Why I choose Christ

Dear Jaimee, Kate and Luke,
Dear parents, siblings, cousins, and other family members,
Dear old friends and new ones,

I wouldn't be a very good friend or mother if I didn't tell you about Jesus Christ. I care way too much about you...I want to spend eternity with you by my side. Perhaps no-one has ever explained to you who Jesus is. Perhaps you have been way to scared to ask me, or anybody, what being "a Christian" means. I pray that now, by reading this in the comfort of your own home and without any pressure, you will have some questions answered.

God created us, and he made us perfect and pure....and with the intention that we would live in harmony with him and the world he gave us. But we (being only human) wanted to do things OUR way. Eve wanted to eat the ONE thing God asked her not to. Wouldn't you? So sin entered the world, and ever since that moment, we have been continuing to fight God with our own strong-willed sinful nature. Thanks so much Eve (sarcasm abounds!). We became separated from the God who created us. He was perfect, we are not. So we couldn't live with him anymore.

But God had a plan to save us, to redeem us from our sins and to give us a way to live in perfection with him again. That plan was to send his only son, Jesus Christ, to live as a human and to die as one - for us. Yep, me and you. Jesus was perfect, we are not. But he took on OUR sins from us, and when he died - so did they. He came to save YOU from yourself...he came to give you a way back to God. He wants you to accept this gift.

Think of every bad choice, every decision you made, every thought you had that was not pure. Every lie, every lust, every human desire, every jealous moment, every back-stabbing or nasty comment you made....it could all be put on Jesus...if you let him. He suffered one of the worst torturous deaths imaginable...and when he was nailed to the cross and put to death....so were all my sins (and all those who choose him). The Bible says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (that's John 3:16)

Why? Because God wants us to live with him once more, like he originally intended. I could not sacrifice one of my children for someone else. No way!  But God loves us that much, that he would give up his ONLY SON, would let him go through torture and pain...for you. For me. We can live forever with God if we just choose to believe in him. The Bible also says that. In Romans 10:9 says that "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved".

I made that decision as a child, with a childlike faith. But as a teenager, I started to drift. I wanted to do things MY way...so I tried to have the best of both worlds. I craved the attention and approval of all those around me, and would do anything to get it. If that meant pushing aside the way that God wanted me to live for a while, I would do it. At church, I felt secure with people who loved me and that I had grown up with - a second family. I got involved in children's church, I went to youth group and I loved it. People sung my praises and I lapped it up. But at school and with my friends, I was a different person. I became the 'token Christian' - the 'innocent' who was so fun to shock and test limits on. I wasn't really living for God at all, I was living completely for myself, the way I wanted it - I was not being a Christian, a follower of Christ, and I really didn't grasp this fact until I had left New Zealand for a year and all those around me were far away.

How did I finally grasp this?  Well, you aren't a Christian just because your parents are, or because you go to church every week...you have to make that decision for yourself, to live his way - not mine. By living overseas, I was thrown out into the 'real world', and had to make the decision to follow Christ, or not. Noone else was going to take me to church - I had to find one myself. And slowly and surely, I began to make new choices, I began to follow Christ with my WHOLE being, not in a lukewarm hypocritical way. 

 I became a Christian.

You see, believing alone didn't make me a Christian. Even Satan believes in God!! But by accepting the gift of Jesus, I want to give something back to him.  To 'die' to my own selfish way of living, and to choose God's way...to trust that HE knows best for me.  So I read God's word, his own teachings on how to live and try my best to follow his leading. It is not easy, and I thank God (literally) that because I believe in Jesus, I am clean and pure in his sight. I sadly sin every day...and every day I try and remember to talk to God and ask him to help me do better tomorrow!

But at least now I don't look to others for approval. I don't need it - I have God's approval. He loves me, he made me, and he wants to spend time with me. He never leaves me, and is always right beside me. He has helped me through the roughest times in my life. When I was told I couldn't have children, God gave me the strength and peace to trust in him and have faith. I KNOW that my babies were a miracle. We were prayed for by the leadership of our church....6 weeks later, I discovered I was 6 weeks pregnant.

I don't have to explain myself to him, he understands, he knows my every thought before I even think it...he created me.  When I struggle with my desire to be loved and accepted by people, he gets that. He gives me what I need to get through that. People ask me where my energy and happy nature come from...and I always tell them the truth: that's God, not me. When I was put on medication for anxiety and moved house because of horrible neighbours, he was there. He gives me JOY, even when I am scared or afraid.

Nothing can compare to the peace that comes from knowing you are loved and accepted by God, and that nothing I DO, no matter how good or bad a person I am, can take my salvation away from me...it is purely because I believe and I trust in God. So I continue to strive to live the way that God wants me to, not because I MUST, but because I WANT to live the way he asks us to. I want to read the Bible to understand God better, I want to talk to him because he is there for me, and I want to serve him because he did so much for me. He gives me the promise of eternal life...these things are the least I can do for him!

So there you have it, that's why I choose Christ. And I DO PRAY for YOU...my children, my family, my friends. I so hope you will know the blessings that can be yours if you choose him too. If you want to know more, I would love to share more. In the meantime, I pray and I wait for you to come to me. And I am not going to stop doing this....you mean way to much to me.