John Chapter 3 :vs1-21 How can someone be "born again"? (New Living Translation)

After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to speak with Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you."
Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."
"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"
Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."
"What do you mean?" Nicodemus asked.
Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? I assure you, I am telling you that we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe us. but if you don't even believe me when I am telling you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what if going on in heaven? For I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole int he wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life."
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it."
"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust in him. But those who do not trust in him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based of this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear that their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."

Monday, January 4, 2010

New Year 2010!

Many of you do not know this . . .  but I am married . . .  I was married young and I am still the age of many college students . . .  but marriage and living in the real world has taught me more than I ever learned from school.  I really believe that I have a distinct and unique perspective on life in America and the Christian culture here . . . .  because I believe I have been on both sides of the fence . . . in a way.  I have been on the skeptical side of the fence for many years . . .  I have been on the doubting side of the fence . . .  I have been on the moral and "sophisticated" side of the fence . . . or more like 'moral and successful' side . . . . I have been on the side of the street where girls and boys grow up in gangs and with the only they  . . . and even I could seem to get back at the world was to lash out with words . .  or with raw emotional physical destruction . . . . but nothing can ever really take the pain away from not only having no family  . . .  but also growing up in a violent, abusive, and many times life threatening environment . . . . .  and  . . . I have also grown up with the thought that I did not understand why it was so hard to believe in God . . . or wondering what it was even like to have a spiritual renewal experience of my very own. 

Well sometimes things happen . . .  and GOD happens  . . . when you least expect it  . . .  and just like as in the story with the footprints . . .  you suddenly look back  . .  and you are amazed at the wonders God has performed in your life when you didn't even realize it.

AT this time  . . . right after Christmas  . . . and the new year 2010 already begun . . .  I think about all my Atheistic friends . . .  I think about my emotionally torn past . . .  and I think about my parents . . . not even knowing if they are even saved . . . I worry more than anything about whether I can help the people closest to me to learn about Jesus and be saved . . .  I mean who knows? . . .  The second coming could be any day now . . . . and STILL people come to my site just to mock me . . .  Seriously I am more saddened for them than for any personal attacks they make towards me.  Nothing can be worse than Hell . . . nothing . . . .

And at this time . . .  I also have doubts . . . like what am I even doing anymore . . .  where my life is going . . .  so many times I have even asked myself if I am kidding myself about this 'God thing'  knowing that my parents told me themselves they thought I was crazy . . .

It's weird that the one thing that makes MY life complete . . . is the one thing that separates me from the majority of people on the planet . . .  the majority of whom are not Christians . . . do not take the question of the afterlife seriously, do not think about consequences or purpose to what is going on in their lives at this exact moment  . . .  All they can think about is how their life choices will effect their personal comfort . . .  and THAT is what is accepted in society right now . . . and I'm sure has been accepted for a long long time . . . .

The holidays are very rough on me . . . so I ask that anyone reading this would PLEASE keep me in prayer . . . I am not good at asking this to people face to face right now . . . So I will leave it in God's hands . . . that whoever reads this post and decides to pray for me . . . . I'm sure that is just the right person I need to pray for me . . . .

You see . . .  my marriage to a believing and professing Christian has caused a rift between me and my former friends and family . . .  and it has saved me from an abusive environment . . .  Somehow . . .I believe that whether or not I am able to help close this rift  . .  the least I can do is try to help close the rift between Christians and Atheists here in America and around the world . ..  especially those that I relate to  . . . those who still have the most hope and window of opportunity to come to understand each other . . .  the youth of our generation.

And so I can only pray that someone will reach my own family and friends . ..  but at the moment I cannot . .  and I am not emotionally able to . . .  It has been killing me inside . . . But I'm going to have to leave it in God's hands . .  and perhaps I will help reach someone reach a member of someone else's family that no one else could reach.

The reason I believe so strongly in talking about Creation Science . . .  is because . .  Science is like a god to this world to Secularists and Atheists . . .  and science is something people know to be good and helpful . . .  science is something people can relate to . . .  If we can take this jumping off point and run with it . . .  just like Paul did with the 'unknown god' with the Greeks . ..  perhaps we can reach some people with the truth that has saved us . . . the Saving faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
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