Just how does a person receive the grace God has so generously provided through Jesus? It involves faith. God deals with your heart as well as your intellect. Faith comes through an act of your will; believing God’s promise is a decision on your part. But faith comes with a price. Jesus gave all He had and He asks you to do the same—the surrender of your entire being to Him.

Yet how can we even make a decision of such magnitude? It’s here that God’s gift of grace comes alive. Faith is not only action, it’s also a gift.  Without God Himself instilling within you the faith needed to receive Him the whole thing is simply impossible. So ask Jesus to do in you what you obviously are not capable of yourself. He will; and you will receive a life you never dreamed possible. It merely takes willingness on your part.

From: The Path through the Maze—Answering Life’s Ultimate Question: What Happens After We Die?

Sin has separated us from God. We are spiritually dead because of it. But God has solved this problem by bridging that gap through the suffering and death of His very own Son. Jesus took upon Himself the punishment we deserved by paying an outrageous price for our sin. It’s His gift to us—absolutely free! The Bible calls it grace; the favor of God which none of us is able to earn, but all can freely receive. It’s God’s promise.

Receiving His promise takes repentance on our part. Repent is an idea that has been lost in our culture. The word itself seems a bit scary, but it really isn’t. Repentance is merely a change of mind. It means turning away—that is, turning around and going the opposite direction. It means reversing the course of your life by rejecting sin, and turning to God as the new direction for your life.

Becoming a child of God involves surrendering your life to Jesus. Surrender first means acknowledging that you have been in rebellion against God—ignoring Him and His purpose for your life, no matter how subtle that disregard for Him might be. You have been running the show, having installed yourself on the throne of your life instead of yielding to Jesus as ruler.

The Bible calls it sin. Sin is commonly thought of as specific acts we commit. But these failings are merely a symptom of a much deeper disease. Disregard for God is the underlying problem. All sin is rooted in rebellion. Often people don’t consider themselves to be sinners, thinking, “I’ve always been a pretty good person.” Regardless, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) When first approaching God, it always comes down to this: “Lord, I know I have sinned against you.”

In each of us, within the deep recesses of our inner being, lies a void. It could be called a spiritual vacuum of sorts. Think of it as a heart-shaped cavity that nothing but the love of God can truly fill. Oh, we try to fill it, by every other means possible! The world around us has become very clever in creating distraction, always diverting our attention to substitutes promising to fulfill that spiritual hunger.

Yet there is no solution but God alone. Only by becoming His child do we find contentment replacing the spiritual poverty we often don’t even realize is there.    Somehow, we instinctively know this to be true. It’s the reason people run to various religions in their attempt to ease the deep-seated distress of the human condition.  And it’s also why those who stubbornly hold no belief system at all rebel so intensely against Christ’s message of salvation.

From: The Path through the Maze—Answering Life’s Ultimate Question: What Happens After We Die?

Ideas are powerful. There is no greater force for social transformation than ideas. Nations have been birthed by them. Ideas form the foundation of entire cultures. Most people live according to ideas nurtured by the world around us. More often than not the media powerfully directs and rules our lives.

            So if ideas really are that influential, wouldn’t it make sense that God’s ideas are the most dynamic of all? Who but God alone totally understands the fabric of our being? God alone knows what brings true fulfillment. His truth is there to be uncovered throughout the pages of the Bible. Yet it’s impossible to discover those ideas without first gaining a solid understanding of what it contains. It stands to reason, then, that we need to study the Bible. In it you will not only direction find for your life, but also the peace which surpasses all worldly understanding.

Belief in God is so much more than a mental acceptance of His truth. Real faith results in transformation. And this is impossible to accomplish on our own. The Apostle Paul described it this way: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 1 Cor. 5:17. Our encounter with God is governed by an entirely new framework. Jesus explained that one must be “born again.” Our spiritual nature must come alive to Him.

Meeting Jesus personally can’t help but transform a person. It all begins with a first step. As we take that step toward believing Jesus for His promise of eternal life, we find Him stepping toward us as well. God will make it absolutely clear where you stand with Him. His stamp of approval is found on those who have become His children, His chosen ones. It’s God’s gift to us.

We all exercise faith as we go about our routine of life. And we always behave as we believe. What we have set our heart on is what we naturally pursue. Today’s perception of believing something rarely lines up with the Bible’s meaning, because superficial belief requires almost no effort. 
        When the Bible uses the word believe it means trusting in what God has promised. Faith and trust are one and the same. Believe is merely the verb form of the nouns belief, faith and trust. Scripture tells us: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.” Belief in God, then, should always result in pursuing relationship with Him. Action is what’s needed! It offers proof that we truly believe. Without it our so-called faith amounts to nothing. 

We all exercise faith as we go about our routine of life. And we always behave as we believe. What we have set our heart on is what we naturally pursue. Today’s perception of believing something rarely lines up with the Bible’s meaning, because superficial belief requires almost no effort. 
        When the Bible uses the word believe it means trusting in what God has promised. Faith and trust are one and the same. Believe is merely the verb form of the nouns belief, faith and trust. Scripture tells us: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.” Belief in God, then, should always result in pursuing relationship with Him. Action is what’s needed! It offers proof that we truly believe. Without it our so-called faith amounts to nothing. 

The Bible is jam packed with the promises of God, and they all hinge on one key promise: ”Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” What does it mean to believe? You may say, “Of course I believe in God,” or, “Yes, I believe in Jesus.” But what is the outcome of that belief? Has it changed your life in any meaningful way? Is your life any different from those who hold no such belief at all? 
            The term believe has become seriously watered down in our culture. It doesn’t come close to what the Bible says it is. It’s not uncommon for us to believe what is offered in life, yet more often than not these beliefs are merely superficial. So, what’s the point? It’s simply this: acting on God’s promises proves that we believe, unquestionably showing that we trust, that is, have faith, in what God offers. Our pursuit of God offers that proof.

“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” This incredible prophecy found in Isaiah 53 resounds throughout all generations. And it does not stand alone; the entire chapter teems with the purpose of God—the suffering Jesus had to endure, bearing in His body that which would ultimately release us from the guilt of sin and restore us to relationship with our Father.

            Read it again, and contemplate this prophecy written 700 years before Christ’s death. Think not only about the precision with which His crucifixion fulfilled it, but also the content of the message—the magnitude of the offering He willingly endured because of His immeasurable love for us. Yes, we have gone our selfish way. Isaiah 53 is a sobering reminder for us all.