"I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now CHOOSE LIFE, so that you and your children may live"
The Bible, book of Deuteronomy, chapter 30, verse 19
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CHOISISLAVIE.com
CHOISISLAVIE.com
"I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now CHOOSE LIFE, so that you and your children may live"
The Bible, book of Deuteronomy, chapter 30, verse 19
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The film 'JÉSUS'
The story
Coming from a large Catholic family, my life resembled that of many people.
Believing without conviction in a higher being, I lived in my own way and according to my desires, in a world that often offered only superficial happiness.
A few years ago, I met someone who called himself a "Christian", and he proclaimed to me a gospel that I did not know. According to this Christian, my attitude of indifference towards God was preventing me from experiencing true happiness. An attitude that the Bible calls sin. So I asked God to show me my sin.
I saw nothing special, but the anguish that seized me plunged me into such distress that I broke down in tears. I, a human being, microscopic, insignificant and presumptuous, before The One God, creator of the universe and of all that lives, all powerful, holy and majestic: a "presence" before which I could not stand.
I saw myself lost. "Forgive me! Save me!" has been the cry of my heart as I realized how much, despite my attitude, He had suffered in my place, on the cross, in the person of Jesus Christ, to pay the price for my faults.
I still wept a lot, but with joy! For he had forgiven me and I had just passed from death to life! from an inevitable end to a certain hope and eternal life.
Below, my pathway a little more detailed, in its environment.
The same experience, seen from a different angle.
Although parachuting is now a very low risk sport, and I feel a lot safer in the aeroplane with my pack on my back, than in a car, you had to be slightly mad to want to throw yourself into space from a height of 3,000 meters !
Two visits to the USA in search of something else; pleasure and soft drugs. A touch of “I’ve done this, I’ve done that...” waved in the face of the poor stick-in-the-muds at home.
The French Parachuting Championships, displays at the World Hot-Air Balloon Championships in front of the crowd: what dedication! My self-importance grows. How many others have been applauded like a hero descending from the sky, by more than 30,000 people?
To all appearances perfectly balanced, I used to love to quote this sentence which was the motto of my life: “I do what I want, where I want and when I want,” and this applied to my life at all levels.
There was, however, a large piece of grit in this flawless mechanism, which must have filtered through a gap in my concrete armour: “This fellow looks a little foolish, with his two kids and his problems with his car and house. He is resigning from his job because his boss is going to all lengths to ensure the success of the factory, through mediums, crystal balls, (and 100 euros notes). It’s no small thing to lose your job!”
He has a light deep in his eyes that I don’t recognize.
He possesses a peace and certainty that bother me, but which I envy. He is ready to do anything out of love for his Jesus. Now I understand to what extent deep love that is true and real can disturb in a hypocritical world of constant pretence.
This fragment of REAL LIFE which was in me began to stir. Deep in my heart there was the imprint of Him, the one who had created me, and this revelation of my origins was enough to make me want to know more.
For who has seen me alone in the night in deep fear of death? I know it’s possible for someone to appear to be a happy, smiling person, and yet at the same lime experience intense anxiety.
Does Jesus have solutions? Of course they interest me, but how could I, without a sense of shame, join these Christians who don’t really know what it is to be so broken up? ”Sorry God! This isn’nt for me! “Nothing can change the filth which rules my life: endless cigarettes, alcohol, moonlighting, various kinds of scheming, night clubs etc....
I would very much like to have this happiness that I sense through these Christians who live a faith that seems real, but I am much too unclean.
Four days later I have stopped smoking without any effort on my part, and I have just found “clean” work, made for me !
This God is real and HE LOVES ME! So I cry out to Him, a cry from the very depths of my being, expressing simply, but sincerely, the deepest desires of my soul. Jesus is there, hears my voice, and comes into my heart.
“ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus ”
the Bible: Philippians, chap.4, verse 7
An incredible peace has overwhelmed me. I have seen Jesus Christ nailed IN MY PLACE to the cross, and it was my indifference to his love that was the cause of all my worries.
Now I am sure of my salvation, and of being with Him one day for eternity, in a world where there will be no more mourning, crying or tears, as he has written my name in HIS book of life!
But until then, His daily presence and the personal relationship I have with Him make me see life in a different light. His action in my life and His answers to my prayers give me a hope and wonderful confidence for this future which is mine.
A man without Jesus Christ is like a fish out of water. He isn’t where he belongs. Human destiny is not death, but life in Jesus Christ !
“ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ ”. (2)
Don’t you see this godless world progressing wrecklessly and painfully towards decay? It’s time for you to escape from it! Open the door and take the definite decision to come back to your Heavenly Father. It’s a jump without a parachute, but with the assurance that the One who loves you is there to receive you with open arms.
Millions of people have already done it, and not one has ever said that God let them fall. A new life, a new beginning, the end of questions and anxiety, it really is possible! The assurance of eternal life in Jesus Christ can be yours today !
“ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God.” (3)
(2) 1st letter to Thessalonians, chap.5, verse 9
(3) 2nd letter to Corinthians, chap.5, verse 17.
(All New International Version)
