PASTOR JOHN COLLINS THOUGHT OF THE DAY: BEING CHRISTIAN OR BECOMING CHRISTIAN?

PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: How to become Christian

There is a difference between becoming A Christian and becoming Christian.  Pastor John Collins tells us the first step is to speak it with our mouth and believe it in your heart, which is what Paul the Gentile's apostle wrote in Romans.  That's becoming A Christian, but the journey only begins there.  How we become Christian doesn't happen overnight.

What does it mean when we choose to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, seek sincere forgiveness, and become Christian?  What do we need to do become good Christians?  Simply saying that we believe in God, that we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is not enough.  There is work to be done, preaches Pastor John Collins of Love That Cross Ministries.  Asking Jesus to come into your life is the first step.  From that point onward, our journey is lifelong.  Paul turned his life around in an instant, and yes, that is possible:  for Paul and most of us it is a struggle and a journey that we must work on every day.  What we were taught, what we believe, our habits, our thoughts will poison our heart and keep us from becoming righteous.  It is a process of choosing to do things differently. 

Where do we find how to do this?  The Holy Bible.  That book is the blueprint on how to live, how to act, how to become a Christian.  Everything we do can be measured by what is in the Holy Bible.  If you attend a church that does not encourage you to get into the Holy Bible, it’s likely time to change churches.  If the sermons you hear don’t help you let go of who you were and help you to become a better Christian, then it is likely time to find another source.  The whole pivot point of becoming a Christian is seeking Jesus Christ, every day, so that you can work on the salvation of your soul.  Your eternal life and where you spend that eternity depends upon it. 

“God wants to see us make the effort to choose His ways over our ways. That is why we are not given perfection and complete faith immediately upon belief. We must choose to work for what we want. That is how we show God and Jesus when we are tested that we want them above all. This is why it is so important to be open to finding our faults, open to repentance and open to growing as a Christian. Nothing of value in life will come without effort. We must choose what we are willing to make an effort for in our lives.” ~ Pastor John Collins, March 2018.

Pastor John Collins is a nationally and world known evangelist and the head pastor of Love That Cross Ministries and John Collins Ministries.  Pastor John Collins has been spreading revival of the Word of Jesus Christ for many years, beginning with a fresh approach to redeeming the Gospel in Wyoming.  Pastor John Collins speaks the truth when he preaches, and he has a way of reaching into our hearts and making us feel what we need to do to change ourselves.  Pastor John Collins makes the Gospel easy to understand with the humility of the late Reverend David Wilkerson. 

In daily devotionals, Pastor John Collins writes:

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” Philippians 3:12-15 (NKJV).

Following Jesus is work and not easy work because it calls for self-sacrifice and self- honesty and self-awareness. We must be willing to look within ourselves and see the truth. We must be willing to let go of what needs to be let go of and to make the continuous effort to seek righteousness in all that we do.

How do we do this? What needs to happen for us to be good Christians? When you first believe and ask for forgiveness, if you are sincere, you are forgiven. But that does not mean that you have obtained righteousness. There is work to be done. Your past beliefs, habits and mentality will continue to poison your heart. You need to learn to see things differently and to react to things differently and to choose to act differently. Just because you choose Jesus will not make lust disappear from your heart immediately if you are a very lustful person. You must recognize that lust is not right and make the effort to change the way you feel about looking at what is desirable to you. It will take practice and in time through effort your thoughts will grow to become less lustful and your heart will respond by not being filled with lust when you see that object of desire.

God wants to see us make the effort to choose His ways over our ways. That is why we are not given perfection and complete faith immediately upon belief. We must choose to work for what we want.

That is how we show God and Jesus when we are tested that we want them above all. This is why it is so important to be open to finding our faults, open to repentance and open to growing as a Christian.

Nothing of value in life will come without effort. We must choose what we are willing to make an effort for in our lives.

Let us be open to allowing God to show us what needs to be let go of inside of us. Let us be willing to find what we need to repent for and to find within ourselves the genuine ability to see things as God does so that change does come for us and it stays once we have obtained it.

It is not easy to look in the mirror and it is very easy to deny what we hear from others as just judgmental nonsense. Be willing to accept that there is a need for repentance inside of you and be willing to accept the need for change. Be willing to work for the salvation of your soul knowing that you have the best champion in your corner, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV).

Love That Cross, Pastor John Collins

Pastor John Collins can be heard live every Sunday morning on Heaven’s Country Radio with Marty Smith at www.heavenscountry.com, at 1000 a.m. Mountain time.  Other sermons, recordings, interviews, and blogs by Pastor John Collins can be viewed by clicking on the backlinks found within this blog.  Pastor John Collins can be reached personally through his email at jc65777@yahoo.com for prayer, hope, and encouragement.  Pastor John Collins says it best, he is in it to win it for God.