| A WORK of the Lord in Japan. With a non-seeker With a seeker (puppet at CFNJ) (a grandson, 10 yrs. ago) Please read below how a person can seek and find the Living God. Standing together with you looking to the Lord, Charles and Dianne Gyurko The Puzzle of Life - A Man’s Search for Answers 1. SEEK “I see people and things around me, and wonder about life, and how I fit in. I’d like to know why I exist. I’m interested in seeking a true answer. 2. ORDER When I look at plants and nature, or my body, like my eyes and even my DNA, I see that there’s a lot of order. From the smallest cell to the entire universe I see an order in things that makes them work okay. 3. DESIGN There sure seems to be some design or plan behind all of this. Nothing comes together like this by chance, or by an explosion, which destroys design. All of this design can’t be simply “by chance”. 4. DESIGNER There must be some intelligence that created this fantastic design, so that things could function and work together. 5. CREATION It seems that this intelligence had to come before things were made, not evolve into it, because everything is in order right from the start, like a baby or a blade of grass. 6. CREATOR This intelligence that comes before things were made seems to point to an intelligent and powerful person, like a God, who made things out of nothing and put them in order. There must be a Creator. 7. REVELATION about CREATION This person, God, has certainly shown His intelligence and power through what He has made in Nature and in the universe, and I heard that He has also told it to us in a book (the Bible) where He says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. It’s great that He even speaks to us. 8. SEEN/ UNSEEN MATTER/SPIRIT I can see things that God made, but I can’t see Him. In this real world that I live in, there must be some things that I can see with my eyes, like material things, and some things that I can’t see with my eyes, like spiritual things 9. BODY AND SPIRIT I notice, even in myself, things that are seen, like my body, but there are things that I can’t see, like the thing that makes me alive and able to think. That must be my spirit. That makes sense, because when people die, they say over his body, “he’s gone”. That “he” must be a person’s spirit. 10. REVELATION about MAN I’m told that God who spoke about creation in the Bible, also said that He created my body. and put my spirit in it. I’m beginning to understand about myself now, and I really like that. 11. WHAT I AM I can see now that the person I am is a spirit living inside my physical body! I now recognize who I am. Hey, that’s cool! I want to seek for more answers about life, and about why I’m living. 12. REASON FOR EXISTENCE Since there is a reason for all the order in nature, there must also be a reason that I exist. My mind tells me that there must be a purpose that I’m alive. 13. SOURCE OF ANSWERS Since science only looks at existing things, it is not capable of telling me WHY things exist. People give me their subjective reasons, but they’re different, and sometimes contradict. There must be some true objective source 14. OBJECTIVE TRUTH An objective source would have to be something that is unchanging, like reality and truth. 15. AN UNCHANGING AND TRUE ANSWER Since God came before creation, and He spoke to us about it in the bible, His Word must be unchanging and true. He must have an answer to why I exist. 16. GOD’S ANSWER Since God created the spirit-person that is “me”, and put that spirit in my body, He already has a relationship with me, and I with Him. Now I understand “Why I exist”: to have a personal relationship with the Living God! 17. FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIP But since God is my creator, and I’m the one whom he made, how can we relate? When I look at God’s word in the Bible, it says that He calls me his “child”, and wants me to call Him “my heavenly Father”! 18. GROWING RELATIONSHIP Since God is my Father, and I’m His child, I sure want to get closer to Him and know Him better. I can read His Word and get to know Him more. I can even talk to Him, like in prayer. 19. ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP Someday this body is going to die like everyone else. What happens then? His Word that I’ve been reading tells me that even though my body dies, the spirit-person in me continues to live forever, and cannot die, because it’s a spirit that doesn’t fall apart. 20. HEAVEN – HELL Where will my spirit go? His Word tells me that there are 2 possible places that I will go for all eternity, either to heaven with God in joy, or to hell in suffering forever. It’s my choice, and I have to make a choice now while I’m living. I now know “Where I’m going”. I want to chose heaven. How do I do that? 21. FAITH My heavenly Father, God’s word says that if I just accept what He has told me as Truth, I can receive eternal life in my spirit now. This belief is called “faith”, which is also His free gift to me. I trust what you say, Lord, what do you want me to believe? 22. REPENTENCE – His word says that I must recognize that in my life I have done wrong things (sins) which are against His will for me. Even my conscience shows me that! Yes, Lord, I am sorry for my sins, and I choose to not do them any more. Is there any way that I can repay You, or make up for all this? 23. SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST His word also shows me that God loved me so much that He became man, Jesus Christ, and that He paid the price for my sins with His life and His blood on the cross. Jesus died, and paid the debt for my sins, but He rose from the dead. All I have to do is to recognize Who He is and what He did. “Lord, I believe and accept Jesus as my personal Savior!” Am I any different now? 24. BORN AGAIN – THE NEW MAN God Word has shown me that just like my body was born, so now my spirit has been filled with the life of God. I’m a new man, born again, which makes me righteous in His eyes! Are there others like me in the world? 25. KINGDOM OF GOD The world is filled with people who recognize and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. All of us have entered the Kingdom of God. I am now part of a world-wide family that is joyful in their relationship with God and with each other. Is it real, even if I don’t feel any different? 26. ASSURANCE OF SALVATION His word assures me that I’m saved when it says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe from your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. (Rom. 10:9-10) This is wonderful. How can I show others that I believe? 27. BAPTISM God’s will is that I, and all those who accept Jesus, show their faith publicly by being baptized in water, which is our testimony that, just like Jesus died but rose again from the dead, we are lowered in water for one second and then lifted up again. How can I receive Baptism? 28. LOCAL CHURCH From the phone book I see that there are several Bible-based Christian “churches” in my area, that believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the flesh. I’m sure that if I contact the leader of the church, and tell him of my desire to be Baptized, he will do it. After my Baptism can I grow more? 29. GROWTH IN CHRIST TOGETHER WITH OTHERS I now understand that God wants me, as a believer, to grow in the faith together with others. As I join member of a local church in worship of God, and fellowship with them in the Lord, we will grow in faith together. How can I receive all that Jesus has for me? 30. BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT God wants me to have the fullness of Jesus, all I have to do is to “ASK” for this fullness, and He will fill me with His Holy Spirit, like He did years ago at Pentecost. So, Lord, I ask to be filled with your Holy Spirit and power, so that I can tell others about Jesus. Praise God! I’m motivated and empowered to reach my goal. I wish everyone would know about and choose to follow Jesus in His Kingdom.” I now know: Who I am….Why I exist.…Where I’m going….and How to get there! I’VE FOUND THE ANSWER TO LIFE !!! I have peace and joy in believing and following Jesus. I can love God with my whole heart, soul, mind and body, and my neighbor as myself. I can face reality with joy, and continue to grow in Christ each day. I can walk confidently in truth. I can face the enemy with power and without fear. Thank you, Jesus ! P.S. The Non-Seekers beliefs. Compare these with the numbers (1 to 30) above. 1. I don’t want to seek. 2. I don’t see order in Nature. 3. I don’t see design in me or in Nature. 4. No intelligence behind design. 5. No Source for intelligence. 6. No Creator. 7. No God, no God speaking to us. 8. Nothing unseen. 9. No spirit. 10. No revelation. 11. I don’t know or care who I am. 12. No reason for my existence. 13. No objective truth. 14. No unchanging truth. 15. No God, no answers. 16. I don’t care why I exist. 17. No relationship with God. 18. No God, no prayer. 19. No spirit in me. 20. No after life, no heaven or hell. 21. No God, no faith in God. 22. No need to repent. 23. No need for salvation. 24. No spirit, no change inside. 25. No God, no Kingdom of God. 26. No need to confess. 27. No need to show faith. 28. No brotherhood of believers. 29. No spirit, no growth in spirit. 30. No spirit, no filling with Spirit. |