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LIFE AFTER DEATH This is the story of my journey from atheism, through agnosticism to becoming a Christian, someone with a personal trust in Jesus Christ. Now I face death with total confidence! Before I took this step in June 1987 I thought the following: „h There is no God. „h Life on earth evolved. „h Jesus was a myth. „h The Bible was so old it could not possibly be accurate. History is unrepeatable so why should I believe it? „h Visions of heaven and hell experienced by some people close to death were biochemical changes in the brain. I had no doubt these stories were useful for controlling people! Even as a young child, I had no faith at all. It was as a teenager that I began to think that there might be a God. I attended school chapel and went through church ritual not knowing why, and not really able to believe what is written in the Bible. After school I continued going to church but still did not know why. I suspect that it was out of habit, nothing else. Nor could I understand what making a ¡§commitment to Christ¡¨ was all about. I assumed it meant accepting that Jesus was a man with a beard, wearing a robe, living in Israel and that he claimed to be the Son of God. But I had great difficulty believing in God at all let alone knowing what he and his Son are really like. Then, in 1987 I had a strange experience! It started in February when I began to feel like I was suffocating from the inside. However, there was no clinical explanation for it. One Friday evening at the end of April 1987, I met with three Christian friends to pray (speak to God). Because Christians prayed I thought I could be a Christian by praying! That is rather like being in a garage and pretending to be a car! Then the young woman in the group began to say things about which only I knew. She said: ¡§You did not choose me, I chose you ¡KSalvation comes by faith not works¡K The only thing you will ever have to boast about is that it is I and I alone who have saved you¡K¡¨ I was overwhelmed. I gasped: ¡§ It¡¦s true!¡¨ I concluded that there is a God and he knows exactly what I think! To him we are totally transparent and that is how he is able to know whether or not we have a relationship with him. Then it happened! There was a violent rushing wind from above. It filled the room and penetrated both my eardrums but no damage was done. My whole body was filled with this powerful but gentle wind. The suffocating stopped and I could breathe properly again. There was no wind outside. The doors and windows were closed. There was no draught within. It was like a scene out of Pentecost! Please see Acts Chapter 2 verse 2 in the Bible. It took a long time for me to get my head around what had happened and why. I had often wanted to know whether or not the stories in the Bible were true. This is particularly so of the ones about Jesus rising from the dead and making the claim: ¡§ I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies¡K.¡¨ (John 11v25 in the Bible). Also, ¡§ I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except through me¡K¡¨ (John 14v6). Although I did not meet with this so-called ¡§ man with a beard¡¨, I did have an encounter with what Christians call the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God exists in three ¡§persons¡¨. Water is available to us in the form of tap water, ice and steam. In a similar way Christians believe that God exists as Father, who made the world; the Son, Jesus Christ who came to earth as God in the form of a man; the Holy Spirit, who is to us now what Jesus himself was in the flesh. He moves different people in different ways. Pentecost only happened because Jesus lived, died and rose again. I thought. I prayed. I read into the evidence supporting the Christian faith. Since then much more has come to light. Such literature may be found in Christian bookshops. Personally speaking, one book I find particularly helpful is ¡§ The Origin and Destiny of Life¡¨ by Dr EK Victor Pearce (Eagle books) because it contains hard, solid evidence supporting much Bible teaching and history. Also, someone once stated: ¡§If God needed to be made he wouldn¡¦t be God!¡¨ My experience convinced me of the truth of Jesus Christ: his life, miracles, teachings, death and resurrection. The same applies to his visible removal from earth and, one day, his public and personal return when he will place all people into one of two categories. These are those who are going to heaven, a place of everlasting peace and beauty, and those who are going to hell, a place of everlasting pain and punishment. In the light of this, do you think you can sit on the fence? ¡§ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God¡¦s wrath remains on him.¡¨(John 3v36) In June 1987, I made a conscious decision to turn away from being wrong before God. I made a commitment to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for me personally. Christians claim that this decision and belief are essential for Eternal Life, and the only way to escape God¡¦s wrath. ¡§ For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.¡¨(John 3v16) This is because ¡§ There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God¡K¡¨ (Romans 3v22&23). Of course, I am referring to those who can decide for themselves and that is most of us! If you feel that you are ready to receive this wonderful gift, would you like to say this prayer? "Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for all of the wrong things I have said, thought and done in my life. I ask that you forgive me. I believe that you took all my sin on you when you died on the cross for me- personally. You rose again to give me Eternal Life with you. Please come into my life as my Saviour, Lord, and Friend. Thank you. Amen." If not, take these claims seriously. Ask God to reveal himself and his truth to you. You are welcome to share this with anybody by absolutely any means. Thank you for reading this. May God bless you and bring you closer to him. Click HERE to return to the edited story Click HERE to create a banner that links to this story! Your e-mail address will be kept private!
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