It hit me all of the sudden today that I needed to write a letter to my friends on facebook who are atheist, agnostic, non believers in Christ, or those who may not be sure. So here I am. I would ask that you please read this to the end of the page.
I just want to first and foremost say thank you for accepting my friend request or requesting me as a friend on facebook. I may know you personally or I may not, but the acquaintance is appreciated all the same. One of my main goals on facebook is to promote thinking that leads to a creator, which is God, and spread the law and the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you follow my posts or blogs then you already know this and I greatly appreciate your patience and time.
You probably know that I am a born-again Christian, or in many other peoples eyes an extreme or fundamentalist Christian. What people label me or call me really isn't important. I know there is a God, heaven, hell, and that there will be a judgment when we all die whether we believe it or not, which is why I write what I write. I truly care about you. I don't gain anything by my posts except maybe a few people "liking" my status, (I'm sure that will change when there is a dislike button, lol) positive/negative comments, or some hate mail which is fine with me. Trust me, if you want to be popular or people to like you; going and preaching to strangers, and trying to reach others with the gospel is the last way to do it!
I understand some of you may have had bad experiences with a church, Christians, or evangelists. Please keep in mind that there are many in this country who claim to be Christian that are not, including pastors. Christians do not and should not hold themselves higher than anyone else. Just so you know, I have had those experiences as well being a false-convert (calling myself a Christian, but not really being one). I was a hypocrite and there are many others out there. Everything does happen for a reason though.
With that being said there are real Christians that do truly love you despite the manner of their actions at times. The reason we spread the law and the gospel is because we do not want anyone to go to hell. It is eternal punishment. If it is not real then we go in the ground and eventually turn to dust. If the bible is real then we have to face God on judgment day and He will hold us accountable for everything. We will either go to heaven and be with Him forever or go to hell which is everlasting torment. It is not because God is mean or cruel, it is because He is so good and just that He must punish sin.
The bible says that anyone who has broken even one of His laws is guilty. Which is, everyone. The ten commandments say you shouldn't lie, steal, commit adultery (Jesus says lusting is the same thing {{okay, so pretty much anyone who has ever been a teenager}}, He also says if you hate someone it is the same as murder in your heart. No one can keep the law, that's a no-brainer. They are put in place there to show us our need for a Savior and that we are not perfect.
Everyone including myself deserves hell. That is why God sent His son, fully God and fully man to suffer and die on the cross. He then rose from the dead 3 days later forever defeating death for those who will turn from their sin and believe in Him (which I am praying is you). There is nothing we can do to be "good" in His eyes despite what you may have heard. Once God changed my heart, it REALLY changed. I still sin, but I fall into it now instead of diving into it like I used to.
I am not perfect and I am not better than you by any means. However, I am better off, meaning I will go to heaven after I pass however that may be. I don't say that to be belittling, but I say it with confidence and love because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ and I pray and hope the same for you.
You are reading this for a reason. You can get mad at my words, think I'm crazy or you can consider them. I said it once and I'll say it again, I truly care about you which is why I do what I do. I go out and witness every week and I have talked with atheists, agnostics, and other people of different religions, so I hope you do not think I am writing these things in ignorance.
The bible tells all Christians to go and preach the gospel, but obviously not everyone does it. Doing this will not get me to heaven as I am already going there because I repented and put my trust in Christ. However, I am going to be obedient to His word and I do NOT want anyone to go to hell, especially you.
Again, PLEASE consider this. Look into it for yourself. If you believe what I am saying then cry out to God, pray, communicate to Him however you will. You don't need to go to a pastor or have someone pray for you. It is a relationship between YOU and Jesus Christ. The gospel is offensive because we as humans tend to want to hold onto our sin because we love it, even though we know it is wrong. Our conscience tells us that, which is God-given.
The bottom line is that God changed my heart. Everything in my life was going good for me before I became a true Christian, but I was on my way to hell. Now everything is far greater than I could ever imagine knowing Christ through thick and thin. I realize now how wretched I was and how much I needed Him. I'm asking you to open your eyes and check this out for yourself. If you want more information, start in the book of John in the bible, go to www.needGod.com, or feel free to write me as I would love to help with any questions that you may have.
There is NOTHING more important than your eternal salvation!
In Christ,
Joey
1 comment:
Not sure why I just came across this post of yours, but I'm glad I did. I thought it was a near perfect summation of faith in God and the honor that we have as Christians to spread His Word. Thanks for the great and encouraging words!
Chris
Post a Comment