salvation

The Man Who Cut Himself

/ Morgan Grace Hart / Leave a comment

For the brief story we have of the man called “Legion” (we never learn his real name, just the name that the demons invading him were calling themselves), one of the things that sticks out to me is that the man was a cutter, and apparently very depressed as well. I see a lot of Bible quotes being posted on the internet lately, and I wanted to add my own: hope for the cutters and the weepers of the world, that there is a cleaner, saner, better person inside of them, waiting to be uncovered in the presence of Jesus Christ, to be seen by others as a sign of His grace.

God Bless, and Have a Good Weekend.

-Morgan Hart

 

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How to Put It All Together, part 1 (or, Take the Red Pill, Neo)

/ Morgan Grace Hart / Leave a comment

I have long wanted to write a piece for anyone who wished to make their peace with God, and achieve Heaven when they die. There has long been a misunderstanding that this requires you to be a good person. The facts of Jesus’ life, however, don’t support that. While He had many good, upstanding people among His group of friends, He had just as many derelicts. The list of people He befriended and expressly stated they would find Heaven when they died, included prostitutes, political traitors, and thieves. He really wasn’t phased by what life people had lived before they showed up. The openness to change mattered much more.

If you want to start a life with this wonderful Man, having all your sins forgiven and able to experience His joy, pray this prayer. The words don’t have to match exactly; it’s the heart behind it that matters.

“Jesus,
I want you to be my Lord and guide me, every day of my life. I want to know you better, and live out the life you have planned for me. Please keep me near you as I try to fulfill this vital role. Jesus, I believe that you voluntarily suffered and died for my sins, that you were sinless and carried all my sufferings to the cross with You. I believe that you rose from the dead, and that I, also, will have new life with you, both in this life and in the life to come.

Father,
Please forgive my sins now. Thank you for sending Jesus your son to die in my place. Help me to turn away from old ways and live for you and the people you serve.

Amen.

I have a lot more to say on this, but I want to break it up into several segments. For now, God bless you, and for anyone who just prayed this prayer for the first time, I congratulate you. This is a wonderful life to be living. I often think of it as being like the scene in the matrix, where Morpheus offers Neo a red pill and a blue pill. He tells Neo,This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill…and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes”. Reality is about to grow and change for you, and there’s no more loving environment to experience this awakening of consciousness than in the arms of Jesus Christ.
For more information about salvation and for an in-depth list of scripture verses relating to salvation, I recommend peacewithgod.net . This site also offers 24-hour online access to volunteers who can speak to you about the faith.

For a free searchable Bible, I recommend biblegateway.com

Good Friday

/ Morgan Grace Hart / Leave a comment

As with many families with small children, here we are this night of Good Friday, celebrating by just doing the things we would be doing any other day. Toys are strewn about, snack leftovers are on the table, and the TV is playing in the living room. As my kids fall off to sleep, I’m now the only one awake in this dark room, the sole spectator to the end of Return of the Jedi. As I watch Darth Vader and Luke’s dramatic lightsabre duel and Vader’s ultimate turn back to good, I find something in the film’s emotions calling my mind back to Christ. I remember a time many years ago, the same year that Star Wars: Episode III came out. I remember saying to myself, “Vader was looking for immortality through evil, power, and medical treatments…and he never found it…until he gave up his life to save Luke.” Something in the idea would not let me go, and before the year was out, I knew my heart was calling out to Christ. I was sensing something I would later hear and know more clearly from the scriptures: Jesus’ words “Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:33)

That idea is at the heart of salvation. It was so important to Jesus that He repeated it 5 separate times in the scriptures, with an additional paraphrase in the book of John. While I no longer remember much of Episode III (after all, it’s been over 10 years now!), I vividly remember having that thought. And I absolutely remember, in the months that followed, giving up my own life of sin, losing it, dieing, and finding Christ alive in its place.

A lot of people worry about losing the meaning of Easter in all the commercialism and informality that surrounds it now. And these are valid fears. But I never let it worry me. I have found, in my own time, that Christ is very skillful at rescuing and bringing home the hearts that are searching for Him.

God bless you all, and have a very happy Easter.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Luke 17:33, Matthew 10:29, Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, John 12:25; Luke 19:10.

For those without access to a Bible, many versions are available free online at Biblegateway.com.