My Spirual Beliefs

 Several years ago, I had a number of conversations with a dear friend concerning each of our personal beliefs and goals in life. My friend knew of my belief in a personal relationship with God but she did not share in that belief. She composed a statement sharing her personal beliefs. As a continuation of our engagement on the subject of personal beliefs, I composed a statement sharing my personal beliefs. Here is that statement of mine.

“I believe in God who created all humans with life that begins at conception and is eternal. I believe God created humanity with free will to make choices regarding what they believe. I have chosen to base my decisions on God’s truth which I believe is revealed in the Bible. I began to learn what the Bible taught through my parents who shared with me as a child from scripture until I was able to read, think and discern for myself. I have confidence that the message that God inspired over a period of 1,500 years through 40+ authors in the form of 66 books known as the Bible provides His truth to all who read it. I took my own step of trust in Jesus because I believed I was a sinner and that He provided the free gift of salvation as He is the way, the truth and the life. I believe that I am now forgiven and am one of God’s children who will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus after my earthly life ends. I believe that all who trust Jesus as their Savior during their earthly lifetime will spend life after death in heaven. Those who do not believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection will not spend life after death in heaven. I seek to follow the teaching of Jesus who told his followers ‘in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and Prophets.’ ”

I will add my personal story of the time I repented and invited Jesus to come into my life as my Savior and Lord. The year would have been 1951. I was six years old. My family was attending a Nazarene Church in Winona, MN. That church had annual revival services and my family attended as many of those as we could. At the end of each service, there was always what was called an “invitation.” This was a time when people were encouraged to come to the front of the church to kneel and pray a prayer of repentance asking God for forgiveness of sin and for the receiving of His free gift of salvation. At one of those services when I was six years old, I left the pew where I was sitting with my family and headed to the front of the church. I knelt down at the altar with my head bowed. I immediately felt someone kneel beside me. I looked to my right and saw that my mother had come to the altar with me. She asked me if I was ready to invite Jesus into my life and I “yes, I was.” She guided me as I prayed and asked Jesus to become my Savior. This moment continues to be vivid in my mind. There were times during childhood that I would wonder if I had really been old enough to repent. During those moments of doubt, I would decide to pray another prayer so that I could be certain I had done the prayer correctly. I would promise myself to remember the new date and time but I am fully convinced that the age 6 prayer was the truly authentic one because that is the only experience I remember specifically.

The Groves’ kids beside the Nazarene Church in Winona, MN. 

L-R Margelyn Amanda, Barbara Jean, Kathleen Virginia, Linda Louise, James Steven

I add here important Bible verses for anyone seeking to know the Bible’s words of truth about preparation for life in heaven with the Lord after life on earth comes to an end.

John 3:16 “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.” 

Romans 5:1 “We have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ.” 

John 10:10 “I have come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” 

Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have made a separation between
you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.” 

I Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 

I Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the
righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”

Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God.” 

Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your hear that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved.” 

Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.” 

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

I John 5:12-13 “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not
have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son God that you may know that you have eternal life.”

I live with gratitude for many blessings I have in my life.
Those blessings include family, friends, education, meaningful
work, health, security, travel and opportunity to share God’s love
with others. I want to be a winsome reflection of God’s
transformative power as long as I live. I am filled with joy and
peace as I think about the day which could come at any time
when I will take my last breath on earth and will be transported
into the presence of the Holy Trinity in heaven. And I am
confident my dad and mom are already there to welcome me.
May every descendant of mine know these things about me. May
each descendant join me in believing and embracing the teaching
of Jesus Christ as summarized in… 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him, will not perish but have eternal life.

StoryWorth  Page 475  A COLLECTION OF LIFE STORIES