Your life cannot be found
The life you are looking for has been placed out of your reach. The life you have now may be void of meaning, depth, richness, destiny, purpose, and relational peace. In fact, when we grasp and strive for only this life, we miss out on both the blessings we can know now on this earth and the eternal joy we can have with God in eternity. For some people, life on earth is the only hell they will ever know. For a vast majority of humanity, earth is the only heaven they will ever know.
A thief has tried to steal, kill, and destroy you and all aspects of the life God wants you to have. He has also deceived you into believing one or more of the following:
1, There is no God and the cosmos is all that there is or ever will be;
2. You can determine your own destiny apart from God;
3. You can become God;
4. There is a God, but He is very capricious, mean, and harsh and will squash you like a bug for getting out of line;
5. There is a God, but He is so loving that He will overlook all of your sins;
6. You can live with God for eternity just by being a good person and performing religious activities;
7. God will let you into heaven because your good works will outweigh your bad works;
8. There are many ways to God, and all will get you to Him as long as you are sincere in your belief;
9. Humans are just complex combinations of natural chemical processes and we will cease to exist when we die;
10. Nothing you do in this life matters;
11. There are many other books other than the Bible which can lead you to spiritual fulfillment and the knowledge of God;
12. There are greater prophets than Jesus and His apostles-- the revelation of these later prophets supercedes the revelation of those already found in the Bible;
13. You can enjoy the benefits of knowing God without true repentance and turning from your own way;
14. God is a force... God is pure thought... God is pure mind... He is a power that pervades the universe... and if we just can come to that understanding, we will realize that this God force is inside of all humans;
15. There are many, many gods and each has their own whims and desires... you must work to please all of these different gods in order to enjoy life (otherwise, watch out!);
16. Man's problem is not sin... it is his lack of self-realization and enlightenment which blinds him to the divinity that is part of his nature;
17. The spirit world is where we can find beings of greater enlightenment and power that are eager and willing to help us along on our spiritual journey;
18. Wisdom can be achieved by looking inward through constant meditation;
19. There is a God, but He is not interested in you (for sure) and it appears He is not that interested in the affairs of earth in general;
20. Following an 8-fold path or a obeying a 5-pillar regimen or partaking of sacraments or ascribing to any set of spiritual disciplines will satisfy the emptiness of the soul inherit in the human experience.
Your life is lost when you accept any one of these statements as truth. All religions to some degree or another contain some degree of truth. Only Jesus of Nazareth makes the ludicrous claim (by human terms) that He Himself embodies TRUTH in His person. God wants you to find your life, but you can only find it by following an amazing paradox: you must lose your life and give up your right to it on this earth in order to gain the true life that only God can offer. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10) and "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matt 10:39)
What is the value of a gold ring that is lost?? It is still worth as much as it was before it was lost. A gold ring is a gold ring. The only difference is that it is of no use to its owner. You have lost it, but someone else will have it.
What then is the value of a lost person? A lost man, even one who is a thief or an adulterer or a murderer, has the whole value of a man. To God, you are the most VALUABLE thing in the universe!! You are worth an infinite amount to God... that is why He sent His Son Jesus to pay an infinite price so that you could be found. What is an infinite price? It is the blood of a pure, innocent man (who by nature was God, but by role was a servant) being spilled to atone for and remove the power of sin over us and the death penalty we (who are guilty as charged) legally and rightfully deserve for our sins.
Consider the following parable Jesus spoke about the value of one solitary person in the world:
Luke 15:4-10 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'
Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
If you would like to find your life, please try the following:
- If you have been deceived by the intellect of men, the philosophies of this world, the false spiritual experiences of other religions, higher revelations from spirit guides and ascended masters, or even the stale lifeless version of Christianity that many Western churches offer, then Return to the Truth. Jesus the Messiah said that He was THE truth, THE way, and most of all THE life. L. Ron Hubbard cannot offer you spiritual life, no more than any prophet or shaman or holy man of any world religion that you can think of can either. You cannot separate the teachings of Jesus and pick only those that fit within your religion or idea of spirituality. You must accept His exclusive statements about His person and work just like you do His good moral teachings that even the world admits are revolutionary! Jesus said clearly, "I and the Father are one." and "No on comes to the Father except through me." The Bible also says (Acts 4:10-12), "let it be known to you all ... this (Jesus) is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
-
Open
the
Bible, and then look for links to the the Gospel
of John and the book of Romans... these two books are the best place
to start in discovering who Jesus was and why He came. Begin to
Believe
that the Bible is the only reliable source of truth in regard
to discovering who God is.
- You must
Turn
Back
from sin and and turn
back from doing things your own way apart from God: this is called
repentance. You must do this and then turn TO God. If you
just repent without turning to God in truth, there are many false
prophets, false religions, false spirits, and false people who can
easily give you something that will fill your spiritual void.
Repentance means to change your mind about how you think regarding
sin, God, heaven, hell, the world, your life, your career, your
family, your spirituality, your sexuality, your behavior... EVERYTHING
basically. Confess
that you are a sinner in God's eyes, accept responsibility that the wages
of your sin is death, and then accept the forgiveness God offers you
freely in Christ Jesus.
- If you will
Search for God with ALL of your heart, the Bible tells us that we will find Him! He cannot be something you pursue as a hobby or a passing curiosity. Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to acknowledge that God is ONE, and to love that one God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength: in other words, with every part of your being. Not just your mind, but your body also. Not just your emotions, but your intellect too. Not just your spirit, but your will as well. You must SEARCH for God with all of your being, as if your very life depended on it (which by the way, it does!).
- You must Receive the free gift of life that God offers you in Jesus Christ. You cannot earn it and you cannot wait until you get more holy or more righteous to accept it. God takes you as you are... no questions asked. But, of course, He does not expect you to stay the way you are either. He loves you too much. He will work with you until His work is accomplished in you.. to make you look like the person of His Son Jesus: pure, holy, loving, compassionate, generous, faithful, forgiving, powerful, and righteous. These are all things we can never be in and of ourselves.
- Jesus did not shed blood so that you would become a Christian... for many people the word "Christian" is related to holy wars, inquisitions, bigotry, persecution, the holocaust, clinic bombings, and witch burnings. You do not have to become a "Christian" to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You can keep your heritage, nationality, and customs. You do have to Become a Disciple or follower of Jesus, however. You do have to become a "believer." This is not optional. You learn how to follow Him as a believer by reading and studying His word (the Bible, which means "THE Book") and finding fellowship with other believers in Jesus who are committed to Him and His ways. People may call you a Christian because of your change in life and the profession of your belief in Jesus as your Lord, but being "Christian" does not mean the removal of your identity or belonging to a specific people group or culture. The Bible states that only in Christ can dividing walls be torn down between races, genders, and social classes-- yet at the same time the Bible does acknowledge these distinctions among people.
- Ask Jesus to find you! He is already looking for you, but the question is, ARE YOU LOOKING FOR HIM??? You see, God has given us all free will and choice... He will not help you or invade your life unless you ASK Him first! He is not rude and will not interrupt you or your life for the most part. He has done all that He needs to do so that you and the rest of the world would know the greatness of His love. He has given creation, conscience, the Bible, the history of the Jewish nation, and most of all, His Son Jesus (who splits time in half by his life) as clear messages of His love and His law. Though the vast majority of the world rejects and curses Him, He still today offers the same unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness. John 1:12-13 tells us: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
- Tell other people about your decision to follow Jesus Christ... Be Baptized in water (it is like getting married and wearing your wedding band, so that people know you belong to someone else now!) and Fellowship with other believers who will pray for you and encourage you in your new walk. Look another believer who has walked with the Lord for a while and ask them to disciple you and help you grow as a believer.