Dear Dom,Diane said, When we want to FEEL like we are saved, we are on dangerous ground. We must live by faith, not by sight or feelings. The object of our faith is God himself. Only what HE says about your salvation is valid. And I say "Amen" to that. Jesus is the mastercraftsman. Jesus is the one who does all the work. There is Christ's part of salvation and man's part of salvation. Christ's part is the work. Jesus is the one who fights the Devil and conquers sin. He is the one who does good works. Our part is to continually have faith and trust in Him and let Him do the work in us.Faith is not an easy task. It means letting go of ourselves, of our own strength, and of our own will. It means giving everything over to Jesus. It means we stop fighting sin with our own power. We stop trying not to sin, and instead, trust that Jesus will take our sins away from us. Rather, we take up our cross and sacrifice our life to Jesus, so that He may transform us and make us into a new creation. We abandon everything to Jesus, including our sins. Then Jesus can take all we are and do good. When the Devil comes knocking at our door, and sin threatens to enter in, we must call out to Jesus for salvation. Some people think that we do this once and it is always done. Well, this is true. We are saved once. However, we will be continally tested and tempted by the Devil. And each time, we must call upon Jesus Christ to come and conquer. However, some Christians meet Jesus, become born again, and then say, "Now Jesus, I will fight off sin for you." And then they fall and stumble forgetting that it is Jesus who saves. We need Jesus to help us, and for Him to take our sins away. And so, whenever the Devil comes knocking on the door, the worst thing we can do is say, "No, no, no." Our first reaction should be to call for Jesus. "Please Lord, tell the Devil to leave me alone. Please come and save me." We do this, until we finally believe that Jesus has answered our prayer. When we finally do believe, we will say, "Thank you Jesus for helping me." And if we should fall weak and do sin, we must always hold onto the promise of Jesus, that we are forgiven for our sins. Forgiveness is something accepted. It is a gift. We either accept it or reject it. Imagine if I had gone out and bought you a brand new car, and you looked at me and say, "I can't take that car. I don't deserve it." Would you then have the new car? No. And so, when Jesus comes and says, "You are forgiven," if you continue say, "I am not worthy" then you are rejecting God's forgiveness. Have faith in Jesus and the cross and say, "I have victory over all sin because Jesus has died for me on the cross. Get away from me Satan!! Jesus has died for my sins." Always hold fast to your faith in Jesus Christ. Do not feel bad about yourself, or feel down. Jesus loves you and has saved you. You are free. God has lifted you up. Do not listen to these thoughts of the Devil that keep you down. As far as "feelings" are concerned. You must realize that feelings are a result. They are something that happens after something else. First comes the fact or experience, then comes the feeling. What this means is that you must first have faith. Take a leap of faith. Believe in Jesus. And then, God will bless you with the feeling. However, you must first have faith. The question is, do you believe Jesus Christ has died for your sins? Do you believe Jesus has the power to conquer sin in you? Do you believe Jesus has saved you? If you can say "yes" to this, then you are saved. You must always remember, it is not about you. It is not about what you do or say. It is always about Jesus. People will ask, "How do you know you are saved?" And you say, "because Jesus died for my sins." Sometimes the Devil will come knocking on your mind's door, and He will say, "Look how horrible of a person you are. Look how you have sinned! You are terrible. You are not saved. You are going to Hell!" If you start to believe the Devil you will start to feel depressed and confused. You will start to have doubts. Instead, believe in Jesus. Tell the Devil, "Flee from me Satan!!Jesus has defeated you on the cross. You have no power over me. Jesus has saved me." And if the Devil continues to torment you, then call upon the name of Jesus. Call out to Jesus and pray, "My Lord, I know you love me. I know I have been forgiven because you have died for me. I know you are mine, and I am yours. Please help me, and tell the Devil to leave me alone." One of the things that always helps me, is to remember that God is always with you. (Matthew 28:20) Jesus will never leave you. Jesus goes with you everywhere. He is continually by your side. He lives inside of you. He is with you at work, at school, at home, when you eat, when you use the bathroom, even when you sin. Jesus will never leave you. However, like a heartbeat, some people forget Jesus is there. It is important to practice the presence of God. Acknowledge Jesus throughout your day. You can do this through short and quick prayers in your mind. Every so often say, "I love you Jesus. I know you are with me." Praying is always good. I pray around 7 times a day. This really helps me to stay in touch with God. I will tell Jesus whatever is on my heart. I confess everything to Him. All my thoughts, my sins, and my pleasures. As you do these things, as you acknowledge Jesus, and draw close to Him, He will also bless you with confidence. As your faith grows, you will also feel like your are saved. But you should not worry about it. Jesus is the gardener. This means, He must take care of you, so that your faith will grow. You just need to enjoy His love and care. I will also pray for you my brother, May Christ be yours, now and forever,In love,Blake
