WE ALL NEED GOD
You have probably heard the names “Jesus” and “Jesus Christ”. But who is Jesus,
and who is Jesus Christ? Both Jesus and Jesus Christ refer to "Jesus our Savior".
Jesus loves me and he loves you! Jesus lives in Heaven, with God. During his time on
earth, Jesus lived, loved, worked, preached, started God's church, and set the example
of a perfect and sinless human being.
Jesus was the greatest human being who EVER lived!
For almost 2000 years, people have worshipped Jesus as the "Son of God". One of the
main reasons for their belief in Jesus was because Jesus came back to life after his
proven death by crucifixion! Jesus is the only person in human history who came back
to life after being DEAD! The proof of this was by the sheer number of people who
actually saw him alive after his crucifixion, including many who were not his apostles!
The birth of Jesus was about 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, to his mother Mary and his
father- God! His family eventually moved to Nazareth in the area known as Galilee,
where Jesus spent most of his youth.
At about the age of 30, Jesus began his ministry in and around Galilee after his
baptism by John the Baptist. This is the period when Jesus began accumulating
followers, including the twelve men who became his disciples. Later he became
known to his disciples as the “Messiah”, (the Christ), Jesus, Jesus Christ, and
the “Son of God”.
The disciples left their work, and in some cases, their families, to follow Jesus and
begin the building of God's first church. Most important, it was through these men that
the words and actions of Jesus were spread around the world, words that are still
repeated and heard today!
Jesus spent much of every day preaching to people about the goodness of God,
eternal life, the evilness of Satan, and how humans should treat all other persons.
Perhaps the most revered of the many discourses of Jesus is the
"Sermon on the Mount", the moral teachings of Jesus, which is one of the best known
and most quoted elements of the New Testament. Also known as the "Beatitudes",
Jesus gave the sermon to his 12 apostles and hundreds of his followers on a low, rocky hillside near Capernaum (close to the Sea of Galilee), the home base of Jesus during
his ministry.
The nine Beatitudes describe how all people can be blessed by God, and can be
understood as the inner qualities that God wants to see in ALL of us who wish to be
saved and enter heaven. An example of one of the Beatitudes follows:
"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy". My interpretation of this
Beatitude is: The “merciful” are those people who show forgiveness to those who
cause them pain, sorrow, loss of any kind, etc. God will pardon our sins only if we
pardon those who have sinned against us. You can read all the "Beatitudes" and my interpretations of them here.
During his approx. 3-year ministry, Jesus also performed many healings and miracles.
His first miracle, the "Marriage at Cana", is where Jesus turned water into wine so the marriage celebration could continue even after the available wine had run out.
This was the first sign of Jesus showing his divine power to ordinary people and to his disciples. Most likely, some or all the disciples first began to believe in Jesus and his
divine abilities because of this miracle.
Many other miracles were performed by Jesus, including healing of diseases, blindness, other disabilities, exorcisms of evil spirits, and even the raising of the dead! The most famous miracle of Jesus was bringing back to life his friend Lazarus, four days after
Lazarus died and was buried!
The news of this miracle by Jesus quickly spread throughout Jerusalem. When Jesus
later entered Jerusalem on a white donkey for Passover, massive crowds gathered to welcome him, spreading their cloaks on the ground as well as palm leaves and branches.
The triumphant welcome of Jesus into their city by the people of Jerusalem caused the Jewish leadership to decide that Jesus MUST die! Why? So many people now believed
in Jesus and his teachings that he was a threat to what the leadership taught! To let him continue unimpeded would obviously cause their revenue sources to diminish or even completely disappear, leaving them with no status or power or money! Unthinkable!!
Thus began the last week in the life of Jesus on earth and the events which led to the
"last supper" and the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Also, it was the week that
Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, made his bargain to betray Jesus for the
payment of 30 silver coins. As a result, Jesus suffered arrest, persecution, torture, crucifixion and death on the cross.
But he was miraculously brought back to life from the dead on day 3!
Jesus sacrificed his holy self to crucifixion so that all human beings (past, present, and future) could receive Salvation! What is salvation? Salvation is the ability of men and
women to have all their sins forgiven and live in heaven with God and Jesus! They accomplish this by loving and being with: God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They must
also follow God's commandments and live a life of love, caring for all others, and
helping the needy.
If you want to live a "godly" life, here are some recommendations, based on Scripture,
that will help you to do so. If you desire to live in Heaven also, you MUST live a godly
life, obeying ALL God's commandments ALL the time and living by the teachings of
Jesus. What does it mean to live a "godly" life? It means to always be aware of God
being in your life, God, the One who created you and cares for you. If you want to live a "godly" life, listed below are some recommendations, based on Scripture, that will help
you to do so.
1. Thank God and Jesus every day for the good that is in your life. Almost everyone
has something good in their life, including just being a living human being with the possibility of entering heaven and being with God and Jesus!
2. Hate evil and love good. If you hate what God says is evil (per the Bible) and love
what is good, while always showing it in your daily lives, you are on your way to a
godly life.
3. Always be helpful, kind, patient, humble, compassionate, and gentle with all other
men and women. As Jesus said, “Treat others as you would have them treat you".
4. Wherever possible, treat the needs of others ahead of your own, as Jesus did.
Do they need assistance, money, comfort, etc.? By practicing this virtue every day,
you are exemplifying a godly life and setting an example. God will bless and love you
for showing your love for others.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will "reap a harvest"
if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9. Acting in selfless service to others can often
seem a daunting task, but God reminds us in Galatians 6:9 that our godly life will be rewarded. The Lord does not overlook what is done in love, no matter how small, and
He will bless us for it. Not a day should go by that you give up loving others.
“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” – James 4:8. At the close of each day,
we should find ourselves a little closer to Christ. God promises that when we draw near
to him that he will also draw near to us. This indicates that our relationship with God is
a two-way street. God has continually made himself available to us and loved us, even
unto death; we should also dedicate our lives to Him.
Jesus loves me and Jesus loves you!
Maybe you should believe in Jesus also!