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Have You Ever Asked
- Why am I here ?
- Where is God?
- Am I really valuable?
- Why do bad things happen to me?
- Why am I so lonely?
- Why did I do that ?
- What happens when I die?
Because you are human, I am sure you have wrestled with this great question
of life. What is life all about anyway? Most of us would qualify as
members of the "searching for the Meaning of Life Club." We
ponder the questions of the human dilemma and struggle for the right answers in
a world that seems bent on hiding the truth about the here, the now and the
hereafter.
The fact is, many don't know why they are here and what they are here
for. They are living a meaningless life, simply existing. What a sad
way to live! There is more to live for than merely satisfying the physical
and even intellectual needs of the body and mind.
The God who created you fully expects you to live your life far a higher
purpose that just pleasing yourself. He wants you to glorify Him.
The Bible says these words, "so that with one heart and mouth you may
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 15:6)
You are so important to God that He invites you to have a personal
relationship with Him. The Bible tells us that God has a wonderful purpose
for each and every life. That purpose begins with experiencing God's
love-- and at that moment, being made in the image of God's Son, Jesus
Christ. Here is how the Bible says it, "And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called
according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the likeness of his Son..." (Romans 8:28-29). You and I
were created to bear the image of Jesus Christ to make the truth of God known to
all men.
When Jesus was on the earth, He called His disciples to become a part of an
incredible mission. That mission was finding people whose lives had no
meaning, people who were cut off from God through sin, and restoring them to a
loving relationship with their creator. You have a reason to exist; a
wonderful cosmic purpose for life; and you can achieve direction in life by
connecting with Jesus Christ. He will give you a reason to exist-- a significant
purpose for living.
If you have further questions you may email Pastor D. Booker at: pastordb1@sbcglobal.net
Where is God? Right where He has always been and He is doing what He
has always done. He is looking for you. God has been trying to
connect with you long before you began to ponder the question of His
existence. To be truthful, you have been experiencing the negative
consequences of alienation from God all your life. Every person who exists
outside of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is suffering from the
"absence of God syndrome," which displays itself in fear, guilt, and
loneliness. Those who have not experienced the forgiveness of God are
doomed to wander through time cut off from the vital life that only God can
give.
Where is God? He is nearer to you than you can possibly imagine. You
and I are no different than Adam and Eve, who after disobeying God in the Garden
of Eden, experienced fear, guilt, and alienation from God-- for the first time
in their lives. They ran and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord
(Genesis 3:1-13). God came looking for them, but they were hiding in the
trees, afraid to speak to him. However, God loved His creation and knew
that something must be done if the fellowship between them was to be
restored. God looked for them; they certainly were not looking for
God. In the same way, God has been searching for you all your life to love
you and have a relationship with you. The Bible teaches us that God is
very near to each of us. In the book of Acts it is recorded that He is
"not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our
being." (Acts 17:27-28)
What is God doing? He is extending His grace (loving favor) to every
man who will receive it through His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible records
these words, "since we have been justified through faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). God is looking
for people, like you, who are seeking the meaning of life. He is willing
to extend His love to you for all of eternity if you will look to Him by faith
and allow Him to forgive you of your sin. The Bible says it this way,
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). God does
exist and He is pursuing you. He loves you and His desire is for you to
know and experience the joy of His presence.
If you have further questions you may email Pastor D. Booker at: pastordb1@sbcglobal.net
Not only are you valuable but you are also unique. You have been
especially created by God. You have been tailor-made by the great
designer.
Before you were formed in your mother's womb, the Bible tells us that God was
already involved in the shaping of your life. Here is what the Bible says,
"you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am
fearfully and wonderfully made...your eyes saw my unformed body. All the
days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to
be" (Psalm 139:13-14, 16). God made you who you are. You are not a
product of some random evolutionary process. In this whole universe there
are billions of people and you are the only one with your fingerprints and DNA
structure. You are a complex, unique individual, made in the image of God.
When Jesus Christ was on this earth 2,000 years ago, He prayed to God the
Father, "to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as
you have loved me" (John 17:23). The Son of God wanted you to know
that God the Father wants to love you just like He loves His own Son.
That's amazing and it makes you very special.
If you have further questions you may email Pastor D. Booker at: pastordb1@sbcglobal.net
It is a fact that life is full of trouble and that there are days of
heartache. Life can be painful. For some people it is as agonizing
as a torture chamber. If we dwell on the injustices of life, it will
eventually lead us to bitterness. One of the reasons many of us struggle
with the questions of "Why do bad things happen to me?" or "Why
is life so unfair?" is because we do not understand that this earth
is not the land of the living , it it the land of the dying. All around us
there is disease, death, and sadness. The Bible teaches us that we live on
a planet that is suffering from the after-effects of sin. When you
understand this, it changes your perspective about life and things begin to make
sense. You realize that this life is simply the proving ground that is
preparing you for life in eternity.
Yes life is short and unfair, yet the Bible tells us that God lives us and
wants to share His love with us far all eternity. The Bible puts it this
way, "But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead-only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved-
and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms-all because of what Christ Jesus did. And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus
Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7,TLB). If you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ,
then what you have in this life is not what you get. God has a wonderful
plan to make all the injustices you have experienced in this life right.
In God's eternal kingdom there will be no more suffering and pain. You
will experience life the way God really intended it to be. Life is brief and
painful, but eternity in heaven never ends and there are no bad experiences
there.
If you have further questions you may email Pastor D. Booker at: pastordb1@sbcglobal.net
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One of the real struggles in life in making genuine friends. Why are
friends so fleeting? Why doI feel so alone most of the time? The
Bible clearly states that God invites to become His friend through the sacrifice
of His own Son. In the book of John It says, " And here is how to measure it-the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends;
and you are my friends if you obey me. I no longer call you slaves, for a master doesn't confide in his slaves; now you are my friends, proved by the fact that I have told you everything the Father told me.
(John 15:13-15,TLB).
God never intended for you to be lonely or isolated from others. Just
the opposite is true. God invites you to discover the end of all
loneliness in a personal relationship with him. When you receive Jesus Christ as
your personal Savior, you become a part of God's family of believers all over
the world. He calls you into community with all Christians. This
community of genuine friendships is based on respect, love, and forgiveness-
which is what our relationship God is based on. God offers His
all-encompassing love to all who know Him as personal Savior and Lord. the
Bible says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you
with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3b)
Being a personal friend of God may sound impossible, but I assure you it is
not. The day you find forgiveness of your sins through Christ Jesus, you
become an intimate friend with the God of the universe. You don't have to
feel lonely; God wants to be your friend.
If you have further questions you may email Pastor D. Booker at: pastordb1@sbcglobal.net
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If you are honest you will admit that you have suffered personal
failures. We all have. If you say you. haven't, you are only fooling
yourself. Every human being does wrong things at times, even though he fully
intended to do the right thing. Why do you say things that hurt others and
do things that damage your credibility and integrity? The Bible gives us clear
guidance on this subject. You cannot do what you know you should because
you were born with a sin nature. The Bible says, Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-
(Romans 5:12, TLB). The sinful nature which you inherited is what qualifies you
as a member of the human race, but is also means you need a Savior. Jesus Christ
came to give you the ability to overcome your tendency to sin.
When a person receives Jesus Christ as his personal savior, he receives a new
nature. The Bible tells us, " And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own
character" (2 Peter 1:4, TLB). This new nature is God living in you.
The new nature is spiritual, but you still have your old nature, which is
fleshly: It still wants to do the wrong thing. However, now you have a
choice. You can choose to follow God's way and experience life and peace
to its extreme fullest. The Bible says it like this, " Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to
death" (Romans 8:6, TLB). This does not mean that you wil become
perfect. It does mean that after you receive Jesus Christ as Savior, you
have the God given ability to do what is right. The conflict is still
there, but the divine nature of God is also there to empower and guide you.
If you have further questions you may email Pastor D. Booker at: pastordb1@sbcglobal.net
Where do people go when they die? Do they just cease to exist? Do humans
possess a soul that will live on forever? People like yourself wonder about
these these questions every day. The truth is you are a living soul and
God has devised a plan whereby you can spend your eternity with Him in the life
to come. This plan involves your decision to believe Jesus Christ with all
your heart and soul. Jesus said, "Jesus told her, "I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. 26 He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never
perish" (John 11:25-26, TLB). Jesus made it clear that is one and only one
way to get to heaven and He is the way. The Bible records Jesus' words
this way, "I am the Way-yes, and the Truth and the Life. No one can get to the Father except by means of
me." (John 14:6, TLB).
God is offering you eternal life. The Bible says, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"
(John 3:16, TLB). God loves you! In fact, He loves you so much that His only
Son, Jesus, died on a Roman cross to pay your sin debt, was buried in a tomb for
three days, and came back to life again on the third day, proving His power over
death. Death no longer reigns because of Jesus Christ. The Bible
tells us that sin (disobedience to God's will) has separated us from God and
condemned us to Hell. However, God offers eternal life to us as a gift through
Jesus Christ. The Bible puts it this way, "for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord (Romans 6:23, TLB).
Does this make sense to you? If it does, wouldn't you like to receive Jesus
Christ as your personal Savior? If you are willing to put your faith in Jesus
Christ and receive Him as your own personal Lord and Savior, you need to
pray. The Bible says, "For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
(Romans 10:13, NIV).
Why not tell God right now, in your own words, that you are sorry for your
sin and that you believe Jesus Christ died for you and rose from the grave. Tell
God that you want to receive Him right now as your personal Savior; you accept
His forgiveness from sin and by faith receive the eternal life He has provided
for you. Tell God you want Him to be your leader and the Lord of your life. Tell
Him that your are willing to surrender your life to Him and follow His
leadership.
If you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, death and sin will no longer reign
and you will live forever in Heaven.
If you have further questions you may email Pastor D. Booker at:
pastordb1@sbcglobal.net
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