What Is A "Believer"?

When Jesus came to the earth He lived a life without doing wrong, gave His life on the cross, and then rose again--conquering death once and for all! In dying, Jesus intervened on our behalf--doing something and accomplishing something that we could not do or accomplish, and which we all need. H gave His life as the ultimate sacrifice so you and I can have access to and relationship with the God who loves us. The only requirement for people to be made acceptable was and is to receive Jesus into their lives, acknowledging, and giving Him the place, as Lord and Savior. This is what it means to be a “believer”—asking the God of all creation to be our God. He is always ready to invite us to draw near to Him, and He is so happy to respond when we invite Him to have the place of highest importance in our lives.

Jesus wasn’t interested in religion. He was interested in showing us how to live in a way that would bring us blessing, satisfaction, and fulfillment unlike anything else in the world could bring. Legal codes and other guidelines for living life are of only secondary importance to the Lord. His suggestions for how we should live our lives are always intended to serve us and bring us more blessing. He primarily wants to know us, and have us know Him; He wants to walk with us and talk to us; He wants to show us that He has incredible and very good plans for us; He wants to lead us into abundant and everlasting life; He longs to heal and restore our broken places, and He passionately desires intimacy with us—His most beloved and cherished creation.

What do your impressions and perceptions of God look like? How do you feel about the way you think God feels about you? Is it possible that you can begin to allow Him to reshape your misconceptions (we all have them) about Him? He wants to do that for all His children, but first we have to decide to let Him have access to those guarded places in our hearts and minds. His promise is to never leave or forsake you. Are you willing to join the many people who have taken the challenging step of taking God at His word? It helps to know that faith is more about choosing to believe than it is about having no doubts about your belief. Are you able to make that choice—to decide that He intends to do you good? The lives of millions of people have been radically and eternally changed as a result of this very decision. Yours can, too.