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Bread for a Soul Part 1
by Alfonso Abels What on earth is going on? What are you talking about? Can I be changed? I am so full of sins. I smoke dagga, abuse alcohol and do all the different evil stuff." These were the words and thoughts that I had for many years. I often came to the conclusion that this lifestyle has been specifically created and granted for me. People have at many times told me that I am a failure which I started to believe. Everything I did resulted in failures which I even blamed my mom for. My mom was a single mother who struggled to raise me. I could not understand why my dad was absent. Little did I know that there were demonic forces behind all this. I did not at that time possess the spirit of discernment. I directed my thoughts towards committing suicide. Every time I wanted to do it, I heard a voice telling me not to. Therefore I asked these many questions. I was not aware of this great path of righteousness. My life even went in the direction of drugs, mentioned earlier, and other worldly elements. I was not involved in any acts of gangsterism, but still lived a sinful life. But everything changed on Tuesday 3 August 1996. We, my wife and I, accepted Christ as our personal Saviour on that beautiful day. At that time we, my wife and me, were unemployed and in desperate need of financial assistance. I was still an active member of Mamre Rugby Club and involved in other activities. Our financial problems were soon sorted out as my wife received a cheque from her Provident Fund. We could buy food and other necessities. God really came through for us. We also found jobs and I left the sport as the Lord instructed me to do so. He wanted me in ministry. She is currently following her lifelong dream as a nurse at an old age home and developing her nursing career, while I am completing my degree studies in Christian Education at a well known South African university. The Lord has changed our failures into success. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23v1. Although both of us grew up in Christian homes, we did not really know the path of the Lord. This means that we were carrying on according to traditional beliefs. The decision to accept Christ did not come very lightly for both of us. We were (so we thought) still young at heart and not ready for such drastic steps. I turned 32 that year. We were still looking more excitement and pleasure. Little did we know that the Lord had greater things in store for our future. That incident really changed us, especially me. For the first time I started to feel fatherly love and acceptance as a human being worth living. As I am a person that loves interacting with other people, I thought that being a born again Christian; I would not be allowed to participate in any social activity. How wrong was I to be? However, I quickly realized that, being a Christian requires commitment towards the cause. Luckily, despite difficulties during the last few years, I remained dedicated because of His love for me. Yes, I was once a sinner, but am now cleansed by His blood that was shed on the cross of Calvary. I thus feel compelled to share God`s greatness in writing with you. We were baptized on Sunday 7 June 1998. It was a very cold day, but we never felt the cold as the presence of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming. The following day the Lord called me into the apostolic ministry. I will never forget the meeting I had with Him. It was quite an unforgettable incident,. I never knew that His Spirit and anointing was so powerful. Looking back, years later, we can announce that it was all worthwhile in accepting Christ into our lives. The song declares: "It wasn`t easy, but it was worth it." My negativity changed into something very, very positive. I found that I was indeed worth something to somebody and a place in life. God created me as an image of him. To him I was special. You might be wondering why I make my private life open to the public. Well, I am not seeking any publicity, but wish to testify what the Lord has done in my life. I cannot remain quiet, but declare that He is really the true God. He is Jehovah Jireh! Even when I went through a tremendous crisis ten years back, He was there for me. Some of my friends turned their back on me, but He showed His loyalty towards me. If it was not for Him, I would not have survived the ordeal. The same happened during my illnesses, He supported and healed me. Praise His holy name! My calling compels me to engage into evangelism and teachings hence the reason for the launching of the series of discussions, but first I need to quickly minister to your soul. I am glad to declare that the Bible testifies that man has and will always take a special place in the Kingdom of the Great God. God won`t allow His creation to suffer unnecessary and get lost. Anyone who wants to take up serious business with Him is ensured of this special place. This is his reward to you, the child of God, for your perseverance. In order to continue our conversation, we have to turn the attention to you. I request you to first need to sit down and just let your mind ease for a while. Start thinking about your ultimate destination. The very first question we need to ask you is, of course, "Where are you heading?".You do know where you are coming from, but what is your final destination? I would like to ask you more questions. How do you see yourself? Do you think you are good or bad? What do you think? Every person lives under his or her own illusions. You may not be as bad as you think, nor quite as good as you think. Who, then, do you think will lead a better life of faith? Will it be one who thinks of himself/herself as good? Or one who thinks of himself/herself as bad? Is it the latter? I also had to ask or answer these questions. God holds the answer to this. He knows all and everything. Allow me to ask you another question. Who is more likely to be redeemedthe one who has committed more sins or the one who has committed only a few sins? What do you think? The one who admits that he/she has committed countless sins is more likely to be redeemed. That person accepts that he/she is a grave sinner. Such a person can better accept the Word of redemption prepared for him/her by Jesus. This idea really got to my mind on that day in August 1996. I realized that my only chance to freedom is on the doorstep. The decision was is in my hands. I am glad that I made the right decision. An unknown author expresses it beautifully by saying the following:"My thoughts direct my actions, My actions become my habits, My habits define my character, And , my character is the birthplace of my destiny. These stunning words gives us indeed, as already stated, something to think about. What forms the centre of our thoughts leads to what actions we are going to take at some stage in our lives. If it is violence, assaults beg to become part our lives. This is unstoppable if we, the individual, do not do something to stop the unfortunate happening. We are not perfect people, but we still need to strive to perfection. Will you allow the HOLY SPIRIT to play a role in your life? The Holy Spirit reacts only when a person realizes that he or she is lost and need to get back to the Lord. Jesus is then at all costs exalted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit provides us with the assurance that Jesus did die for us and took our sins upon Him. Sometimes we doubt this, but let we be assured this happening occurred without any misleading conception. Are you currently struggling with alcoholism or any other form of abuse? Alcohol abuse is an age old problem and part of man`s sins.Apostle Paul warned the Christians not to stray. He also advised them not to indulge in acts such as alcohol abuse. (1 Cor.6:9,10). Unfortunately man suffers from the sins inherited from Adam.Sins are created by the acts of human nature. Adam and Eve`s sins were because of Satan`s deceitful desires.Sin can become an addictive,destructive force. Satan, the biggest influence on human nature, is the great enemy of God and all humanity. Satan is the ruler of the kingdom of the air and operates in those that are disobedient to the Lord. People flee to the usage of alcohol as a form of stress solution in order to rid themselves of the problems surrounding them. However, many has been rehabilitated and succeeded in life. The question is is there hope for others? The answer is a big YES. Alcoholics need to admit that they have problems. These people often think that they will find a controlled manner of drinking. The same applies to people engaged in other forms of abuse. There is, unfortunately, no spirit inside a human being that will provide any healing or solution to these problems. The godly medicinal solution is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The power and the truth lay in the crucifixion of Jesus upon the cross of Cavalry. He took all the sins of Man upon Him when He died on the cross. God made a covenant (Genesis 3:15). The covenant was that He would deliver all sinners. He said that humans would be redeemed of their sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by the water and the Spirit. God sent our Savior, Jesus, to live among us.He also promised to send John the Baptist ahead of Jesus and He kept His promise. The birth of Jesus lead to the cut off of the shackles of sin for all people. Those people who still have a hard time under sin are slaves of sin.His redemption made it possible that our sins could be absolutely cut off. He removed all our sins. Is there anyone who still suffers from sin? Our warfare against sin has ended. We shall never suffer in sin again. Our bondage to sin ended when Jesus redeemed us with His baptism and blood. The Son of God has expiated all our sins. What must be done to receive healing? People must have a desire to be redempted from their sinful nature. Every sinner must accept God into their lives. God can start working when people have acknowledge Him as the only and true Savior. One thus certainly need to confess God as your Savior.A desire to call to God for help must be present. Faith and believe in Jesus Christ is essential. Jesus ,as already mentioned, is the only one that can save you from going lost. One need to place all your trust in the Lord. Saved people have to end all sinful thinking and deeds.They need to encourage others to also repent and worship a true God. A healthy fellowship with other worshippers of God is also vital.This will help in having a godly manner of speech. Digging deeper into the Word of God by means of ,amongst others, Bible studies will strenghten the move to a godly manner of speech. Active alcoholics and young people need to be warned against the dangers of alcohol abuse.This can be done by means of testimonies.God is alive and are still healing the sick and solving problems. God is the Master of the Universe.The greatest addiction, the pulls of the human nature, can be overcome with the help of our Father. I overcame this problem. So did many others. Faith is caused in our hearts in order to believe that, what is written is really true. God allows us to still sin, because we still live in a sinful world. We cannot sin against the Holy Spirit. This sin is punishable by death. All the other sins need to be confessed. Do you now understand why we need to repent our sins? God is alive, still healing the sick and solving problems. God is the Master of the Universe. The greatest addiction, the pulls of the human nature, can be overcome with the help of our Father. Today we, the children of God, are looking forward to going home to a safe haven called Paradise. Why is this? We have got Jesus in our lives and in our purified hearts. Thanking Jesus for saving my soul. What about yours? Alfonso lives in Mamre, South Africa and is married to Jean. Both are born - again Christians. Alfonso is a full - time minister of the Word and author of Christian materials. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |