How reassuring is it to hear this promise? My late journeys at work or home or with friends have lead to many conversations about religion, Christianity, and personal values. I really enjoy being able to explain the difference from Christianity and every other religion in the world. I like being able to discuss "good deeds," which is what most non-religious people first think about in the topic. I tell my friends/acquaintances that Muslims, Buddhist, etc do good things because their religions says you work your way to heaven. Christians serve people, speak kindly, and abstain from premarital sex because our relationship with God makes us want to do those things. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying, I know plenty of people of other religious who are genuinely friendly people and have similar practices. Here's what it boils down to for me: I know that I am not gonna get to judgment day and stand before a scale while Jesus weighs all the good things and bad things I've done over the course of my life...How scary would that be? No, eternity is not a guessing game for me. When the end of my life on earth comes, I will give Jesus a giant bear hug and He'll say, "Welcome home, love!!"
Just to let you know, I don't believe this because I read it somewhere. I don't believe this because at Sunday school my teacher said get saved and you'll go to heaven. I actually used to pray as a kid over and over and over that I would be saved because I was scared that for some reason my prayer didn't go through, or something would happen and Jesus would take back my salvation...
My sophomore year of high school, I felt the Holy Spirit move through me. That's not something I could have read or been taught. When my heart was humble, Jesus decided to give me a glimpse of the many years to come in this unbelievable, thrilling, exciting, joyful journey with Him. I was singing, leading worship in front of 3,000 of my peers..and I fell to my knees, sang my heart out to the Living God, then moved off stage to lay on my face in His presence. I stayed there for 3 hours, even after the conference had finished and everyone had cleared out. I felt a calling on my life, then, that I still feel today. At that time, I learned the meaning of surrender. The Holy Spirit called me into a life of humility, a life where I sacrifice anything that has the potential to hinder my relationship with Him.
And boy has it been an awesome ride! How am I so certain of my faith and my eternity?? God takes the chance to let me know very frequently. <3
I have prayed for someone and the Lord healed her..on the spot!!
I have visions and specific words from God to prophesy (speak truth) to people, and have seen how He uses them to build up His beloved followers.
I have spoken in a language that is foreign to my tongue and lost all control of my movements.
I could speak for ages about the Spiritual encounters I've had, because they still amaze me. But I didn't even know those things were real! How could I not be 100% certain of my faith after all the times my prayers have been answered..after all the times I've spoken my requests to God and He's provided...after all the times I've been approached by a Christian brother or sister and heard words of truth on specific things in my life that I had been praying about, things there's no way someone could just know that I needed to hear.
I'll tell the whole world that life with the Lord is the best life, and I'll tell you that persecution feels good. I'm experiencing it more and more, which means I must be doing something right (praise God for that!).
If you are reading this, please pray for my mission this last month in Australia. God's purpose is greater than anything I can see, and hearts have already been softened. I'm praying for you today.
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