About Me, about Him.
Download the printable version of this booklet (legal, free) at http://www.crustore.org/downloads/4laws.pdf
Self-Directed Life:
S-Self is on the throne. Christ is outside the life. Interests are directed by self, often resulting in discord and frustration Christ-Directed Life
Christ is in the life and on the throne. Self is yielding to Christ, resulting in harmony with God's plan. Interests are directed by Christ, resulting in harmony with God's plan
You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer
(Prayer is talking with God) God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer: Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, I invite you to pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised. How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life Did you receive Christ into your life by sincerely praying the suggested prayer? According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would come into your life. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)The Bible Promises Eternal Life "The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may knowthat you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13). Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you. An important reminder... Do Not Depend on Feelings The promise of God's Word, the Bible - not our feelings - is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. This train diagram illustrates the relationship among fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience) (John 14:21). 
The train will run with or without a caboose. However, it would be useless to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, as Christians we do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word.
Now That You Have Received Christ The moment that you received Christ by faith, as an act of the will, many things happened, including the following:
Suggestions for Christian Growth Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:
God's Word instructs us not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25). Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians. If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly. Additional Information If you have prayed the prayer and have placed your faith in Christ and would like more information that will help you grow as a Christian. Please click here. |
Spring time on a major college campus is pretty special. With new life blooming all around and the end of a long school year approaching, there’s euphoria in the air. It’s palpable. At least for most of the students. Not so much for me during the spring of 1975 on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. Academic pressures, fraternity pledgeship and my relationship with my girlfriend found me exhausted and gasping for air by early April. Something wasn’t right in my spirit, but I had no idea what it was…until I met Tom.
Tom showed up at my frat house during dinner one evening with an Olympic champion wrestler in tow. I can’t remember what he said that caused me to join them in the living room after dinner. But, I’ll never forget what he said once he got my attention. He told of a time during his college days when some of his friends started behaving rather strangely. Claiming to have found God, they stopped doing many of the things that college kids are wont to do and started acting all religious. When they started pressuring Tom to join in, he had to get away. When school was out in the spring, Tom jumped on his motorcycle, kissed his mother good-bye and set out for Colorado, hoping to clear his head. Something wasn’t right in his spirit and he had a growing sense that his friends may have found what it was. He hadn’t gone looking for God, but rather God seemed to be looking for him. So, on a mountaintop in the Colorado Rockies, Tom looked up at the starlit sky and said words to this effect, “God, if you’re real and if you want me to know you the way my friends do, then I’m all ears. If not, then please go away and leave me alone." With that, Tom’s life changed so radically that upon graduation a few years later he joined a campus ministry organization called Campus Crusade for Christ. Fortunately for me and many other students at the time, his first assignment was on the campus of Indiana University. After sharing his Rocky Mountain High story, Tom asked if anyone would like to meet one-on-one the following week. I was quick to accept his invitation. Maybe he would have some insight into my disquieted spirit? Maybe he could help me understand why I felt so empty while living a life that seemed so full? Tom was blessed with Bill Clinton charisma and wisdom well beyond his years. He’s was one of those rare people who could make you feel like you’re the only one in a crowded room. The moment he entered my room number eighteen at the Phi Kappa Psi house on North Jordan Avenue, I felt at ease and drawn to his dynamic personality. He quickly sized me up, and then eased into a conversation about spiritual things using a small booklet called The Four Spiritual Laws as a guide. As he explained things in a way I’d never heard them before, I started to realize that I knew about God, but I didn’t really know Him.
The booklet starts out by saying, “Just as there are physical laws that govern the physical universe, so there are spiritual laws that govern our relationship with God.” After Tom read that line, he looked out the window and pointed to the bell tower just behind our frat house. “It’s like this, Brad. Say you climbed to the top of that bell tower and stood teetering on the edge, shaking your fist at the sky and shouting, “Gravity I defy you. You cannot have an impact upon my life. And, then he proceeded to jump. What do you think would happen?” “I’d go splat," I said. Looking back, that was the splat heard round the world for me. “Indeed you would, my friend” said Tom. “Because the law of gravity doesn’t change based upon whether or not you choose to believe in it. And so it is with the laws of God. Make sense?” he asked. It was starting to. He went on to explain all four of the spiritual laws:
When we got to the second law, Tom put it in terms that a swimmer could understand. “Imagine you, me and Mark Spitz lined up on the coast of California determined to swim to Hawaii. I might make it a few miles before going under. Maybe even ten or twenty, but before too long, I’m going to drown. You being a swimmer could probably go three times as far as me, but you too would eventually succumb to the sea. Mark Spitz could likely go much farther than you, but long before reaching Hawaii, he’d be shark bait just like us. So, just like it’s impossible for anyone swim from California to Hawaii, it’s also impossible for sinful man to bridge the gap that separates him from God.” Tom went on to explain that Jesus was the only one who could bridge that sin gap. But, just knowing that truth wasn’t enough. Law Four states that you have to act upon that knowledge by individually receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And then he asked me the most important question that I’ve ever been asked, “Brad, would like to ask Christ into your life right now? You can you know.” He then showed me the following prayer on page ten: Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. I prayed the above prayer on April 13, 1975 in room eighteen of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house on North Jordan Avenue in Bloomington, Indiana. Lightning didn’t flash and thunder didn’t boom, but my life was radically transformed in that moment. Nearly forty years later, I can attest to the fact that I’ve doubted just about everything else at one time or another, but since that fateful spring day of my freshman year in college, I have never doubted the powerful presence of the Living God in my life. As my mother-in-law frequently reminded me, God didn’t promise us a smooth ride, just a safe landing. We’ve had our share of difficult challenges, bitter losses and deep disappointments. Many of which are chronicled in this book. Becoming a Christian doesn’t exempt you from life’s trials and tribulations. In fact, the Bible builds a pretty strong case in the opposite direction. It even goes so far as to suggest that we should receive such trials joyfully (James 1:2-4). What’s up with that? The old adage that says, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is not a direct quote from the Bible, but the underlying principle is replete throughout. One of the most thought provoking passages I’ve found along these lines is found in the Book of Romans 1:3,4 –“… but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." In essence, this suggests that the Christian life is the ultimate character building experience. And, like the athlete who punishes his body to perform at his optimal level, the Christian is trained to be all that God wants him to be through suffering. Suffering that leads to hope. True hope that does not disappoint. Hope in the One who came to save us and who has gone to prepare a place for us. (John 14:2) So what’s the point of all this Christian character building? The athlete trains diligently to obtain the winner’s trophy. What is the end game for the suffering Christian? I believe the character we gain through suffering is the transcendent key to seeing God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven." In other words, the more Christ-like our character becomes here on earth, the more heaven like earth can become. |
