What makes you a Christian? - God's Love

The Christian faith is not a smorgasbord where you can pick and choose what you like or what suits you best. You can't claim to have faith in Christ, yet support the things that the Bible speaks against. Either God is real, or He is not. Christianity is not a Religion but a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

Let me first clarify what a Christian is. A Christian is a person who has made the personal choice to ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins, repent (turn away from) of their sins, and ask Christ into their heart by faith It is your personal faith in Christ that makes you a Christian.

…that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life -John 3:16

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation - Romans 10:10

For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast - Ephesians 2:8-9

The church you belong to cannot save you. Having a priest or pastor baptize you when you were a baby did not save you. Living a good life does not save you. The fact that your parents are Christians cannot save you (though they can guide you to salvation). Only making the choice to ask the Lord to forgive your sins, repent or turn from your sins, and ask Christ into your heart makes you a Christian.

If this is not something that you have never done, the Bible says that TODAY is the day of salvation. Pray, ask God to open your heart. God has made it so easy, but it is a choice that only YOU can make.

Visit our Not saved page for more.

Once you have gotten to this point, the next step is that you MUST accept the Bible as God's inspired, inerrant Word. It is IMPOSSIBLE to be a Christian and not accept the Bible as God's Word.

You see, to come to Christ by faith, you have accepted that this is God's plan to give his creation which is separated from Him because of their sin, a way to come back into His everlasting fellowship. This is God's SURE plan!

That is why faith in Buddha will not save you. That is why faith in a golden statue will not save you.

It is ONLY faith in Jesus Christ that saves you because it was Jesus Christ who God sent to die for your sins! He was God's perfect sacrifice to give fallen man a way back into everlasting fellowship with Him. So if you accept THAT, then you have to accept the ENTIRE BIBLE as God's inspired, inerrant Word. It can't be only part right!

This is where so many Christians break down in their life. They simply don't want to let go of the things of this world. The fact is, this life is only a brief journey anyway. When it is over, the things of this world will be gone, and the ONLY thing that you will be left with is the fact that you have Christ in your heart, or you have rejected His love (God’s Love) for you. PERIOD.

As a Christian, you, me, each one of us, is called to be a light to this dark world that we live in. We can ONLY let our light shine bright when we are living fully, 100% for HIM. If you believe that God is real, TODAY is the day to make sure your life reflects that belief!

Remember, you don’t have to be a pulpit pastor to be hot 100% for God – The fact is I myself, I’m still running from that call and often say “Lord, bless me and make me a blessing to others. I will give my time for your kingdom. But I don’t want to be on the pulpit too often… Nevertheless, its not my will but yours be done” But if God says Go, Who are we to say No.

In His love and service,

Who is the Holy Spirit - How to Receive Him

The subject and person of the Holy Spirit is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted in the Christian faith. The Evangelicals see Him as the dormant, unannounced guest of the "inside."
The Pentecostals see Him as the force behind speaking in tongues and the motivator of spiritual zeal. Often, His presence is heralded with great emotional display.
Then came the Charismatics, presenting the Holy Spirit to the world as the operator of signs and wonders, and diverse manifestations, like "falling under the power."

Who Is The Holy Spirit
He is not a feeling or a falling, nor is He a crying or a wailing. He is no emotion, He is a person.
He is a personality in the order of the Godhead! He is the third person of the Trinity - but not inferior.
He is in charge of the affairs of the kingdom of God on earth today.
He is the Chief Executive of the divine programme on earth.
He is the motivator, energizer and operator of every revealed plan (vision)from God.
He is the revealer of the hidden treasures of the kingdom and holds the key to the inheritance of the saints.

The Holy Spirit is the most valuable asset to Christian living. He is the central figure in any breakthrough in life.
"But why all the counterfeits’", you may ask. The simple answer is this: the presence of the counterfeit is a sure proof of the existence of the genuine. No other personality of the Godhead is more impersonated than the Holy Spirit. This is because He is the reality of the hour.

By virtue of my salvation background with the Evangelicals, I was biased against the Holy Spirit. In fact, for the first six years of my salvation, I did not even want to hear the subject of the person of the Holy Spirit preached. The Evangelicals believe that all saved people are filled with the Holy Spirit.

I began to find faults with those who claim to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Little did I know that the enemy was out to steal my destiny. Today, that same Holy Spirit is my sweetest companion and greatest asset.
Come with me on an exciting adventure into the person and mission of the Holy Spirit.

How, then, can one be filled with the Holy Spirit?

You need to first understand that we are Filled by the Holy Spirit by Faith; You dont need a mountain moving faith but as little as a mustard seed kind of faith via confession; then we can experience the abundant and fruitful life which Christ promised to each Christian.You can appropriate the filling of the Holy Spirit right now if you:

1.Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39). Confess your sins.

2. By faith thank God that He has forgiven all of your sins - past, present and future - because Christ died for you (Colossians 2:13-15; 1 John 1; 2:1-3; Hebrews 10:1-17). Present every area of your life to God (Romans 12:1, 2).

3. By faith claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit, according to:
A. His Command - Be filled with the Spirit. "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

B. His Promise - He will always answer when we pray according to His will."And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him" (1 John 5:14, 15)

There is no professional way of receiving the Holy Spirit than Stated above.
You dont need to wait in the Upper Room for the infilling again. you can receive Him immediately you covert Him. He is our Helper and with Him, You begin to walk in Gods plan for your life per minute.

I LOVE GOD

Deal with Worries and Anxieties God’s Way

What do you usually worry about? Are you ever anxious, as far as what to eat or wear, for tomorrow? How do you usually deal with your worries and anxieties?

Worry is an emotional problem that plagues the lives of multitudes ofChristians. CONTINOUS WORRY can affect every part of the human body. Worry causes a stress reaction. Constant activation of this stress response can put a person at a higher risk for psychological and physical problems.

We can believe in Jesus as our Savior and still be guilty of the sin of worry. The reason we worry is because we are so much under the control of feelings and negative emotions that our spiritual man cannot take control of our mind to where we dwell upon the Word of God and have the mind of Christ.

Instead of worrying, reach out in faith, confess your sin, and touch the Lord. When you worry about a problem, you are reaching out and touching it with the hand of unbelief. That only makes it worse. When we worry we bind and discredit our faith. It is totally unfounded for us to worry, because throughout the Bible God says don't worry, everything is going to be all right if you put your trust in me.

"And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying. "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. "But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you”. Luke 12:29-31

Anxiety is a distress of the mind and is a sin which is parallel to but may go beyond worry. It is often a result of subconscious fears and negative thoughts. Anxiety and its resulting tension will choke your faith, bind flow of joy, and severely hinder your personal relationship with the Lord. You cannot deal with anxiety by trying to stop it, or by trying to make yourself relax; most times this will only make it worse. The only effective way to deal with anxiety is to commit yourself to God. You must call upon the Lord and know that He is a very present help in time of trouble.

"Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' Or 'What shall we drink?' Or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" - Matt. 6:31-34

“…casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you”. I Pet. 5:7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. Phil. 4:6,7 (look at Prov. 14:30)

How can I increase my faith?- Christian Faith in God

You may want to ask - how do we grow in faith as believers, where do I start? How do I keep the doubts and unbelief out of my life? I asked myself the same questions before. There were times when I seemed to have gotten off track in my walk with the Lord. I got distracted. I started to focus more and more on my problems instead of God's faithfulness to help me go through the challenges in my life. I knew I didn’t call myself and I know that God will never leave me alone. What did I do to get back on track?

1. Spend time with God. Christianity is no longer a mere religion as it were but a personal relationship with God. This is very crucial in your faith journey. Read the Bible, ponder His words in your heart. Get to know your Creator - God, who He is, His promises. Because when you get to know Him, you will trust Him and trust as I said previously is understanding god leading.

2. Remember what He has done for you as often as possible. I consciously make an effort of recalling what God has done for me in the past. This brings me back to focusing on God's ability to come through for me and reinforces my faith. I have a diary where I record my day to day experience with Him. Whenever I’m down and it seems like nothing is working, I bring up this diary and count my entire blessings one after the other. The day we have nothing to eat as a family and he supernaturally provided. This keeps me going.

3. Join a Ministry. You grow by serving others and using your God-given gifts. I joined our Church's children department ministry and committed to it. By committed I mean attending scheduled sessions of teaching the children / teens and pre teens without grudge and complain. Trust me, its not as simple as it looks teaching children but I made it a commitment.

4. Be part of a small group of fellow believers. We grow better together. There is nothing like having that special "bond" with a few people who are in the Lord when you need someone to talk to, when you are discouraged, when you need a shoulder to cry on, when you need advice and other times when you simply need a friend. Oftentimes the Lord will communicate with you through them. They will also hold you accountable in a loving way.

5. Acknowledge God often or say short prayers. During the course of your day, talk to God. Even a simple 'Thank you Lord for the nice weather' or 'God, how beautiful those flowers are. And I know you made them. You're awesome!' You know what I mean. When you make Him part of your daily life, things go more smoothly and your faith is built up.

6. Choose carefully what you read, watch and listen to. In this day and age, there is just so much out there which can confuse someone growing in faith. Don't watch too much news, documentaries or books which go against your faith, movies with nudity, wrong information being passed by the media etc. Don't listen to radio announcers who swear on air or music containing references to violence, swearing, depressing thoughts, sex, etc. I humorously said recently that “Those who listen and watch breaking news are just a step away from having one”

So take that first step of faith. Christianity without faith is just another religion. Christianity is a walk of Faith institute.