Now I See

 "Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.'" John 3:3

    My sister wrote a poem to commemorate our aunt's 100th birthday. She sent it to family members via a group email for us to read, but I was having trouble with that particular mode of communication and could not open the attachment. Others were commenting their praises in response, but I could not see the object of their praise until I asked the author to send it to me via text. Only then could I share in their joy.

    There are various modes of religions swirling around us. There's Christian Science, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Unitarianism, Islam, New Ageism and a host of "spiritual" cocktails at our disposal. On which do you click if you want forgiveness of sins and eternal life for your soul? 

    The answers are found in Jesus Christ and Him alone. If a religion does not hail the power of that Name, declaring His deity, then they are of the devil. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

    Just as I was unable to open that attachment, there is an adversary in this broken world whose goal objective is to bar people from finding life in Christ. "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4) 

    If you are searching for God and, like Job, may in frustration cry out, "If only I knew where to find Him, if only I could go to His dwelling!" (Job 23:3), I have good news for you! "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:4) The very words of Jesus, the one for whom you seek, give this blessed assurance: "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9)

    I was born on October 15, 1961, but the part of me that will live eternally was born of God in my early twenties when I sought Christ. He was there between the pages of the Bible my parents gave me. He was there when I asked for guidance and forgiveness as I cried out in prayer. Now I see Him because, "he is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17:27) He is in my heart.

"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it to proclaim it to us so that we may obey it? Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." Deuteronomy 30: 11-14

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10: 9, 10