I was at a restaurant in Arkansas and they had a stack of these to give out for free on their counter. Little bookmarks.
On one side it says:
How To Make Peace With God To Have the Peace Of God
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1
"For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Luke 9:56
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10: 9-10
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13
On the other side of the card it reads:
If after reading these scriptures from God's word (the Bible) you are ready to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, here is...
What You Must Do:
1. Admit your need (I am a sinner).
2. Be willing to turn from sin (repent).
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you (on the Cross).
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ tom come in and control your life (Receive Him as Savior and Lord).
What To Pray:
"Dear Father, I know that I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe Christ died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Jesus Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal savior. I am willing, by God's grace to follow and obey Christ as the Lord of my life."
This is just the beginning of a wonderful new life with Christ. Now:
1. Read you Bible every day to get to know Christ better.
2. Talk to God in prayer every day.
3. Tell others about Christ.
4. Be baptized, worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians in a church where Christ is preached.
End Card.
It's interesting how they placed baptism as a footnote after thought at the bottom of the second side of the card. But in the Bible Jesus stressed the point of it pretty clearly.
I think they shouldn't have used the card like a quick 12 step program to overcoming addiction to sin. Sinners Anonymous.
First, they should state the fact that no one on the planet is without sin. Everyone has this problem. Secondly, they should have stated why sin is bad -why it is a problem. Thirdly they should have explained why God and specifically Jesus is the solution to the problem. Fourthly they should have stated how to go about the process of figuring out the path to God and how to get rid of sin through Jesus.
The extra notes at the bottom should not have been given. You could say the person should read the Bible, pray, and be baptized -but if this really is a person unfamiliar with Christianity, their first and only priority at this point should be to find a trusted friend who can walk them through the process. No one can baptize themselves and reading the Bible on your own can be an issue because people will either misinterpret it, get confused about it, or slack off when it comes to actually reading it.
# 3 "Tell others about Christ". Red flag! No nonononono no no ...
We learned this one from Usana. Never have a person who is unfamiliar with the product or the company start rattling off about it to others. Only people who are educated on the topic should speak about it -and not speak about it to random strangers who will only be put off by it, but to trusted friends and family who are willing to listen.
There should also be another number disclaimer here that says something to the effect of:
#5 This religion is intended to improve the lives of those who practice it by leading them to a higher path to God -away from vices and darkness. This religion is NOT intended to be used to inflate people's Egos or justify discrimination against any people. If you seek to us this religion to mask and hide your own wrong doings by making others think you are infallible by misquoting the Bible -find another religion.
"It's interesting how they placed baptism as a footnote after thought at the bottom of the second side of the card. But in the Bible Jesus stressed the point of it pretty clearly."
ReplyDelete---- *love*, Mark 16:16 is an easy example
"No one can baptize themselves and reading the Bible on your own can be an issue because people will either misinterpret it, get confused about it, or slack off when it comes to actually reading it."
--- when your emotions aren't contradictory to your logic, you speak with a spiritual clarity and sense that, I admit, I have a hard time getting over. I love it. The strongest quality of your natural mind is the quality I honor the most in human beings...and you have it with fireworks. You have a natural born talent in this area, because I haven't taught you plenty of the conclusions that you figure out all on your own...
"We learned this one from Usana. Never have a person who is unfamiliar with the product or the company start rattling off about it to others. Only people who are educated on the topic should speak about it -and not speak about it to random strangers who will only be put off by it, but to trusted friends and family who are willing to listen"
--- very agreed.
"#5 This religion is intended to improve the lives of those who practice it by leading them to a higher path to God -away from vices and darkness. This religion is NOT intended to be used to inflate people's Egos or justify discrimination against any people. If you seek to us this religion to mask and hide your own wrong doings by making others think you are infallible by misquoting the Bible -find another religion."
--- Jessica...never leave my side...unless you absolutely must. We got things to do. =)
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