As you can see, we have started sharing, in another section, testimonies of what some people experience when they venture into the faith. If we started with a testimony that we call "conversion", it is not the only thing that we experience.
Personally, I can already tell you that I have seen and experienced miraculous healings, which should not have happened. I have seen people living deliverances from demonic possession - and no, it does not happen in exorcism sessions as you can see in the movies, but through prayer. I’ve also experienced situations that wouldn’t be normal for anyone, things that shouldn’t happen, and my articles are full of them. I have summarized the story of Jesus many times, I will never get tired of it. It is beautiful and it offers eternal life. Man is looking for a way not to die, but I found it. And it goes far beyond the body (Philippians 2:20 - 21), it is my soul that will live for eternity. So, sincerely? I have no worries. So let's go : Jesus Christ came to Earth when mankind lived in disgrace and shame that we cannot imagine; when God's chosen people, whom He had set apart to love them, lived in oppression by the occupying Roman Empire. It was just over 2000 years ago. He did not appear on Earth in fully adult form, He did not invent anything to be known. On the contrary, He was born, through a woman whom you probably know by the name of the “Virgin Mary” - before she married and had other children - and of the Holy Spirit , a part of God. He was raised by Marie and Joseph, a carpenter, and probably grew up with His brothers and sisters. It was at the age of 30 that He began to manifest himself to the general public as the Son of God, but that doesn't mean that He hadn't done anything special before. You would think of the fact that He taught Jews in a temple, but I'm pretty sure there were other facts that weren't mentioned. Between 30 and 33 years old, He did miracles, going from healing to the resurrection of the dead, without forgetting the multiplication of food, the delivering people of demonic spirits and more or less everything that I quoted when I started this article. But, if His life had been so simple, between you and me, I would NEVER have followed him. So you have to know that too: He was persecuted for the simple reason that what He said did not please everyone, He saw people doing abominations in the temple of God, he was mocked and despised, misunderstood. The fact that He spends time with Romans, Jews who accepted the works of the Romans in order to impoverish Israel, people that the Bible describes as having “bad lives”, fishermen - therefore people who are not necessarily rich - couldn’t have helped much. It is further assumed that He lost His father, since, unlike His brothers and His mother, he is no longer mentioned very early in the Gospels. But that’s not where it ends. He was betrayed by one of His closest friends, He was wrongly accused of having made threats against the Roman Empire and of having confronted the authorities. All because He presented His identity: The King of the Jews. The religious of His time therefore forced the Roman authorities to condemn him to death after a very important holiday for the people: the Passover, which symbolizes the actions that God had taken long before to deliver Israel from the Egyptian oppression. So He was crucified. A dreadful, unjust and humiliating death. Why? Because He agreed to die, to be a perfect sacrifice, for the glory of God and to allow us to come closer to God by offering to be saved by His grace. Why not be down? Because He loves us so much that He chose to die for us in order to give us eternal life in heaven, with Him. And to show us that He truly reigns and that nothing has more power than Him, after three days, when the body is supposed to start to mold and decay, He rose, spoke to several human beings and was raised to heaven before his disciples. This is the Jesus that I love, that I serve and that I adore. Just like many others. I aspire is to be like Him. The God in whom I believe calls you today. Paul in Romans 8:35 asks “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or hunger, or nudity, or danger, or the sword? ”. The state in which you are is not too catastrophic or too bad for the love of God to reach you. Jesus can help you, whether you have questions, concerns, or wrongdoings on your own, He can help you. And He wants to help you. Because He loves you. With all of my affection, Do
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This article is more for someone who knows the Bible, and I am so sorry if this is the first article you read, or one of the first times you get to hear - or read - about the Bible. Here are three possibilities, I will let you pick the one you like the most: you can go back to the first articles we published and get to know a little bit more about the Bible, or you can finish off this article and ask us questions or, finally, after reading this article, you can go back to older ones to understand the context a little bit more. Now this is said… Let’s begin!
Not so long ago, I finished the book of John for only God knows how many times; I really don't know to be honest. It's this time that I realized that Jesus wasn't the "handsome man type". Nobody could actually distinguish Him from other people - even Mary Magdalene, who was following Him and serving Him, couldn’t distinguish Him from the gardener when she went to His tomb on resurrection day. When you hear or pronounce the word “Christian” or when you describe yourself as one, it is about being a “little Christ” or a “little Jesus”. Good news if you’re not satisfied with your physical appearance, you don't need to look awesome, or to have any specific attribute to be like Him. The goal here is not to talk about the way you see yourself or anything like this, but if you would be interested in it, do not hesitate to let us know. I am sure that at least one person in the team will be glad to write about it! We all have a lot to learn, and to share. Back to my main point, being like Jesus does not mean looking amazing all the time, or having a seemingly life perfect. And I think these testimonies of Him being confused with the gardener, or him mingling with the people show that you don’t need to make waves, even when you are the Son of God. It might be able to calm our egos when we need to ;) Secondly, He was actually a happy and humorous person. The proof? As seven of His disciples - including Peter, Thomas and Nathanael - went fishing, He met them on the beach and made a barbecue, as they were still on the boat. They had found nothing during their time out at sea. He came, He who hadn't been out there with them, told them where to fish and as they were filling the net, He made all of that. The guys didn't deliver Him any fish yet. Basically, even though He made breakfast, He was expecting them to work. He could've said "no worries, I've got you" but He waited until they got there with Him on the beach to let them realize He had already done everything for them. I guess I'll have my kids making dinner sometimes, and then tell them it was already ready. You know, a "you got the work done, but I got something good (or better, you never really now haha) for you too" kind of thing. It’s not for today, but I like to think about the future. And I believe that it could be worth it. Partly because Jesus did it. After a long time of tiring work, they got to rest, to enjoy what He had made and got to spend time with Him. Finally, when Jesus talked with Peter on the beach, this guy began to care about the other disciples, and particularly John. And Jesus basically told him "You're not supposed to care about him, you've got your own life to live for me, and that's all that's supposed to matter to you". We tend - and by we, I mean, pastors, leaders, christians and everyone that goes with it, even us at So What Now - to say that God wants a personal relationship with you, but this is proof. In His relationship with Peter, in the friendship they had, the only thing that was important to Jesus was for Peter to follow Him and to serve Him. He repeats it three times! You have several explanations about this fact, but I also believe that this repetition allows us to understand the importance Jesus puts on Peter. When it deals with Peter. In the same way, the only one who matters to Jesus when it deals with your relationship with Him, it is you. Don't try to compare to others like Peter wanted to compare to John, but look at where you are going. Look at what Jesus wants from you. He called Peter to “Feed [His] lambs”, He sent Paul to Europe and to testify to Caesar and many kings and political representants. What did God call you to do? Where are the ones you are to minister to? Jesus cares about you and the next move He wants you to do. Do you? I too have things to correct, aspects in my life that are not where God wants me, I am working on them. I encourage you to do the same. Find your next goal. Is it submitting your life to Jesus? Go for it. Finding a new way to serve Him? Run. Do it all for God. But be you. With all of my affection and love, May The Lord bless you abundantly, Do |
AuthorSAt So What Now? we have a plethora of authors that all give us their exciting perspectives on Christ and life, including Do, Little Feet and Eli! Archives
November 2021
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