This is the first book I have ever written and if there is one thing I have learned it would be the amount of agonizing a person can do over where to place subject material at times. It is kind of like building a house of your own on 1,000 acres of land when you have never built before. First you begin by deciding where the perfect spot for the house would be on those 1,000 acres; then there are house plans to consider, permits, utilities, exterior and interior designs and colors...but everything begins and ends on a foundation. Once you have the foundation you have made a commitment and construction can begin and continue until completion.
Jesus/Christ is like that house dilemma because he IS the foundation on which everything in this world is built. When I considered writing this book I found myself wondering where I should place, or seriously talk about, the life of Jesus in regards to everything else that needed to be said; where to place it in regards to the big picture of history, the fulfillment of prophecy and proving the existence of God; also, where to place it in relation to the audience I am trying to reach; those who believe and think like I once did.
It should be mentioned first and most importantly, however, there is the danger of seriously talking about the God of creation before you have taken the time to prove that he actually does exist. Once again, it is that what came first, chicken/egg thing. Looking back on the time when I was seriously considering the existence of God for the first time, you would have had a hard time convincing me to read the Bible as God’s word if you had not proven to me that the God of the Bible was real in the first place. In the same way, I would have lost most of the atheistic and unbelieving audience if I had immediately begun talking about Jesus/Christ and done nothing to show why he really is the most important person in life.
Back to the analogy of house building; you begin working and as you work, you see progress take place. The walls are going up, the roof is added, siding, trim and paint finish the exterior and then comes all of the interior work that makes the house such a head-turning project. Finally you have a structure that will withstand any storm. It is then that you begin to understand the importance of the foundation when you consider the strength of the house.
Well, it is now time to go back and take a good look at the foundation of what we have built so far and understand how important it is to the entire "construction" project of building a case that proves the reality of the existence of God and what is happening within his government. Without a foundation there would be nothing of any strength or importance to build on. Earlier I mentioned that there was a plan in place in case our first parents decided to rebel against God and his authority and decide to go their own way. When they believed the lie of Lucifer they should have immediately died but because of their "youth" and their inexperience, they had such a limited understanding of God and his government, they were given the opportunity to continue living, if they chose to accept God's plan of salvation. That plan of salvation was in place before the creation of the world had begun. Christ had agreed to sacrifice his life for those who decided they wanted to live in God's world and according to the laws of his government. Christ was "...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." - Revelation 13:8.
It is the same way with Jesus/Christ as it is with the foundation of a house. Without him, everything you know of reality would be senseless. In fact, reality would simply not exist without him. Jesus/Christ is the foundation of everything. For the moment I cannot explain it any better. He, is what it is all about.
To be perfectly honest with you, there is no way that I can adequately tell you about him so that you understand him as I do. You really have to get to know him for yourself. He is there, right now, right with you, but you have to open the door and let him in. He will never force himself into your life and I can not make him any more real to you than I already have.
Sure, I can tell you what he has done in my life since I asked him to be a very real part of my life. I could write another book about the things he has done for me and for those I know. I could tell you about how much he has absolutely changed my life for the better since the day I accepted him as my personal friend and savior. If you are honest with yourself you will know what I mean when I use the word savior when describing what he means to me. As I said, I can only tell you what he means to me and what he has done in my life. To really experience Jesus/Christ you have to invite him into your own life and you have to spend some time getting to know him by reading about his life and how he lived it.
It's the easiest of things to be friends with him. All you have to do is tell him you would like to be a follower of his; that you would like to get to know more about him and his ways by spending time with him, by reading the words he has inspired his prophets to write and by spending time communicating with him in a mind to mind way…listening to and communicating with that still small voice within yourself.
As you read his word and learn to communicate with him, you find that he knows your innermost thoughts. As you learn to communicate with him through those thoughts you will find doors of knowledge, understanding and wisdom opening that you have never known existed before.
God wants you to make an informed decision; he also invites you to allow him the opportunity to change you and those rebellious ways of thinking that all of us are born with.
So many people consider born-again Christians to be nothing more than docile sheep, mindlessly following along behind any leader who will make them feel good and help them with their problems. True, there are some who are exactly that way but, to travel in that direction would be following others and their ways instead of following God and his ways.
When I first became a Christian I was glad to have a mentor or two who showed me what it was all about; people to talk to. People who could point me in the right directions when it came to some of the questions I had about how to live a Christian life. It did not take long before I realized that I needed to take the responsibility of finding my way through life without depending on another person; by depending on God and his word alone.
There are very few people in life who will not let you down in the end. Hopefully you have seen, while reading this book, that God does not let his people down. God loves and cares about everyone on this planet…even those who hate him. He understands everyone and he knows exactly why they think, feel and act the way they do because he became a human being and lived just as everyone else has. It is because of that understanding that he would love for you to allow him to teach you a better way of life.
If you give him the opportunity you will not find your life automatically becoming easier, but you will find much more freedom and peace of mind, when facing life's difficulties, as you allow the one who created you in the first place to live within you.
To train to be an Olympic athlete, especially if you are used to sitting on the couch watching TV, would require a great amount of work. You have to be willing to follow the coach's directions, the one who knows exactly what it takes to make it as an athlete. You have to do things his way or you will never even make it to the Olympics, let alone have the opportunity to win a medal. It takes determination to live a Christian life. Sometimes it takes a moment by moment decision to allow your Creator to continue to lead and work in your life. Like anything worthwhile and beneficial, you will, at times, find it a lot of work because of that freedom of choice that we all have. At times it could be extremely frustrating to do things God's way...especially if you have been used to living a selfish, self-centered life. Well, maybe I am the only one who has problems with patience and self-control.
God is very real and he wants to live within you, within your thoughts. No, he does not take control of your thoughts and turn you into a puppet. Your personal thoughts are sacred to him and he will do nothing to alter them in any way…unless you want him to that is. He will and can help you change your way of thinking, but only if you want him to. He will always and I mean always, give you freedom of choice to do whatever you wish...at any time.
If your desire is to spend more time with him in order to get to know him better and as you learn to trust him to live within you, within your thoughts, you will find yourself wanting to think like him and be more like him; he will teach you, just as he taught his son Jesus.
That, my friend, is about a clearly as I can explain the workings of a personal relationship without you experiencing the power of the God of creation in you own life, in a very real and personal way. It is kind of like explaining to someone what it is like to climb to the top of a mountain when the other person has never climbed before. You will never really know until you take the first step. Make a commitment to put the foundation down right here. You know what I am saying and I believe you know what to do. Invite the God who is responsible for your creation into your life. Invite the one who breathed the breath of life into your lungs on the day you were born into this life and allow that breath of his Spirit to set you free. He has offered you a free gift of eternal life when he allowed his son Jesus/Christ to take your place in death and he makes that free gift available to you without charge. All you have to do is accept that gift and the character of Christ that comes with it.
A prayer of commitment to God is as simple as saying, "Lord, I have lived my life without you. I realize now how important you are to me. Forgive me for my rebellion against you and your ways. Live within me, within my thoughts and work with me, because my desire is to become more like you. That is the desire of my heart."
It takes commitment for it to work…make that commitment and begin your journey through eternity. That journey will continue on in a land of perfection like it was originally meant to be...in the beginning. Make that commitment; you will never be sorry.