Make A Decisionናሙና

Prayer: Take some time before starting this devotional and pray that God reveals Himself to you through His Word, the Bible. Pray that, as you read, you gain a better understanding of who God is and what He did to provide a way for you to connect with Him. 

Do You Believe?

People who work in ministry get to see two extremes. On one side, we see people walk through times of great doubt, pain, grief, anger, and denial. On the other, we see great joy, thankfulness, humility, leadership, and love. Each experience people have can either negatively or positively influence their views of Christianity, and therefore God. We see people never enter faith, give up on faith, or simply stop caring either way. But we also see faith grow tremendously, hearts soften, and lives become radically transformed forever. When examining both the negative and positive in the lives of those in our ministry, there is one common theme that greatly affects their view of Christianity—what they believe about Jesus. 

What I listed earlier—the pain, grief, and doubt—all stems from the fact the world we live in is broken, and we ourselves are broken. Everyday, we miss the mark or choose to act in ways that do not honor our God. Because of these choices and failures, we are eternally separated from God. The Lord, in His infinite love, sent down his son Jesus—who was fully man and fully God—to live a perfect life, or never miss the mark. Jesus was wrongly condemned, and died a horrible death on a wooden cross. As Jesus hung on that cross, He took the weight of ALL our brokenness, all the wrongs we have ever done or will ever do, and He paid the price for us. Because of His sacrifice, if we believe in Jesus and accept what He has done for us, we are forgiven, forever. 

This is what Christians believe about Jesus. But if we don’t know the truth about Christ, if we don’t see our own brokness as a symptom of our sin, if we don’t fully grasp the love and sacrifice of Jesus, we can never understand both the pain and joy in our lives. The pain comes from a broken world, and our joy, life, and love comes from God. God made you unique and “so loved.” Now, the question that needs to be asked is, “Do you believe?”

Questions to Ask Yourself: 

1. Take some time to reflect on who you think Jesus is. What do you believe about Jesus? Who do you think He is and was, and what does He mean for your life?
2. Have you ever thought about how much God loves you? Take a few moments to read through John 3:16. Do you believe what you read there? If you don’t, what is holding you back from believing?

What’s Next?

1. Have you ever accepted Christ into your life? If you haven’t and you want to, pray this prayer, or something like it, to express to God the decision that you have made: “God, I believe You are here. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I understand that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sin. I recognize that I must ask You to forgive me for my sins based on Christ’s sacrificial death for me, so that when I die, my sins will not keep me from an eternity with you. Though I deserve eternal separation from You, by believing in Jesus I will receive eternal life. I receive this gift of grace because Jesus paid the penalty for my wrongdoing. Thank You. Spirit of Christ, come into me and take up residence in me. Live Your life in me.”