Sometime ago and a few years into my salvation experience, I realized there really was a specific plan for my life. God didn’t save me (or any of us) to teach us how to make lots of money or find out how many kids we could have.
He had a very narrow and self serving purpose. He gave us each gifts individually suited to our personalities and designed to serve Him and build His kingdom on this earth.
As I matured in my Christian walk, the truth began to be understood. You see, I was told when I was reborn as a child of God and adopted into this new family that I had become spirit. In effect, the old self had to die and the new me was born anew, but this time as spirit.
I was reborn as spirit because God is Spirit and He came and took over my life and I became a spiritual being with everlasting life.
Somehow, in the transaction, I became one with the Lord Jesus Christ. With this new everlasting or eternal life, I would no longer fear death, the only weapon Satan really has and is now rendered ineffective.
The old self was crucified on the cross with Jesus 2000 years ago and really could not die a second time. But I am still here and I am still physical and in fleshly human form.
It seems until this physical body dies as well, I must remain on this earth. During that time, I am to possibly be the arms, legs, face and sometimes voice of Jesus Christ to those He has selected and that my look and personality might influence. I have found these to be my family and group of friends. As they say, I may be the only Jesus some of them ever see or the only bible any of them ever hear about. Somehow, we begin to understand that we are the Body of Christ. Christ in us, the hope of Glory!
I am glad I was beat down and in a surrendered state when I came to ask Jesus to take over my life. I was completely ready to accept anything He wanted to hand me or teach me, I would have done anything and believed anything. So when the pastor told me I was now a spiritual being, I believe and accepted that notion dead on. I’m not sure I would have known or cared about these ideas at age eight through fourteen when many young people come to know Christ in Vacation Bible School or church camp.
I am glad that pastor led me to Christ sensed that I knew nothing and was ready to soak up whatever I was presented. He gave me Ralph Neighbor’s book, Survival Kit for New Christians. Ralph Neighbor’s book is comprehensive in it’s coverage of what we are to learn and know as new Christians. He touched on bible study, fellowship, prayer, witnessing. Most of all he showed how we died with Christ on the cross when we accepted this new life.
For the past thirty years, I have used a lot less comprehensive tracts and pamphlets about what happens when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Savior and prays the Sinner’s Prayer. I got so frustrated with these shirty pocket witnessing tracts that I wrote my own. As of the summer of 2017, there are 130,000 copies of the fifty-two page booklet, How to be a Child of God in print. Like Survival Kit for New Christians, How to be a child of God is designed to be a self proclaimer for one man and his encounter with Jesus Christ.
Take a look at a video or ebook at: www.howtobeachildofgod.com.
The best part is the witness section where you learn to tell your story and help another come to know Jesus. PASS IT ON.
David Howell Prison Evangelism, Inc.
PO Box 571977
Houston, Texas 77257
713-623-0690
www.prisonevangelism.com