Avalon Chronicles #48: "Jesus as Savior"

Avalon Chronicles #48: "Jesus as Savior"

by Allen B. Clark           allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com   www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

 King James Version Life Application Study Bible by Tyndale House 1988, 1989

     This is the most important Avalon Chronicle I have written or will ever write. Several years ago a friend of my father, who died in 1984, took me to the east Fort Worth neighborhood where my father had lived. He told me he was at the service when my father went down the aisle to commit his life to Christ. I have read recountings of the exact day or circumstances when others accepted Jesus as personal Savior. For me it was not at any specific time that I can recall, however I have known Jesus as Savior and Lord for a very long time.
     In our lives we spend an inordinate amount of time and energy "preparing" for some event or accomplishment for ourselves; exams, applications for college, interviews for jobs, advancement in careers, and, yes, especially for us guys, finding and courting the girl of our dreams for marriage.
However to my ceaseless, but understandable, amazement, I am not aware of many who demonstrably prepare themselves for the "afterlife," eternity, with very much aforethought or dedication.
     Of all our preparations and achievements in life, ensuring we have eternal life and that we endure past the grave, is the most profound, compelling, rewarding, and yet simplest endeavor we can undertake. We may know Jesus as a child, through historical references, answered prayers, and in our soul (head knowledge, feelings, and supposed choice), but to truly "know" Him beyond outward manifestations and outward trappings such as church attendance, prayers when we need things, and "reading" our Bibles, requires something distinct and specific.
     1. The Word in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." This is a definite and prevalent condition for us all!
     2. We can wipe clean the slate of our past sins. In I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Recollection and addressing of sins will typically require a process of some quiet time on one's own in privacy to perform a personal audit. The time to accomplish an audit is variable depending on where one is or has been . Confess all sins of thought, word, and deed, known and unknown. God's forgiveness is real and lasting and may be accepted unconditionally.
     3. The Word says most simply and succintly in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The footnote states, "The entire Gospel comes to a focus in this verse....God paid dearly with the life of his Son, the highest price he could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life he bought for us." Jesus was crucified horribly on a cross to save us all.
    4. We are children in an earthly family and most of us appreciate that family and are loyal to it. Should we not be more diligent and loyal to become a member of a yet higher family, that of the family of God? In John 1:12 it is written, "But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." I have derived a special power and membership by the decision to accept Jesus as personal Savior. It is a power as a minimum to help me each day to get through all the challenges and stumbling blocks in my path.
     5. HERE IT IS! CONFESS YOUR FAITH!
         I do not know what my father said at the altar, but I know I have followed and spoken this written in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
     It is the easiest decision to make, easier than college preps, job interviews, and popping the question for marriage.The plan is outlined in the five steps above.
     If not you, who? If not now, when?
 THE CHOICE IS YOURS. TIME IS SHORT!