In Memory …

This week has been bitter sweet … bitter because we had to say goodbye to my husband’s mother … sweet because we know that she is now safe in the arms of Jesus.

In thinking about ‘mom’ and about what would be the best way to honor her and the life she lived I found myself recalling such things as the way she kept her home and raised her children, but the thing that stands out in my mind most was her love for the Lord and her deep desire to teach others about Him.

In addition to being a Proverbs 31 woman in her home, wife and helpmeet to her husband (her husband was a minister which gives a whole new dimension to the word helpmeet) she taught ladies Bible classes, went on state side and foreign mission trips, taught children's classes at Bible camps, taught children's Bible classes in Sunday school settings at church as well as VBS, conducted one on one Bible studies, spoke at ladies days and wrote for Christian publications. Her very life was spent trying to introduce and teach others to our Lord as she went about living her life each day. Was she perfect? No! Did she always know the right thing to say at the right time? No! Did she make mistakes? Yes! Did she ever get angry and upset with people! Yes! Was God a priority in her life? Yes! Did she continue trying even when she felt discouraged and tempted to give up? Yes!

So mom, this entry is for you and for the life you lived … may it bring others to the Lord you loved and lived your life for …

How one became a Christian in New Testament times …

God’s great love for us began at creation. For some reason God wanted a family and so created mankind. Satan wanted to destroy what God had created and so devised a plan to alienate mankind from God and destroy him through death. The plan was well on its way to working until God made the ultimate sacrifice, His Son, to buy our redemption back. God wanted the family He had created back so badly that He sacrificed His only Son to give us the opportunity to choose Him … God will not force us to choose Him … it is up to us whether we choose to be Christians or not.

How people became Christians when the Lord’s church was first established …

Acts 2:37-47
Acts 8:2; 36-42
Acts 8:4-13
Acts 8:26-39
Acts 9:17-20
Acts 22:1-16
Acts 10:25-48
Acts 11:12-14
Acts 16:13-15
Acts 16:23-24
Acts 18:4-11

What things do each of these conversion accounts have in common?

There is not anything in the New Testament that tells us there is any other way to become a Christian than what is mentioned in the conversion accounts above.

Our heavenly Father gave us His plan for salvation and it hasn’t changed.


Steps of salvation

We must hear/learn the truth

We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God

We must be sorry/repentant for our sins and for what our sins did to Jesus

We must confess that Jesus is Lord

We must be baptized for the remission of our sins

We should strive to live faithfully to God’s Word and in such a way that others will want the kind of relationship we have with Him, not because it’s a requirement for salvation, but because of our love for and gratitude to our Father in Heaven.

Should you have questions or would like to do a one on one study via email on this subject, please email me at likewiseyeolderwomen @ yahoo.com (remember to take out the spaces)