What I Believe

The Basics
The Bible
I believe the Bible to be the infallible, inspired Word of God.
God
I believe in the existence of the "Trinity" or the three persons of one God.
God the Father
God the Son (Jesus Christ)
And, God the Holy Spirit
Jesus' Return
I believe that one day Jesus will literally return to earth! What a day that will be!
Salvation
I believe that all men are born with the nature to sin. That this sin separates us from God, and makes it impossible for us to be righteous enough to have a relationship with Him or enter Heaven.
I believe that God, loving us tremendously, sent His Son to earth through virgin birth. That he lived a sinless life and took upon Himself the punishment for our sins, the death on the cross.
I believe that on the third day he literally rose from the dead.
I believe that through faith in Jesus our sins can be forgiven us, we can have life eternal and a personal relationship with the God who created the universe.
If you would like to know more about this, it would be my extreme pleasure to share with you. Please send me an email through my "Contact Me" page!
Further Reading
The Bible
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" - II Timothy 3:16
The Trinity
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." - I Timothy 3:16
"I and my Father are one." - John 10:30
Jesus' Return
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." - I Thessalonians 4:16&17
Salvation
All are sinners:
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23
Virgin Birth:
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."-Isaiah 7:14
Jesus Sinless Nature:
"Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:" - I Peter 2:22
Jesus Bore Our Punishment:
"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." I John 2:2
Salvation through Faith:
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9&10
My Testimony
I was blessed to be born into a Christian home. I heard the plan of salvation for the first time in the delivery room. That's right, my dad witnessed to me immediately after I was born. (I believe he did my daughters as well.)As a young child my parents read the Bible to me daily, took me to church whenever the doors were open and lived an example of loving the Lord.
I can remember understanding that sin kept us from a home in Heaven and that everyone sinned, but one afternoon I finally made the connection that I was a sinner and that I needed a to be saved from those sins. I went to my parents and told them this. I don't recall the exact words I used, but I believe that it was something like this, "I'm a sinner and I'm going to HELL!"
My mother and father sat me down and showed me in the Bible what I needed to do to ensure my place in Heaven. I bowed my head and asked the Lord to forgive me and to take my life.
I immediately wanted to be baptized, but my parents made me wait just a little while to make sure that I understood that Baptism is a step of obedience and not necessary for salvation. My father baptized me in December in a baptistery with no hot water. I felt like such a grown up until I came out of the water. I screamed, "Daddy!" and grabbed a hold of my dad. Fortunately, my older cousin was being baptized the same day, and my dad was able to hand me off to him!
I've stated in this post that I heard a preacher once say when someone is saved young they don't have a testimony recounting the sinful life that the Lord saved them from, but that the Lord saved them from ever committing those sins. I think that's a powerful testimony and am so thankful that the Lord saved me at such a young age!