Pray for Passion

We are soon approaching the Passion Week. With it, will come multitudes of church outreaches (where churches go out to minister to people not in their churches) and in-reaches (where people are invited to churches by family and friends often for the first time).

For those who follow Christ, now is a time to pray as one body and with one mind for all the upcoming church efforts to reach people with the Good News that God so loved people that He sent His only son to die for them that their sins might not keep them from God and heaven. For those who DO NOT follow Christ, now is a good time to look into Christianity to discover what all this means and "why did Jesus have to suffer and die?" More importantly, everyone should seriously ponder the historical fact that Jesus did not stay dead. For Christians, this fact is the foundation of our faith. Without it, our faith is absolutely meaningless.

Think about it with me, if Jesus was just a prophet or a good moral teacher, then all that He said and did was "nice to know." And if He died a normal human death and is buried in some undisclosed grave, then I am a man to be pitied beyond every other delusional, psychotic, weak-minded fool that ever lived (the Apostle Paul once said the same thing). Seriously, at that, people should lock me and every other Christian in the looney bin because we have given our lives to a dead man if in fact He was just a man. What's more, this "dead man" lives inside of me, has given me purpose, has given me hope, has answered ALL of my prayers, has never given up on me, has proven Himself to me and loves me with a passion no other person can possibly understand. Oh and by the way, He speaks to me through His Spirit and is coming back for me really soon!

If He is still dead, then please send all your good thoughts and heartfelt pity to me and hope that I may live a "normal" and sane life that when I die I will close my eyes, reach equilibrium (as we say in the field of biochemistry), and cease to exist except in the sense that my elements and chemical energies will once again re-enter the eco-system and conserve the mass and energy of the universe. Now that's reason enough to keep on living!

But that's just it. As is often said, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or He was who said He was and who the Bible says He is-the Lord of all Humanity, the Messiah, the only Savior, the lover of our souls, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and the one who spoke the Universe into existence! But this doesn't just go for Jesus. As a wise man once said, "who's the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?" (ok I'm a Star Wars fan). All of us Christians are either liars or lunatics, or we are truly telling the truth to the world. Jesus loves you, accept Him today!

Repeat After Me

Jesus,

I admit I am a sinner

I believe that you died for my sins

I confess my sins and ask you to forgive me

I commit my life to you know as my Lord, Amen!

That's it. As my Drill Instructor used to say "Simple Right?" This prayer is your prayer of affirmation, a wedding vow if you will. It may sound weird, but a little prayer like "Repeat After Me" can save your life, give you life and change your life forever!

For those within driving distance of Hollister California, you are invited to watch a free and licensed showing of the original release of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ" Friday March 25th at 5:00PM at Faith, Hope, and Love Center of Hollister at the corner of Line and Central Avenue.

For those who can not make it, please pray for us and for all the churches in the world who have a passion for God and for people and who are attempting to bridge the gap between the two of them. Wow, what an honor! God chooses His sons and daughters to bridge the gap between Him and the future members of His family. But then again, He chose His own Son to do the same thing! Follow Christ and please visit a church this Easter season.