What I Believe in a Nutshell

This post is a little different from my others. It is a short summation of my Christian beliefs. In a nutshell, I believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. That no one comes to the Father except through Him.

We were made to follow God’s leadership in our life.

• In fact, we work best this way.
• We have chosen not to and our lives are in disarray as a result.

There were many trees in the garden that our generous God had in store for His created children (Genesis 3). Only one was out of bounds.

• Adam and Eve represent humanity. What they did, we would have done and continue to do. When we chose to eat the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, it was a declaration of independence.
• It was telling God to His face, we will choose what is good or evil, right or wrong for our life.
• Neither the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount are in evidence in our lives.
• Sin is most evidently seen in the attitudes of the heart.
• It has distanced us, set us apart from our God.

Who is Jesus Christ to you?

• He has declared, “No one can come to God the Father except through Me” (John 14:6)

The only bridge (way back) is the Cross of Jesus Christ and we must walk across that bridge if things are going to be any different.

• Man didn’t just subject Jesus to the most hideous, torturous form of execution known to man.
• God Himself subjected Jesus to all the anger of a holy, righteous God for mankind’s sin and rebellion over the history of time. He literally went to hell, so we wouldn’t have to.
• 2 Corinthian 5:21, “God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him our sins. Then, in exchange, He poured God’s goodness into us.”
• We recover the intimacy we lost though sin and selfishness by thanking Him for taking our sin and selfishness, all our wrongful attitudes on that Cross. We turn from the spirit of independence which daily chooses “my way,” and choose instead to embrace His leadership over our lives. Then we make the conscious choice to follow Him afresh in the power of God’s Spirit.

He is coming again!

• No prophetic utterance of the Bible has failed to be fulfilled and this sets it apart from every other so-called “sacred writing” of any other faith.

What of now? What is happening all around us?

• Jesus said that as the end of time approaches, we will experience alarming world events. These include wars and rumours of wars, global increase in earthquakes, famines, pestilences (bush fires, floods, droughts, climate change calamities, a world-wide pandemic would certainly come under this heading). 
• Both Matthew and Luke refer to Jesus addressing these events in detail. He speaks of these signs as the beginning of birth pangs (Matthew 24:8). As we all know when the time for delivery of a much awaited child has arrived, contractions may prove sharp and painful at first, but while they may begin slowly, they soon intensify and become much closer together. 
• The book of Revelation speaks of this time morphing finally into a period of Great Tribulation for all nations, and especially the nation of Israel.

We earnestly await His coming for all who love Him, and the glorious splendour of His Kingdom.

• There will be painful contractions along the way.

For now, He is risen!

• The tomb in Jerusalem is empty, unlike that of any other leader of any other faith.

Until He comes, for all who trust in Him and embrace all that He accomplished in His death for them, and His resurrected life within them—

• He is Saviour and Help and Guide.
• He is Strength and Friend and companion.
• He is Peace and Hope and Joy.

If we make a different choice, to live for ourselves and not respond to the love God demonstrated through the death of His Son, we need to understand we die as we live, separated from God and precious intimacy with His Son.

• When we choose to live separate from God here on earth and cling to our life of independence, we also choose to be separated from Him for eternity.
• This makes eternity and how we spend it our call, not His.

For now, He has promised:

It shall come that to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved
Acts 2:21

Come to me and I will give you rest
Matthew 11:28

No one who believes in him, the Scripture says, will ever be disappointed
Romans 10:11

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me
John 14:6