I've copied and pasted a post from last February because I thought it appropriate. My birth into life was made manifest after this day in 2007 when I was 27. When John Wesley was converted to Christ in 1738 -- years after a works-righteous religion in the Anglican Church -- this priest celebrated his conversion at Aldersgate every subsequent year of his life -- thus I celebrate it every year, as an admirer of Wesley's understanding of God's will and Holy Spirit manifested in the world and the person. I think all Christians would do well celebrating their conversion -- God's greatest gift.
Influential people
If I was making a list of the three most influential people in my life, one of those people would be someone I have never met. He resides in a state I have only been to once, and is 30 years my elder. His dad died when he was young from one of the most devastating diseases certainly of the 21st century, ALS. He become a preacher in Oak Hills, Texas, and has since become one of the leading Christian voices in contemporary evangelism. He is the person whom led me to understand what everyone who is convinced that there is a Creator of the Universe needs to understand - that this Creator is intimately involved in His Creation, and always has been. And he led me to Scripture as the revelation of this Creator to His most-prized creation (on Earth at least) - human beings.
I was brought to Christ when these truths and others permeated through me; I was brought to Christ in a prayer similar to this. I thought it only appropriate to share it. I write and think about others places in God's family - and Jews, and Hindus and Buddhists. I have come to know almost as many uncoverted Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Agnostics and Atheists as I have Christians. We can speculate about the mercy and love of God for those that die uncoverted. But we can never forget that if we actually believe in a Holy Creator, which Christians and Jews do, then we can never forget about Holy justice.
This is how I was first convinced, and now am sealed with conviction, that the only way back to our Creator God is through Jesus Christ. Forget about all the religion in the world. Jesus Christ has nothing to do with ceremony and religion. Our Creator is absolutely clear in Scripture - the only way back to Him is through repentance towards Christ Jesus, a free gift from God.
This is the prayer I said (it would be of course completely useless to rehearse this prayer unless you felt similarly in your heart) that converted me to Christ after years of legalism and trying to work my way, at least in part, back to God. And i have no doubt if I outlive Mr. Lucado, He will be one of the first to greet me in Paradise.
http://www.maxlucado.com/pdf/salvation.plan.pdf
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