Jesus - Cerebral Insights

The Blood

Last April, our church’s theme was entitled The Blood.

We learned about the significance of the instances in the Bible where Jesus shed his blood. The shedding of Jesus blood has profund signifance to the Christian faith. It is said in Hebrews 9:22 that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Hebrews. 9:22 NLT

Jesus was the perfect lamb who was slain for our sins. He was innocent and his blood was used to free us from the punishment of our sins which is eternal death.

Because of this, every instance where Jesus shed his blood is significant.

There are four instances:

In the Garden of Gethsemane where he sweat drops of blood while praying in agony.
At the whipping post where he was whipped until his body was disfigured.
During the crowning of thorns
At the cross where he was crucified

I find it riveting to discover how deep God’s love and forgiveness is for me as I learned each Sunday of the significance of the blood spilled in each of these instances.

Join me as I document here what I learned and experienced.

Blessing Meals

I’ll let you in a secret. I don’t pray before meals. I’m a self-confessed active Christian yet I don’t bless the food the same way others do.

Not that I am ungrateful. I am thankful for every morsel of food I eat. It’s just that I have learned what true prayer is.

It is being with Jesus every step of the way, talking to Him at every moment and knowing that He hears me all the time.

It’s not about words spoken out to impress. Or words spoken out of habit.

Prayer is communication. It’s communication to God.

And so it must be natural. Must be heartfelt. Not canned. Not memorized. Not repetitive.

And so, in between mouthfuls of food, when I blurt out Thank You Lord or send a silent prayer of thanks from my mind, I know He hears me and I’m confident He knows how grateful I am in my heart.

Encounters with an Agnostic

Is God real?

Is the Bible telling the truth?

Is there a heaven?

Do I really hear God or am I just talking to myself?

This and many other similar questions were forced to surface in my mind again as I had a conversation with an agnostic friend. I have been forced to evaluate my beliefs which I’ve had for years and had never questioned. It felt like 15 years ago all over again when my beliefs were questioned by another agnostic friend. Only that time, I didn’t had the answers and I was forced to seek for them.

This time, I do have the answers. And though they may not satisfy his curious and wandering mind, my faith will nonetheless, never be shaken.

For you see, it is not a question of how I can prove that God exist. It is not a question of how I can be certain that I am not merely crazy for claiming that God can speak to me directly. Whatever intellectual question is thrown at me will no longer faze me.

I am intelligent. And I am wise. And if believing in God makes me look like a fool, then so be it.

For what I have now is an experience, an encounter, that no one can take away. I may not be as deeply rooted in all the intellectual stuff concerning the Bible, if God exists, etc. (despite having finished a year-long Bible course) but I am deeply rooted in my faith simply because I have encountered Him.

It is an encounter that transcends human knowledge – that bewilders human intellect. It is an encounter that is so personal, I know for a fact it is real.

And nothing anyone says can take that away.

Freedom In Christ

Many believe that when you surrender your life to Jesus there will be many restrictions in your life. Most who haven’t encountered Jesus believe that to surrender one’s life to Him would mean to live a boring, predictable life.

They know that God demands holiness and they believe holiness equates to a dull, uneventful life.

Sadly, they are severely mistaken.

Living a life surrendered to Jesus is actually living a life of freedom. To surrender to Jesus means to allow Him to free you from your sins. Actually, we were freed from our sins centuries ago when Jesus died at the cross. We just need to accept this freedom and by accepting, meaning to surrender to Him.

Surrendering to Jesus means being free from our sins – we are no longer slaves to them. We are no longer slaves to guilt that results from sin.

Surrendering means being free from stress for Jesus promises to give us a stress-free life. Surrendering means being free from sickness for Jesus promised to be our healer and the source of our strength. Surrendering means being free from poverty for Jesus promised to make us prosper in this world and beyond.

You see, surrendering to Jesus is not the kind of surrender the world envisions. It’s not like going to a prison cell where you will be locked up for your sins and forced to live a deprived life which sadly many associates with holiness.

No! Surrendering to Jesus means living a life of freedom. It means actually starting to see what life to the full means. It means having the freedom to actually make your own decisions for your life – decisions that you know will lead to a full life because Jesus is in you and you followed His leading.

To those who haven’t experienced Jesus it’s hard to understand.

How is surrendering freedom? How is it that an act if surrender can be the source of freedom?

But to those who know Jesus, to those who have taken the bold step of surrendering to Him they will testify to the abounding freedom they gained from their surrender.

A freedom that leads to a fulfilling life. A life of endless joy, abounding love, overflowing blessings and endless peace. A life that is not boring at all but exciting every moment.

If you haven’t surrendered to Jesus, why haven’t you? It’s free. It’s easy. It’s simple. Best of all it’s freedom. What have you got to loose? A vice you can’t give up? A habit you can’t break? A relationship you can’t end? If I tell you that you get a million pesos just to quit your vice will you do it? Or another million to break that habit? Will you do it?

Whatever it is, try to surrender to Him. Just once. Give it a shot. After all, you have nothing to lose.

Surrending to Jesus is as easy as A-B-C.

A- admit that you are a sinner and you can do nothing on your own to be absolved.

B – believe that Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead.

C – confess with you mouth that Jesus is Lord and Savior. Allow Him to enter life and give Him the chance to change it. This is possible when He is now seats as the resident in the throne in your heart.

You can pray this short prayer –

Jesus I am a sinner and have sinned against You. But I believe you died for my sins to restore me to life. I now accept you as my Lord and Savior. Come to my heart and be the one in-charge of my life. I surrender my life to You. In Your mighty name Lord Jesus, Amen.

If you prayed the prayer above and made the decision today to surrender yourself to Jesus then tell someone about it. You can email me about your decision or you can find a Christian church and pastor who can guide you in your new life in Christ.

Congratulations on your newfound freedom!

Heaven Is For Real

Is Heaven Real?

Growing up, I have always known that there is Heaven and there is Hell. We were even taught there is purgatory. As I got wiser, I started to question what I was taught. I started to research for myself the reality of the concepts I was led to believe.

For one thing, I knew there is no purgatory. The Bible doesn’t mention it. And the teachings all point to just two possible after life destinations – Heaven or Hell.

But is Heaven just a concept? Is it merely a state of being after death wherein heave would pertain to peace and Hell would pertain to, well, Hell.

I believe not.

Ever since I became sure I was going to Heaven, naturally, I wanted to know what was there. Don’t get me wrong. I love life and I celebrate the life I live here on Earth. But just the same, I was curious as well as excited to go to Heaven.

And so began my research – reading books mostly – on what Heave is like. Many are based on the Bible with some base on those who had their experience of Heaven.

Continue reading “Heaven Is For Real”

I Am A Freak

yep i am.
what kind of a freak? A JESUS FREAK!

Last may 16-18 we taught a handful of kids how to be JESUS freaks. Unknown to us, especially to me, these kids would also teach me what it means to be a freak.

Just recently, a friend of mine told me “Acielle, christiano ka pala?” Ouch! That hurts. Why? As christians we are suppose to shine out Jesus in such a way na people would no longer wonder if Christiano ka ba talaga or hindi. Makikita na nila. Obvious na.

So what does it mean to be a Christian? To be a Jesus freak?

Simply put. It’s someone who’s not afraid to be a fool for Christ. To go out of one’s comfort zone proclaiming Jesus as the Risen Lord. The true God. The only Savior. It is someone who is not afraid to show what a personal and saving relationship with Jesus means.

So to all those reading this who still don’t know the Lord personally, you’re missing a very large part of your life. Jesus longs to be at the center of your life – to comfort you in times of trouble, to share in your moments of joy and happiness. Jesus loves you and cares so much for you. He wants to give you something that no one can ever give you – and that is ETERNAL LIFE IN HIS PRESENCE aka IN HEAVEN.

So what do you do? Either one of two things: accept his offer or reject it.

To accept simply say this short prayer:

Jesus, I also want to have you in my life to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me for my sins and help me live a new life in You. Come into my heart Lord Jesus. Amen

Then believe in your heart that He has entered your life.

For any questions, just send me an sms or an email.

May you all find the peace you’re searching for in this world. I pray to see you all in heaven someday.

JESUS LOVES YOU!

Re posted from Multiply
Original posting date: May 31, ’07 2:26 AM