“Why Should I Become a Christian?”

After the man had received some practical help from us, I said with a smile:”don’t forget to thank God in your prayers tonight!”

He responded in a positive way so we chatted further about God and Jesus. He actually raised the question of repentance and we discussed what repentance and faith in God meant.

I gave him a booklet called “What Is  a Real Christian?” and he read a couple of pages. He then said:”the question should be “WHY should I become a Christian?”

I gave him God’s view of sin: all sin – even theft of something from a friend – is primarily a sin against God. So God is the one you need to repent towards. Without repentance (a turning away from all known sin in your life) you will have to give an account of your sin on Judgment Day – and Jesus is the Judge. Becoming a Christian wipes the slate clean because your trust in Jesus and his ability to forgive your sin makes you a new person, hence “born again”. He had heard of “born again Christian” so I explained why we need to become born again, using the illustration of the TWO BUSES.

   In this illustration all of life happens on the two buses. Bus #1 is the one we are all born on. Its destination is Hell and Satan or the Devil is the driver. The Bible tells us Hell was made for the Devil and his angels (actually demons). However, if we remain on Bus#1 we are headed for Satan’s destination, whether we realise it or not. We therefore need to get off Bus #1 and on to Bus #2. Bus#2 is driven by Jesus and His destination is Heaven. All mankind is under the power of sin and only Jesus can change our sin nature. This process is known as being “born again”. When we are born again (recognise our need of the Saviour Jesus as the only one who can forgive our sin and set us free from it) we are transferred onto Bus #2 whose destination is Heaven.

He took the booklet away and said he’d read it.

 

 

 

Out On The Streets again Today

   A group of us from Church went into town sharing the good news today. I took some Million Pound notes with me as a conversation opener. In fact, while waiting for the bus to town I was chatting to a woman at the bus stop and gave her one. I said: “When you get home, give it to your husband and tell him you got this out of his bank account!” Some of the team also took one.

We also had envelopes with a (real) £5 note inside to give out with a little “This one’s on us!” leaflet inside. We gave them out outside coffee shops to those about to go in. Some people were a little suspicious about being blessed with a free gift, but they gladly accepted the money when they opened up! We told them we were from Clearspring Church, as it makes a surprising change for a church to give YOU money. As we all know, Churches usually WANT your money!

We also came across a homeless guy so we got him some food and drink from a nearby cafe. He knew the places around town that did free food, so we headed off. I had a long conversation with an 18 year old guy who is sitting A Level exams this year. He attended a local Catholic Church. He’d heard of “born again Christians” but didn’t really understand it. I took him through what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John’s Gospel Chapter 3. He said he was more scientifically minded, and found some things in the Bible hard to believe. I asked if he knew the pass mark for Heaven and he didn’t. He was amazed when I said “100%”, but when I explained how the imputed righteousness of Christ becomes ours as disciples, he began to see what I meant. The righteousness of Jesus becomes ours when we are born again of God’s spirit. “No-one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again” – the words of Jesus in the Bible, John’s gospel Chapter 3 verse 3. I gave him my card as we left, and invited him to get in touch.

All in all, a good morning in town sharing Jesus and His love.

Million Pound note reverse

There Is Power In The Name Of Jesus

  I heard the woman mention that her left knee had been operated on, but still caused her problems; significant pain and limited mobility. Her pain level on a scale 0 to 10, 10 being worst, was currently 8. I offered healing prayer and she accepted. After laying hands on the knee and commanding prayer in Jesus name she reported the pain had gone, except for a small niggle. Jesus dealt with that and she then confirmed she was not only pain free, but that her previous limited knee mobility was now vastly improved. I got her to walk up and down to fully test out the knee. I told her that I wasn’t the healer, but that Jesus was – he had  done it.

Amazingly, she then went on to disclose that strange things were happening in the house she had recently moved into. Items were moving about of their own accord, and her doorbell rang persistently at 3 o’clock that morning, but no-one was there. Her dogs were getting spooked and unhappy about something. A shadowy figure had also been seen, who looked like the previous occupant.

Without wishing to scare her too much, I suggested that she should approach a local clergyman in her district with a view to getting this dealt with. As well as healing the sick I told her that Jesus has power over all spirits and they have to obey when told to go. As she left I gave her a Christian tract called “No Satisfaction”. She looked at the front cover and said: “yes, that’s me!”. I glanced through another copy of the tract after she left and saw the words: “Jesus can set you free” Having experienced his healing power I pray she experiences the further freedom from the spirit affecting her house.

Later, a guy came in and he shared that he had drifted away from Christianity many years ago, despite previously being an ardent Christian. He had done some things he regretted and wanted to get back into Church, but didn’t know where to go. I suggested a particular church, but he was hesitant. I gave him my contact card and invited him to get in touch if he wanted to meet up and help to take things further.