Welcome to ourLordJesus.com. Most of what you'll find on this web site is geared toward the reader who already knows that there is a God who created all things, that the Bible is His message to us and has a general understanding of who Jesus is and why He came. Your presence at this particular page indicates that while you may have been exposed to this information you do not yet know it to be true. Perhaps you’re thinking that you’re not religious and that Christianity isn’t "for you". Considering you’re at the URL "ourLordJesus.com", I think it is fair to assume you are looking for something, so please be honest with yourself as you proceed. There is nothing stopping you from thoughtful consideration of what you find here and you have nothing to lose by doing so. Before going any further please take a look at where you are now in terms of belief. What is your current religion?

"Wait a minute", you may say. "Who said I was religious at all?" I am not being presumptuous here. All people are religious regardless of whether they realize it or not. We simply don’t have a choice about it, for God made us to be religious. I’ll explain more about that a little later. Before crying "foul" please consider what "religion" means. Of course different dictionaries will vary on this, but basically a religion is a belief system a person adheres to. A Merriam-Webster dictionary I have says "a system of faith and worship". Another Webster dictionary says "a belief, activity or cause pursued with fervor and devotion". When I say all people are religious I simply mean everyone puts faith in something or someone for their eternal security and also worship something or someone. Both your faith and worship may be directed at more than one thing. However, a person’s faith may be in one thing and worship may be directed at a completely unrelated target. Many religions throughout history have had multiple gods, all with distinct characters, powers and purposes, among which people have divided their faith and worship.

Now with religion defined we should also define the terms used in the definition. "Faith" means "belief in the truth, value or trustworthiness of something". You may have seen the bumper sticker that reads "If you are living like there is no God, you had better be right!" We all know that at the end of this physical life our body dies. What happens to us then? Is that the end of our spirit too? Do we simply cease to exist or do we go on from there? If so where? Do our current behaviors, the activities we partake in and choices we make affect us beyond physical death? Men ponder these and many similar questions, needing to establish an answer they can convince themselves is true, lest they be consumed with fear and anticipation regarding the inevitable occurrence. Everyone has a belief regarding what will happen to them after they die, (albeit usually quite vague and general). How they live their lives is largely based on these beliefs. Trusting your eternal security to something, even if it is just the foolish notion that there is no God and therefore no accountability or judgement, or that there is no life after death meaning there is no penalty to pay for sinful living, certainly qualifies as tremendous "faith".

When you were a kid did you read about "primitive" people and the gods they worshipped? I remember hearing about many references in the Bible where God would be angry with people for worshipping false gods. Many of them had several false gods! I always had this mental image of some ignorant, superstitious simpleton bowing before a carved image, praying to it. I was amazed at how foolish they could be and was proud that people today are far too smart for that. At least I knew I was! It turns out I was foolish to think that way, for the worshipping of false gods is alive and well, perhaps stronger than ever. "Worship" means a "deep, ardent, and often excessive attachment or love; to love, admire, or enjoy excessively; extravagant respect or devotion." Consider this for a minute. What do you think about most of the time? What do you spend your extra money on? If you won the lottery, where would the money go? What do you do whenever you can and as often as possible? Now take a look at one of the definitions of the word "god"; "something or someone considered to be extremely valuable or important." Knowing the definitions I have to admit I’ve spent most of my life worshipping several false gods.

At this point let me explain what I meant when I said God made us all to be religious. God’s desire in creating man was for him to fellowship with, love, serve and worship Him. He therefore designed us with an inherent need to put faith in and worship something/someone, but did not force us to have that be Him. Giving us free will was imperative if anyone is to truly love God. If He forced us to honor, follow and worship Him it would not be love. In order for mankind to truly be able to love they had to be able to hate as well. We have to be able to choose whether or not we will love and serve God. We have to have free will and thereby be free to choose. Of course God desires that all men come to Him and realize their sinful nature, repent of their sins, ask His forgiveness and accept His plan of salvation for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. If we do so He will forgive us and take care of us forever, in the relationship He intended us to have with Him. If we choose not to seek, accept, and follow Him, He will honor our decision and allow us to be forever separate from Him. Now understand that all goodness is of God and without Him there is nothing but evil. Choosing not to follow and obey God is choosing to be eternally surrounded by nothing but evil in Hell and eventually in the Lake of Fire. Any who choose this cannot blame God for their situation, as all He has done is honor their own decision.

While God will not force us to follow Him, He has gone to great lengths to give us every opportunity to make the right decision. He has given us consciences to alert us that our thoughts or actions are against His will and therefore against the purpose we were designed for. We also have the knowledge of good and evil as a result of Adam and Eve’s eating of the forbidden tree. In spite of these provisions to help direct us to God, which is in our own best interest, men are stubborn and all refuse God at first. Many do come to God eventually, but most spend their lives running away from Him. Seemingly unaware that rebellious or not, every living thing relies on God for each gasp of air, people foolishly and arrogantly pursue some imagined independence. Turning away from God they now must find ways to silence the systems He provided to help direct them to the truth. They deceive themselves by compromising their knowledge of good and evil and sear their conscience that they might ignore it. They find many ways to rationalize to themselves their rejection of God. They may deny He exists at all, deny His requirement of accountability for their behavior or simply deny the depravity of their nature, their guilt of sin against God and the consequences it will bring. Regardless of what people convince themselves of, from "there is no God" to "God is in everything and everything is a part of God", the purpose is the same. They want to delude themselves into accepting anything that would seem to free them from accountability to their Creator and give them some false substitute to put their faith in. This only leaves the need to worship a god and there are innumerable ones to choose from. If you can get a person to spend an hour telling you what they consider important and what they would have you know about them, at the end of that time you will almost certainly know of their god.

Those who haven’t totally dismissed the idea of a god who is a judge, usually fancy themselves as basically good people who do more good than bad. As people who usually try to do what they feel is right, they tend to believe they have no cause for concern. Based on the merit of their self-perceived goodness they consider themselves worthy of far better than eternal damnation. Certainly Hell and the Lake of Fire, (if they are even real), are reserved for people much more evil than they. They don’t realize that either you love and follow God completely, trusting wholly in His plan for your salvation, thereby demonstrating your desire of an eternity in His presence, or you don’t. Half hearted belief, as evidenced by a person’s picking and choosing what desires of God they will strive to honor, and what words of His they will believe, is as surely a decision not to be eternally in God’s presence as an utter and outright rejection of Him.

We have rebelled against the God who created us and He has provided a means to pay the penalty for us and to bring us into a right relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We could not pay the price required for our sin, (sacrifice of a sinless life), because we do not have a sinless life to offer. We must realize, contrary to popular psychological and worldly teachings today, that we have no worth or merit on our own without Christ and are entitled to nothing but damnation. Only through God's grace, by faith can we be saved. Our Lord Jesus did live a sinless life and offered it for us. He suffered and died for our sins and rose again, defeating death forever. Only those who will admit their sinful condition and need of salvation, and that they therefore owe a debt they cannot pay, and who accept God's provision for their salvation can take advantage of it. This is because sincerity and faith are required and you cannot with sincerity and faith accept payment on your behalf for a debt you do not realize or admit you owe. Your sincerity is revealed through your repentance which means you genuinely work to discontinue your sinful ways and try to live as God wants you to. Once saved you are no longer a slave to sin and can live in newness of life. You do so with the determination that comes with realizing what God has done for you and the gratitude you feel to Him for saving you. Your desire will be to do God's will so your life will change and you will always want to learn more about His word. It is only after giving up on yourself and placing all your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that you will know the peace and security you desire.

You need to seek God, studying His word and praying for guidance and understanding. Study your Bible, (if you don't have one you need to get one, KJV if at all possible). If you can't get one let us know. Studying this site may help you understand, but what is most important is for you to read the Bible with an open mind and heart, and pray. If you have questions we can help with please e-mail us. If God is speaking to your heart, if your conscience is guiding you to proceed, don't put this off or allow yourself distraction. Satan would like nothing more, for he hates God and wants you to suffer with him for all eternity. All he has to do is distract you and keep you from pursuing truth, forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. Don't under estimate Satan's efforts on your behalf as misery loves company and he has earned an eternity of misery for himself which he would like to share with you. This is for real and forever. You can't decide you don't want to participate for just as you did not create the world or anything therein you cannot create reality. God is real. Hold up your hand in front of your face or take a look in the mirror. Are the people you have been listening to the ones who made what you see? Why would you listen to them? Learn about God and listen to Him. These are the facts so decide if you want to submit yourself wholly to the Lord who made you, loves you, knows what is best for you, has sacrificed Himself for you and is in all things trustworthy and good, or if you want to stubbornly refuse Him in favor of your own pride and selfish desires, following Satan's lies that say you do not need God.

Getting Your Bearings