~ "Crossing the bridge..."

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. (1 John 5:18)

Being "born again" means literally to be "born from above", to have had a change of heart, a spiritual transformation! It means we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior and that we are "saved" by grace from death (yes, our physical bodies will die, but our soul belongs to God and will never die).

When we have been re-born in Christ, we will continue to sin - what we have a problem with are the "deliberate" sins. We have a hard time justifying our actions when we know it is NOT of him! Many religions have different views on certain secular activities, not to mention their interpretations of certain passages in the Bible. I won't go into them here, but God's word is sound. It's not a fairy tale, it's not a "suggested" way of life - it is a love letter from God to us! He tells us EXACTLY what he wants and expects from us, his children. Those of you who think that because of the "changing times" from the time the Bible was written until today, that you can "edit" his word and fit it to meet your way of life, need a wake up call!

Young people - keep yourselves safe from the ways of the world - they are Satan's way (and yes, my friends, he does exist and wants you in HIS army, not God's). Again, "SPOILER REVEALED" - God wins!!! I know how hard it is to be faithful to God's law, to his word! I know all about pier pressure and I also know that even when you succumb to it, you are never fully accepted as part of that "group" - why, because you are NOT part of that group! You are a child of God and he lets you know that by the uncomfortable feeling that arises in you when you do what you know is not pleasing to him! It gnaws at you and eats away at your conscience until you accept that this is NOT what God wants for you, and now you feel damaged and hurt and realize you have been led astray! "But how do I go back - what will my friends say?" I'm here to tell you that they may leave you in the dust today, but 10, 20 or maybe 30 years from now, they will have a respect for you that will blow your doors off! They will come to you and want what YOU have because of the way you live your life, because of the joy they see that comes from knowing the Lord! I know that is no consolation to you now, but someday, when you are sitting on the other side of the bi-focals, you will understand.

Do what is right in God's eyes! If you're living with someone, sleeping with someone, using his name in vain (OMG, Holy "whatever", and the like) - make the change NOW! Be brave and have faith in him! He won't let you down, I promise! It may be rough going at first, but I haven't seen or heard of anything better than his love yet, and I doubt I ever will. You cannot pick and choose which of God's rules you follow - you know that what you are doing is wrong, but you pretend you don't know - ignorance is no excuse - remember - God does not bargain! Do what you have to do to get out of the fire! Fall to your knees and ask his forgiveness and guidance! Seek out those who have the devotion to our Lord that you want - learn from them! Give yourself to the winning team, from what I've read, the victory party is to die for! Cross the bridge to salvation and become born again in HIM! Ask him to lead and be willing to follow and all the riches of heaven will be yours one day!


(photo by Celia Darrigo)