BLOG: God’s Word for Today

Salvation: What is it? I didn’t really understand what it meant when I was growing up inside “ritualized religion.” No one ever talked about getting saved.

The definition of salvation is described as being delivered from the consequences of sin and preserved from destruction.

I knew I had sinned (and we have all sinned, because we were born into sin), but I didn’t know that I would need to be “saved” from the consequences of my sin! For the first time, as an adult, I was once asked, “Are you saved?” Yet, I didn’t know what this meant. I was ignorant!

I believed that if you didn’t go to Heaven, then you would certainly go to Hell. For awhile, I believed that if you were on your way to Heaven, but needed to still get rid of some sin, then you would go to a holding place called Purgatory. However, I was very disturbed by this teaching that someone had to pray for you to get out of there. I questioned my mom by asking her what would happen if no one prayed for you? Then you’d be stuck in this limbo forever? This is not Biblical at all!

I certainly wanted to go to Heaven, but I never had any assurance that I would get there when I died. I certainly did not want to go to Purgatory or to Hell! Purgatory is also not Biblical at all!

How about you? When you were growing up, did you have a confidence that you would go to Heaven when you died? Do you have this in adulthood? Do you have a confidence of your salvation right now?

God knew that someday I would come to a point in my life where I would call out to Him and He would save me. He knew that I would fully surrender myself and my life to Him. My faith would grow and I would come to understand that I could have this confidence of salvation and Heaven. I grew to love God with all my heart. I had a yearning to know Him.

“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2 – NLT)

God accepts our repentance when we ask for forgiveness. He helps us to be able to turn away from sin. He has mercy on us, and we can receive His grace. Salvation becomes available to us because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Romans 10:10 (NKJV) of the Bible, we learn that “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (My emphasis added in bold.)

The Bible tells us that: “…every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in My presence only, but now much more in My absence, work out your own salvation [my emphasis] with fear and trembling. For it is God that works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:11-13 – NJKV)

“For by grace you have been saved [my emphasis] through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, we are saved by faith.” (Ephesians 2:8 – NKJV)

I came to learn that some Christians even have a saying that they believe. They say, “once saved, always saved.” In many scriptures, this can hold truth for the follower of Jesus Christ. However, this statement also proves false, because I believe that it is possible to lose our salvation. Many are conflicted on this particular determination.

The scriptures explain that there is a way to either never gain salvation or to lose it altogether. Read these Bible scriptures as follows:

“When people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life” (2 Peter 2:20-21 – NLT)

“For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened — those who have experienced the good things of Heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the power of the age to come — and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing Him to the cross again and holding Him up to public shame.” (Hebrews 6:4-6 – NLT, my emphasis added in bold.)

When we receive this beautiful gift of salvation; we can choose to keep it or not. We can continue to accept God and live our lives with Him and for Him, or we can decide to reject Him. This is our choice. Salvation is a choice. Have you chosen salvation? Only God can give us salvation through our faith. It is a free gift through grace from God. I pray (if you haven’t already) that you will be saved today!

“Show us your mercy, Lord, and grant us your salvation.” – (Psalm 85:7 – NKJV, my emphasis added in bold.)

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim the good news of His salvation [my emphasis in bold] from day to day. (1 Chronicles 16:23 – NKJV)

Copyright © 2012 by Patricia Shehan

All scripture is quoted from various translations of the Bible (God’s Word) and is set in italics.

We just recently moved. Most would consider it to be a major move, although we are still living in the same state. It’s a journey to where the Lord was leading us.

In the Word of God, we learn that Lot and his family were living in the midst of Sodom. They were led by the Lord’s angels to make a major move, too, or they would have been destroyed with everyone living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

“When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” (Genesis 19:17 — NLT, my emphasis added in bold.)                                                

The Bible continues to inform us that “Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur [brimstone] from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot‘s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:23-26 — NLT, my emphasis added in bold.)

Many times in the past, I’ve looked back at my life, and wondered and questioned so much of it. I feel quite blessed that I am still alive!

Why do we dwell on the past? Does it do us any good in the present or for our future? Even if our past has taught us a lesson, we don’t need to look back anymore.

When I began to read the Bible, I realized that I really needed to stop thinking about all that had happened in my past. I needed to forgive others and move on. God was leading me in a new direction, a better direction, because now I was following Him.

God teaches us that the “renewing of your mind” is how we should live (see Romans 12:2).

To realize that the Lord does not want us to look back, is to see that He wants us to stay focused on Him and on the present. We are in the palm of God’s hand when we allow Him to be in control of our lives. We have free will, but our will can be His will when we choose to follow Him.

Don’t look back; you’re not going that way! Look in front of you! Look forward with hope.

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” (Jeremiah 29:11 — NIV) — [My emphasis in bold.]

Copyright © 2012 by Patricia Shehan

For me, I was originally baptized as an infant (just a tiny baby!) and I was certainly not aware of what was taking place. This is the tradition of the Catholic church. Their belief is that this “sacrament” cleanses the original sin of Adam, so that if you were to die, you’d be forgiven and ready for eternal life with God.

I believe baptism is very important. However, it wasn’t until much later in my life that I would come to understand why I should be the one to make this decision to be baptized, and why no one else could really make it for me!

“John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” (Mark 1:4 — KJV)

Initially, after accepting Jesus Christ into my heart and following Him, I didn’t think I needed to be baptized again! Yet, we are given choices. If we have been given a sound mind, we need to choose to follow God’s way.

“Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16 — NLT)

How is that possible if you’re a baby? Someone else decides for you. I found that this did not “line up” with the Word of God (the Bible).

“Peter replied, ‘Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ ” (Acts 2:38 — NLT)

You cannot repent of your own sins when you are merely a baby. You must be old enough to have a sound mind to make this decision for yourself. You cannot turn to God for salvation, which is also required unless you can understand and that can’t be so when you are baby either. You must be old enough to understand.

John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, Jesus Christ. “He went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned to God to receive forgiveness for their sins“ [bold my emphasis]. (Luke 3:3 NLT,

God showed me another bit of wisdom through the symbolism in my dream (see entry entitled: “I Surrender All”), which was the fact that water can drown out or destroy fire. The symbolism of water can be seen as washing away our past sin. The way to wash away sin is to repent (ask God for forgiveness, receive it, and change your ways), and to be baptized in water.

“And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God” [bold my emphasis]. “It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21— NIV)

This scripture indicates that we must have “a good conscience toward God” and that water symbolizes baptism, which also saves, as it cleanses from sin.

The Bible also tells us that: “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with [Him] through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” (Colossians 2:11-13 — NKJV)

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38-41 — KJV)

The Bible tells us: “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, [here is] water. What hinders me from being baptized?” When Philip preached the gospel to the eunuch, that man’s heart was ravished by the Word. Immediately, he begged to be baptized. Philip said to him, ‘…If thou believe with all thy heart, thou may…’ ” (Acts 8:36-37 — NKJV)

Wow! You see, when God places the call on your life, you will follow. You will be baptized!

The act of being baptized cleanses our lives of ALL prior sin. Baptism provides us with a way to show others our commitment of dedicating ourselves to following God and becoming Christlike, leaving our old sinful ways and habits behind.

God helps us to change. We cannot do it on our own. We do, however, have to make the choice to allow Him to change us. We have to be willing.

Some teach that baptism is not required. They say that the man on the cross next to Jesus was told he’d be in paradise with Jesus that very same day, and he was never baptized. Well, I say there was an exception, but that was before Jesus had been resurrected. Jesus’ own words after His resurrection were recorded in the Bible, and He tells us that we must be baptized. According to the Bible, baptism is required to be saved.

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16 — NJKV)

My daughter and I both were baptized (again) as Christians, no longer unaware of what we were doing, as it was when we were baptized as babies! This time we had a clear conscience to make our own decision to be baptized, as the eunuch in the story mentioned earlier. If you haven’t been baptized yet, or if you were baptized as an infant without making the decision yourself, please consider the great reward of this action to follow God.

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4 — NKJV)

*All words in bold are my own added emphasis.

Until I read the Bible, I had no idea that the words “born again” were in there. I was quite surprised!

Many years ago, as a young adult, I was invited by a friend of mine to go to an event at a Baptist church. We were both “practicing Catholics” at the time.

At the end of the event, everyone got into a circle to pray. I felt very strange! I had never prayed out loud before in a group setting. I thought to myself, there was no way I was going to say anything! I felt relieved when they announced the option to “pass” if you didn’t have anything to say.

Of course, when the prayer time came to me, I quietly muttered: “Pass.”

Afterward, one of the girls from this church came over to me and asked if I was “born again.”

I thought to myself, “Are you kidding me?” That sounded so crazy to me at the time. I replied by saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She questioned me further. I felt really dumb! I said I was Catholic. I didn’t know the slightest thing about defending my faith, but she certainly did!

I was so blinded by the truth, and I wanted to know more, but it would still be many, many years before I would understand.

In the Bible, Jesus’ words speak of being “born again” of “water” and of “spirit.”

I thought back to that time when that girl so long ago had questioned me about being born again.

The Bible describes Jesus Christ speaking to Nicodemus (a Jewish religious leader; a Pharisee who had come to Jesus at night to question Him). Nicodemus knew that God had sent Jesus to teach him and others, and he had noted the miraculous signs as evidence of this.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he would not see God’s Kingdom unless he was “born again,” but Nicodemus did not understand. How could a person be “born again” after already being birthed from their mother’s womb?

Jesus states the difference. A human can produce another human birth, but only the spirit can produce a spiritual birth. So, Jesus tells Nicodemus not to be surprised by this truth. (See John 3:6.)

Spiritual rebirth cannot be explained, Jesus tells Nicodemus, because it is spiritual. Jesus says in John 3:8: “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus still did not understand how this was possible, as Jesus Christ noted that he’s a respected Jewish religious leader!

I did not understand this for quite awhile myself. I merely heard the terms “born again” and thought it sounded really weird. Not anymore!

If you’re reading this and you think it’s crazy like I used to think, I am praying for you! Because if you’re not “born again” of the Spirit, it means you will die in your sins and you won’t be able to enter Heaven.

You have a choice. God loves you. Yet, God won’t force anyone to love Him back or accept Him in their heart. He gives us free will. I hope you will choose wisely so that you can be “born again” into the Kingdom of God. I want to see you in Heaven! God wants everyone to be there with Him someday!

Simply open your heart to God today. Believe that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son died on the cross for your sins. Speak it aloud. Tell God you believe in Him and what He has done for us by allowing us direct access to Him, through His Son, and His Holy Spirit that He freely gives to us upon our belief in Him. Accept Him into your heart. Speak it aloud. Believe that Jesus rose from the dead to give you new life for you to be born again. Speak it aloud. Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins, as only He can, and tell Him you will no longer commit those sins as you repent and He helps you to change. Speak it aloud. Accept His Holy Spirit into your life and you, too, can be born again.

You are a new creation in Christ. Now, you must be baptized, too. This symbolizes the washing away of your old life of sin in front of a group of witnesses, and that the new life you will now live is by committing yourself to obey God and live out your days as a Christian. You will desire baptism now, as the Holy Spirit makes His home in your own dwelling inside of  you where you were once separated from Him by sin. Being born again is from God, as only He can give to you.

Believe, accept, become a new “babe in Christ.” You will always be grateful for your choice both here and in the world to come for eternity! God was waiting for you all along to choose to love Him back. He loves what He has created. We are His creation. We were separated from Him due to sin. Now, we have been given this free will to choose to be born again into the Kingdom of God to receive Him (for God is love), and to regain our right relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Amen! (See: Romans 10:9-10 and Mark 16:16)

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself to believe, repent, be baptized, and be born again! Hallelujah!

God’s Word for Today: “Jesus answered, ‘Verily verily, I say to you, unless you are born again (of water and the Spirit) you cannot see (or enter into) the Kingdom of God.’ ” (John 3:3 & 5)

I looked up the words “I surrender” by using a commonly known search engine on the internet. There were over 2 million results! I started looking at each page of those results. I decided to stop at page 12, when I noticed that ALL of the entries to that point referred to God and Jesus, and to surrendering our lives to Him!

I would like to propose a question to you: Are you here to do your own will or God’s will? It’s truly a matter of surrender.

Jesus said: “For I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me,” according to John 6:38 (KJV). Jesus is referring to God. Jesus was in full surrender or submission to His father. We are to be living this way, too.

Jesus is our example of the Christian life. Are you surrendering to God in agreement with His will over your own? To submit to Him is surely humbling!

When I first began to follow Christ, I heard many new, modern Christian songs, and I heard some old hymns, too. As I really began to listen and really hear the words of the songs, they suddenly took on new meaning, and my life began to change.

To follow God, I would have do it “His way,” unlike the old popular song of doing it “my way.” I would finally submit to the Lord and surrender EVERYTHING to Him! Why and how?

Did I actually wish to surrender all of myself to God when I first asked Him into my heart? No, not really. I still had my owns ways of doing things, and my own plans for my life, although there was something different. I was saved. I was born again. But I was still living for myself more than I was for God!

I gradually realized that I could not do the same things that I had done before. I didn’t think the same way either. Reading my Bible was changing me! God was now in my heart. I began to get uncomfortable with my old lifestyle. Why?

Suddenly my ears were opened, and I started to hear things through my new, spiritual eyes, such as the words of the songs. The same thing began to occur with my eyes, my heart, and my mind! Yet, my surrender was still being sanctified. God was surely changing me, but slowly at first. He was helping to make sure that I wouldn’t fall back into my old patterns of living.

It was then I had a miraculous dream. I was dreaming that I was at my house. I was standing outside and there was a huge fire coming. It was getting closer and closer! I saw that I was about to lose everything in my home! I decided to quickly run into the house. I thought to myself, “What should I take?”

One of the strangest things about the dream was that there was all this computer equipment everywhere in the living room. That was not normal. Should I try to take them? I couldn’t possibly take them all in time! Should I go for the jewelry instead? How about my photographs? What’s the most valuable? I panicked!

Then, I suddenly thought of my dog. Oh my! I tried to find her, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found.

I had these haunting thoughts that I should take something with me, but what did I do then? I suddenly found myself thinking that none of it really mattered anymore. Then I did something unimaginable! I never, ever imagined that in that situation, I would or even could do what I ended up doing next. So what did I do next in my dream?

I walked out of my home totally empty handed! Totally! As I was walking away, I turned to look back, and saw that my house was now fully engulfed in flames. The strange thing about it was that it didn’t even bother me! It was so amazing!

When I awoke, God gave me understanding of all the symbolisms in my dream. There was even more meanings in it for me than surrender. For now though, we’ll stick to the subject of surrender and what it truly meant to submit to God.

After this amazing dream, I spoke (prayed) to God and told that Him I was truly and finally ready to surrender it ALL to Him: EVERYTHING! I was ready to give God my life! I was ready to give Him all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, all my strength, all my love, all my dreams, all of myself, all my possessions, all my talents, all the people (in or not in my life), all my work, all of my child, all of my thoughts, all of my feelings, and all of my will, oh, and even my dog, too!  I add this tidbit because in the dream when I couldn’t find her, and I had to leave the house without her, it made me realize that I really, truly had to give up EVERYTHING for God. If I left anything out, I mean EVERYTHING!

It was then that I first began to really trust God and I gave him my tithes, my will, my house, and my EVERYTHING. I really wanted Him to lead me down the paths of righteousness.

That is when the flow began to rush in, as I began writing for God! He had me writing pages and pages every day for 2 years! To this day, I am working on all of these writings to publish them into several different books for His glory and for His Kingdom. He has given me a passion to write for HIM!

I did not realize at the time that in surrendering to God, my submission would eventually be followed by much temptation! Yet, I knew that God would keep me and hold me from falling. He would help me resist the temptations. How?

In James 4:7, the Bible instructs us to “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It’s really that simple!

Submit and surrender can also be interpreted as yield, which means to be ready to stop. We can stop from falling into temptation by giving ourselves to God. We can give Him all authority over us and everything in our life.

In many places throughout the Bible, we are shown that to forsake all and follow Christ is to surrender to life eternal, and it’s all so wonderful and good.

I pray for you to be able to do this, too. I pray for you to give up EVERYTHING and give it all back to God. Totally surrender and submit yourself to Him, and then just watch the miracles take place in your life. I guarantee you, He will do His part if you’ll do yours! Your whole perspective on life will change. You will see, hear, and think differently after you fully surrender.

If you have never heard the hymn, “I Surrender All,” please check it out. Commit yourself freely to Him. Trust God. Trust that Jesus Christ has saved you for a purpose and that He loves you. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you today and every day from this day forward. We are to become God’s disciples, but until we fully surrender or submit ourselves and everything, we cannot do it His way.

It is not uncommon to have to continually surrender again and again throughout our lifetime, so don’t fret. Just keep submitting and surrendering ALL to Him!

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “Any one of you who does not forsake all (give up everything/everyone/surrender/submit) cannot be my disciple.” — (1 Corinthians 13:3)

Copyright © 2011 by Patricia Shehan

Have you ever had a relationship in your life? Of course you have! It may be a relationship with a friend or a spouse or someone special in your life. The point is that you know what it’s like to “be connected.”

A good relationship often begins with a good friendship. When you make a new friend, you get to know each other by talking and spending time together. You begin to find out what your friend likes and dislikes. You start to understand what makes them happy or angry.

When I was a young child, a girl of the same age moved in next door. We began a very special friendship. For privacy, I’ll call her by the name of “Jane.”

Jane and I became inseparable. We did everything together.

I found out that Jane liked to swim, bicycle, and jump rope, just like I did. We spent a lot of time playing together. We talked, and we shared a lot of our hopes and fears.

I also found out that Jane would get upset with me when I couldn’t spend much time with her, but later on she would forgive me. It wasn’t my choice at the time.

Spending time with the Lord is our choice, and it is a very important choice! God desires for us to spend time with Him just like our earthly friends want. God even forgives us when we fail, if we ask and repent (turn away from our sin).

Maybe you didn’t realize that you can have this relationship with God through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ? I didn’t know it before either! You can now!

Jesus is your best friend if you allow Him this place in your life. You can have a relationship with Him and this should be first and foremost in your life, which will honor and glorify Him, and help you, too.

Our relationship suffers when we don’t spend time with Him and pray. We cannot grow strong without God, who is more important than anyone or anything else. After all, He did create us!

The Scripture tells us: “You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” (Exodus 34:14 — NLT)

Jane and I had lots of things in common and we formed a special bond together.

In contrast, our spiritual relationship with the Lord, although similar to our approach with a friend, is way beyond this world and our fellow man! While getting to know the likes and dislikes of God, we will begin to understand what makes Him happy or angry. We need to repent from sin and learn to do what is holy. God will help us through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and by reading the Bible and praying to Him.

We can share our hopes and our fears with Jesus. Our relationship can bring the kind of contentment that only the Holy Spirit can provide through God’s peace and His fulfillment.

Our relationship with Jesus is a friendship with the one “who sticks closer than a brother.” (See Proverbs 18:24).

Pursuing a relationship with the Lord is so rewarding. Allow God to teach you His ways. You can become inseparable from Him and do everything together! He will provide His peace and His joy in doing so.

If you will “draw close to Him, He will draw close to you.” (See James 4:8)

This connection with God will cause you never to be alone. For God will “never leave you or forsake you.” (See Hebrews 13:5)

You will learn to obey and trust God, and He will guide your path. Allow God to work through you and change you to cause a purity of your heart, soul, mind, and spirit to commune with Him.

“Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their Savior.” (Proverbs 24:4-5 – NLT)

Our Heavenly Father, our God, is beyond any concept of an earthly father. God is so much more. Why wouldn’t you want to have this wonderful connection in this relationship with Him?

Only sin separates the will of the flesh of a person from the Spirit of God. We have the ability to allow God to change this in us through His power and our surrender. Submit to the Lord!

Once we become friends of God and have this rich relationship with Jesus, then we will desire whatever God wants us to accomplish (for example, what I’m doing here in this blog, by sharing it with you!):

“So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.” (Colossians 1:28 – NLT)

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:21 – NLT)

^{Copyright © 2011 by Patricia Shehan}

Okay, so I thought that I had to say the sinner’s prayer to be saved. Well, you know, I thought I was a Christian and that I was saved, simply because I merely believed in God. (Please see first blog entry).

So maybe I needed to say this prayer? The Sinner’s Prayer has many variations to it, but it basically goes something like this:

“God, forgive me of all my sins. I repent of my sins and ask you to come into my life. I forgive everyone who has ever sinned against me. I believe that Jesus is Lord and that He died for my sins, was raised from the dead, and was resurrected to Heaven where He is with God the Father.”

Some of the variations of the prayer have more words, and some have less. Either way, it never seemed to change my life. Why? It was still simply coming from my mind and not from my heart. I now believe that’s why I was “not really there yet,” so to speak.

When I realized that I was just saying that I loved God, but that I didn’t really love Him from my heart, I realized there was a big difference. Why should a Holy God save me when I was just reciting words that had no meaning and nothing was coming from a place of earnest love and worship?

I believed that Jesus was Lord. I believed that He was able to forgive me of my sins. I didn’t yet know that I had to forgive others for me to be forgiven, too. I knew that Jesus was raised from the dead and was resurrected into Heaven with God the Father.

I was still missing the most important part. The Bible tells us that:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

Yet, I had been saying this prayer for awhile and not really meaning it. This is why nothing was changing.

It was me. I needed changing! That’s why nothing was happening! I needed to change my heart, not just my mind! God wouldn’t force me to do anything. He gives us total and complete free will. He will not change us, as we need to be changed, until we really give ourselves to Him with not only our mind, but also with our heart, in truth.

So when I finally spoke this prayer from my heart, and as I spoke to God in total and complete love and yet reverent fear, I asked Him to forgive me of all my sins, and to cleanse me by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I forgave others, and I asked Him to come into my heart this time, as I began to truly give my life over to Him and truly love Him with all my heart. But had I really “let go and let God” take over?

It took awhile. I had not yet fully surrendered. A dream of symbolism and imagery later on would give me what I needed to understand fully surrendering.

Then God also had some more work to do in me. It was plowing time, as Joyce Meyer says. She has also helped me to understand what was happening to me and why.

In letting go, I realized I had to learn a lot about God. How?

I went to church and listened to the pastor. I checked the teachings against the Bible. I began learning a lot of lessons, which were contrary to what I was taught growing up. I listened to various ministers and read many different Christian materials. As I contemplated everything I had heard and read, I used the Bible and prayer as my compass to be guided toward all truths.

As I read my Bible, although it was very was slow at first, it was opening my heart more and more to God. As I would read, I would also pray for God to help me understand His Word. I had also made a vow to myself to read the Word each and every day. When I’d slip up for a day, I’d go right back to it, as though I had never stopped. Good habits require practice!

Eventually, I realized that God tells us to read His word day and night! We should be meditating on His word every day, every night and day! Wow!

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” (Joshua 1:8) – It really is the B.I.B.L.E.! (See prior blog entry.)

So, as I read the Bible, the Living Word actually began to change me. It began to change me from the inside out. There’s a Christian song about this, and it certainly did apply to me. I was starting to “lose myself,” and “my heart and my soul, I give you control, consume from the inside out.” Yes, I gave God control. I relinquished my free will and surrendered to Him – everything!

Did I need someone else to teach me about God? Sure, the preachers and the teachers — they all helped. However, God was becoming the most important leader, my best preacher, and my best teacher in the whole wide world. He tells us in His Word:

“… You have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true. It is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” (1 John 2:27 – NLT)

When I gave God my heart, He gave me His Holy Spirit. As I began to read God’s Book (the Bible), the Word came alive in me and my life. Things were beginning to make real sense. There were no more contradictions. There was no more confusion. Everything was different this time, and I realized that this time, God was giving me roots, and they were growing deep underground like a plant.

There was more and more clarity with every day that passed. I felt as though it was just me and God at times, and only for His good. As I was drawing closer to God in fellowship, I was living in obedience, and I was changing.

Giving up an old habit that was slowly killing me was one of the first hard things to surrender. The battle was cigarettes. I’d tried before, but I had always desired them back into my life. This time was going to be different. The only way it was going to happen, I realized, was by allowing God to take over, and He did. I had to suffer through it, but I learned:

“Even though Jesus [is] God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8 – NLT)

I could have never done this on my own. God completely took away the desire for me to smoke those nasty cigarettes, and He can do it for you, too, no matter what your addiction is in this life! If you let God take over, everything is possible.

“For I can do everything through Christ, who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

There was a small group of people from the church who were praying for me, similar to those described in the Bible:

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.” (Colossians 1:9)

God was doing just that – giving me more and more of a complete knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom, and understanding of His Word. This was coming directly from God. Not to say that I didn’t hear from preachers and teachers, too, but God’s love was coming directly through from His Word – The Bible!

“The Sinner’s Prayer” – it finally “took” hold, when it truly came from the heart!

Try it! Give your heart to God, if you haven’t already. Then read His Word and receive His love, and learn to fellowship with your Creator. When you allow Him, He will change you, too, and then everything will be different! It will be good! As you read His Word and meditate on Him and His laws day and night, I hope and pray for you, whoever you are reading this blog, just like the small group that was praying for me!

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His [God’s] law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2 – KJV)

^{Copyright © 2011 by Patricia Shehan}

Are you a Christian? How do you answer this question? I used to say: “Yes, I’m Catholic.” However, I am no longer a Catholic. I am a Christian. This is not said to offend you. This is simply the truth of my life. I have decided to start this blog to tell you my story. This is one avenue I can use to explain why I’m writing this blog entitled, “God’s Word for Today.”

I always believed in God. This is why I assumed I was a Christian. I believed I had the faith in God. I was “in” the “flock of the faith.”

I also believed God would help me when I was in trouble. Yet, I always felt a sense of guilt because I would truly only call on God when I was in trouble or when I just felt that I was at my wits end! Why was I only seeking God at those times? Because it’s basically what I was taught to do.

However, the Bible tells us that even the demons believe in God. The Bible states: “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” (James 2:19 — NLT)

So, if even the demons believe in God and they tremble in terror (or total fear), then the faith of my belief was not enough! Merely believing in God was not going to save me from eternal hell. No wonder why I never felt a confidence that I was going to Heaven. I wanted to believe that I was going there, but I had no real evidence that I would end up there. I thought I merely had to believe in God.

So, when I hit rock bottom (and for me it was when my marriage was ending because my ex-husband chose to leave, which broke up the family), I sought the help I always did as I prayed to God. (By the way, no blame in mentioning why I hit rock bottom; it’s only a short explanation of what occurred to bring me back to God). Yet, here I was again, only seeking God in desperation!

This was only the beginning of my journey to my answer to this question: “Are you a Christian?”

I hope you’ll keep reading my blog and post your comments. I pray this will help you in your journey, whether you are a Christian or not yet!

Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.

God’s Word for Today: “We love him, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 — KJV)

In Christ,
Patty Shehan

^{Copyright © 2011 by Patricia Shehan}