierced for our transgressions, bruised/ crushed for our
iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His
stripes (from the cutting whips) we are healed." In Romans 4:25 we
read, "[He] who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and
was raised [from the dead] because of our justification." "Raised
because of our justifica- tion" means that because Jesus' payment (the
death of His body) for our sins was adequate to satisfy the demands of
justice and a Holy God, God could then declare us righteous, justified
and made acceptable in His sight. Jesus was raised from death because
His death for us satisfied the righteousness of our Holy God. His
resurrection shows us that Jesus Christ conquered death. Death had a
holdover man because of his sin/error/failures/faults. However, once
the death penalty of sin was paid for by the death of Christ's body,
death no longer had any holding power. "The sting of death is sin, and
the power of sin is the law" (1 Corinth. 15:56). Jesus paid the price of
redemption, redeeming us from the curse of the Law, having become a
curse for us ---for cursed was everyone who was hung on a tree/ stake
(Deut. 21:23; Gala. 3:13). His death took away the power of sin. Jesus
also took the stinger out of death by paying for our sin so that we need
have no fear of what awaits us in and after death. Because our sin debt
is paid for in full by Christ, death has no power over us. Dear reader,
have you come to the end of yourself? Have you seen your total
impotence, your total unworthiness? Have you seen your nothingness
apart from God? And have you seen Jesus, God the Son who took upon
Himself flesh and blood that He might die for you and for all people?
Have you decided that you want His Way and Will in and for your life
instead of your own will and way? Do you believe that? Do you believe
He died in your place? Do you believe that He was made sin for you, so
that you, a helpless and hopeless enemy of God, might have His
righteousness and His life? Have you repented-- -turned away from
self-will to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ----the God anointed Saviour
King of Israel? Out loud with your mouth agree with God about the God
anointed Saviour King of Israel, and you will be saved, "for with the
heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses [Jesus], resulting in salvation." Romans 10:10-13. Joel 2: 32
And it shall be, whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be
saved; for salvation shall be in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the
LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. Ps 119:6
Then I shall not be ashamed, when I have respect to all Your
commandments. Ps 119:80 Let my heart be sound in Your statutes, so
that I may not be ashamed. Ps 119:116 Uphold me according to Your
word, that I may live; and let me not be ashamed of my hope. This
invitation for you to become a child of God through Jesus Christ is
paraphrased from Kay Arthur's "Lord Heal My Hurts". Kay Arthur has
neither endorsed nor subscribed to the views and beliefs I state in my
files and documents . It is my prayer that you will accept this invitation
to become a child of God through Jesus Christ, and sincerely pray this
prayer from your heart. God and Creator of the universe, I ask You to
make me in Jesus to be Your child, and be my Father in Heaven. I thank
You for revealing Yourself in Jesus, born of a virgin and Your Spirit, and
crucified on a cross for me. I thank You that Jesus rose His body from
death to show me how He will raise my body from death some day. I
praise You that someday Jesus will return in His transformed body to
set up His Kingdom on earth. With my mouth out loud I do declare that
I believe and trust in King Jesus, Your anointed Son, to save me from
my faults and sins. I rely and depend on Your King Jesus to save me
from my failures and mistakes. I admit and recognize that I am
spiritually deaf, blind and dead to You apart from Jesus. I agree with
You that I am totally incapable of deserving or earning salvation from
my errors and faults in any way. I admit that I am a sinner, totally
unable to please or to serve You, God. I agree with You that apart from
Jesus my sins and I are rejected, filthy, rotten, and ugly.I praise and
thank You that Jesus took my sin and failures in His body and died in
my place for me to justify me and set me free in You. Please change
my mind about my sin and give me Your mind about my sin and You. I
agree with you that my sin had left me spiritually deaf, blind and dead.
I recognize and accept that salvation, deliverance and freedom from
sin comes by Your undeserved andunmerited kindness and mercy
alone. I thank and praise You that Your holy justice is satisfied with
Jesus’ sacrifice and death for me, when he took my sins on His dying
body. I accept the fact, that He was bruised, beaten, whipped, spat
upon, disrespected, abused and tortured to death because of my sin,
and for my sins. I am so sorry that He had to suffer so muchbecause of
the wickedness of my sins, but I am so very thankful that You now see
me in Jesus as righteous, justified and made acceptable to You to be
Yours forever. I praise You and thank You that in raising His body from
death, Jesus conquered death forever. I praise and thank You that now
my soul and spirit are free forever from death, and that Jesus will
someday save my body from death and transform it to serve Him.
Thanks for saving me from the fear of death. I ask and trust You to
work and will Your Life in me to do Your will. I ask and trust You to equip
me with all I need for You to do Your will in me. I ask and trust You
toproduce in me through Jesus all that is pleasing to You. Dear
Emanuel, I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see
me and to hear me this day. Savior, I'm blessed because You are
forgiving and understanding You have done so much for me and You
keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for I have sinned. I ask now
for Your forgiveness. Keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me
to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Help me to
make the best of each and every day and give my best in all that is put
before me. Clear my mind that I can hear from You. Help me to not
whine and whimper . Loving Father, Help me continue to see sin
through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, help me
repent, and confess my wrongdoing, and receive Your forgiveness,
God. And when this old world closes in on me, help me remember
Jesus' example to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best
response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't
pray that You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do YourWill.
Lover of my soul, continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to
others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted
that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those
that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are
misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who refuse to share a
word from You. I pray for those that will read this and not use such
prayer in their lives. I pray for those that will fail to share such prayers
with others. Comforter of my heart, I pray for those that don't believe.
But I believe and believe that You change people and You change
things. Please hear my prayer for all my loved ones, for every hurting
soul, for every broken heart, for every neglected life, for every one
searching for You in the midst of the pain of their lives, for the
abandonned and grieving widow and mother, for every abandonned
and grieving child crying out for Love and Life, for every hurting and
grieving husband and wife, for every father and mother wrestling with
grief and heart-pain, for all my sisters and brothers. Gracious and
generous King, I thank You, I praise and worship You, I lift my hands in
adoration and praise to You for being that Loving Father, that persistent
Shepherd, that caring Comforter who personally and intimately
enlightens every single human life (born and unborn) that comes into
this World, offering them the choice of You in this life. I praise and
worship you for BEING THERE, FOR BEING HERE, FOR LETTING ME
KNOW YOU AND BE YOURS. This is my prayer I pray to you in Jesus'
most blessed and holy name. Amen. For more helpful information to
help you with your decision and walk in Christ, write Kay Arthur at
Precept Ministries P.O. Box 182218 Chattanooga, Tennessee 37422
(423) 892-6814 OR http://www.emmaus.edu/ http://www.insight.org
http://www.freedominchrist.com My story, as written to my daughters.
+++I was raised in a home where my dad was an active California
supporter of the KKK and White Citien's Council. He hated Jews,
Catholics, AfAms, Mexican almost anyone who wasn't WASP. He was
from a factory working family in Missouri.My mom was an Ohio farm
girl whose prejudice ran like this -- "You can go to school with them,
work with them, go to church with them, live next door to them, but
never date or marry one." +++By the age of twelve (just finished
seventh grade) I was almost 5' 10" tall and weighed about 140 lbs. and
I had a pretty bad record in the community. I had a "D" average for
grades K - 6. I was spanked at least each month by the principal for
misconduct and I was either suspended or expelled each semester
starting with the fourth grade through the sixth grade. In the seventh
grade I had a "C-" average with a lot of "D's" in conduct and I was
getting into trouble with the girls. +++I had been kicked out of my
church's youth group because I kept on breaking up the meetings by
goofing off and clowning around. I believed in God and the Bible, but I
sure didn't know Him personally and I figured He was unhappy with me
like everybody else. I figured, at 12, that there was no Love in the
world, that every body only had user unfriendly conditional love, selfish
love, and I decided I didn't want to live in a world where there was no
Love. I didn't believe there was any Love on earth and for sure I didn't
believe that my mom and dad loved me. My mom was so desperate to
salvage her first born son that she decided to force me to go to the
church's September Palomar camp in hope of a miracle. +++On the
way to Palomar on the church bus, I decided that since there was no
Love on earth, I would either jump off Laurel St. Bridge in Balboa Park
or join the local street and motorcycle gang, drinking, smoking
marijuana and fooling around with the girls until I got killed like some I
knew. That night at camp I saw people doing something I had never
seen before, consistently and sincerely loving on each other and joyful.
I wanted what they had desperately so I decided I would imitate them
so maybe I could fit and they would accept me into their joyful and
loving society. I knew what they had was real when I got up that next
freezing morning on Mt. Palomar, walked into the men's room and saw
guys really joyful and really loving each other, heart to heart and eye
to eye. All the more I decided that I wanted what they had and tried to
imitate them so I could at least be accepted by them, if I couldn't have
what they had. +++On a noon hike that Saturday I was hanging out on
the edge of the group, trying to fit in and catch what they had. I
tripped over a Manzanita root and meant to say "shoot" but said
"sheet" instead, and said it loud enough for THEM to hear. I knew that
"sheet" was "shit" with a Mexican accent to THEM and I felt I had
totally blown my cover and that THEY all now knew that I wasn't really
one of them, but a faker. I blew up over that Manzanita root, kicking it
and hitting the bush while verbally overflowing with stuff like "Doggone
it! What's wrong with me! I can't do anything right! I always mess up!
Just about the time I think I got it right, then I mess up! What the heck
is wrong with me!" Now I don't know if she was an angel or not. I never
saw her before or after that encounter with the bush. I never got her
name. Later when I tried to figure out who she was, I thought that
maybe it was a young lady at church who looked a lot like her, but she
denied that it was her. +++Well whoever she was, she came gently
over to me as I was kicking the root and hitting the tree and verbally
dumping. She quietly stood beside me and asked me if I would like to
know why I do things like I was doing, why I mess up. Well you know
that I wanted to know that, because I was sick and tired of messing up,
especially after messing up in the presence of the first real joyful and
loving people I ever knew. So she asked me to sit down on a big rock
over looking Don Valley on Palomar Mt. and she proceeded to explain
to me why I messed and how Jesus could still Love a jerk like me. For
the next three hours she showed me, gently and patiently, how and
why Jesus Loved me. I believed Jesus was real, but I sure didn't think
that He Loved me. The proof that persuaded me that God not only
could but actually did Love me was that Christ died for me. I could
argue with most other points, but I couldn't deny that Jesus died. Even
unbelievers believed Jesus lived and died. To me that was a historical
fact that few disputed. So when I saw that I had solid historical
evidence that Jesus died, I was ready to seriously consider that just
maybe He Loved me enough to really die for me. +++I respected and
believed the Bible, so when she showed me book after book, chapter
after chapter, verse after verse that plainly stated that the reason
Jesus died (that solid historical fact), was because God so Loved me
and the world and because He wanted to Love me as Father, as
Shepherd, as King, as Deliverer in a very intimate and personal
relationship, - - - - my eyes began to see, my mind to understand my
heart wanted that Love. When she showed me why He let them kill
Him, that it was His choice, that He died to take my place in the court
of Divine Justice----- -- well she had me. I couldn't deny that he died,
and she persuaded that God so Loved me that He sent His only
begotten Son to die in my place so that I could be His child -------
Eureka! Yahoo! I had discovered the Love I was looking for, a Love that
I could live for, a Love to give my life to and for. I already believed that
He rose from the dead and was coming back. Now I could have a
relationship with the GOD who was Love. +++I believed her, accepted
Him and got all excited. I told her that I had to check all of this out with
the youth sponsor, Chuck Hill, to make sure that all that she told me
was right on. If she were an angel, then I can see why I had to check it
out with Chuck, because the Bible makes it plain that soul-winning is
the work, not of angels, but of the Spirit and his human servants. After
Chuck confirmed everything the woman had told me, I tanked him and
went up the other hill side to pray my prayer of thanks, believing,
receiving and trusting Jesus as my God and Saviour. I was such a babe I
didn't realize that I had been born again as soon as I talked to Chuck,
because I believed and had faith in Jesus and His Word as soon a Chuch
confirmed it all. I believed and was born again even before I made my
big formal acceptance prayer. Talk about a radical life change! Within a
month of my +++8th grade year (Oct. or Nov.) my grades averaged
"B", I was a leader in my church youth group, my school's Bible club
(the girls had a hard time believing I had changed), and I determined
to do what I could do for my messed up family, especially my mom and
dad. I don't know if that young lady was an angel, but I never saw her
again at that camp after that three hour talk. I never saw her again
anywhere at anytime. Nobody else knew about her. But God used her
to keep your Dad from jumping off the Laurel St. bridge or dying with
the street and motorcycle gangsters, perhaps so I could be your dad.