Confession of faith

How is your friend  Mike?  Has he recovered?  Is he married?

A choice, not a tradition

I shall explain how it happens for us. Firstly, it is very important that you understand one thing, which is that we are not Christians from birth. It is a choice. Even though my parents and grandparents were Christians, that does not mean that I become one automatically. We enter God’s family by personal choice, not because of tradition. For me, it was at the age of 22 that I made the choice to accept Jesus into my life.

How did that happen?

It is a decision one takes and just as you recite the Shahadah. For us, we can say this prayer, which can be said in different forms:

“Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and that I need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus has  completely paid the debt for my sins by dying on the cross and that God raised him from the dead. Lord, I receive your pardon and the new life that your Spirit gives me for eternity. I give you my life, so that it may be transformed in your image and that it may witness of you to others.”

So, that’s a prayer which you could use, with your own words, in whichever language you prefer. The most important thing in all of this is your heart!!

A step into “eternity”

In saying this prayer, if it is done with a sincere heart, you take your first step into “eternity.” The last step will be when we die and go to live eternally with our Saviour. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:17-18, that in accepting Jesus, we become new creations and that the old things have passed away.

But that does not make us perfect people, those without sin. Of course there is much work to do, still a long way to go, in  order to become every day more and more like Jesus, who, having lived a perfect life, is our model.  In this path, there are days when we stumble, or fall, but the important thing is to want to pick ourselves up, to have an attitude of repentance, and the Lord will help us.

Question :If I stumble and fall, does this make me a failure ?