{"id":2503,"date":"2012-02-04T10:12:38","date_gmt":"2012-02-04T15:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2503"},"modified":"2012-02-04T10:14:05","modified_gmt":"2012-02-04T15:14:05","slug":"god-saves-us-from-ourselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/god-saves-us-from-ourselves.html","title":{"rendered":"God saves us from ourselves"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>One of the greatest benefits of God\u2018s provision is that He rescues us from ourselves.<\/p>\n

I look in the mirror and see how much I’ve changed over the years. \u00a0Gravity has taken a toll on my body. \u00a0Every body part that can fall has fallen by at least four inches. \u00a0 Yet, one thing that has not changed is that 60 years ago Jesus saved me from my sins.\u00a0 In a way, Jesus saved me from myself.<\/p>\n

We have all heard the story of Paul and the Philippians jailer. \u00a0Paul and Silas were in jail in Philippi. \u00a0They weren’t upset or disturbed. \u00a0They<\/span>\u00a0were praying and singing when there was an earthquake. \u00a0All the jail doors were opened but none of the prisoners escaped.<\/p>\n

The jailer understood that something supernatural had happened. \u00a0He fell on his knees and pleaded with Paul asking, “What must I do to be saved.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Paul didn’t go into complicated explanations or details about the history of Israel or the fulfillment of prophesy. \u00a0He told the jailer to simply, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved–you and all the people in your house” \u00a0(Acts 16:31).<\/p>\n

God did not make salvation complicated. \u00a0When my daughter Carol was five years old, she overheard a conversation I was having with an adult who was a new Christian. \u00a0The new convert didn’t understand something from the Bible. \u00a0Carol, in her innocence said, \u00a0\u201cTell me what you don\u2019t understand and I will explain it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The steps to receiving Jesus are not hard but simple. \u00a0When I attended my last course to receive my master\u2019s degree, the course was on evangelism (which is how to tell people about Jesus). \u00a0Telling people about God\u2019s love used to be hard for me; but now Jesus has done so much that I have a lot to talk about.<\/p>\n

The more I love Jesus, the more I know that he has saved me from myself. \u00a0He wants to change me and make me a better person. \u00a0In the many months that my mother was in the hospital, people were drawn to my mother\u2018s room because they knew something was different about her. \u00a0She would openly pray and share Jesus with anyone who would listen–and lots of people did want to hear what she had to say.<\/p>\n

When we tell others about Jesus, we are being changed ourselves. \u00a0Paul did not have to tell the Philippian jailer that he was different. Paul’s<\/span>\u00a0life screamed out the contrasts. \u00a0Jesus had saved Paul from himself and made him more like Jesus. \u00a0The Lord makes us different people by saving us from ourselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the greatest benefits of God\u2018s provision is that He rescues us from ourselves. I look in the mirror and see how much I’ve changed over the years. \u00a0Gravity has taken a toll on my body. \u00a0Every body part that can fall has fallen by at least four inches. \u00a0 Yet, one thing that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,3,40,186,49,16,147,8,4,17],"tags":[690,21,688,360,699,715,701,359,57,6],"class_list":["post-2503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-leadership","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-teaching","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-evangelism","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-philippian-jailer","tag-prayer","tag-simple-scriptural-truths"],"yoast_head":"\nGod saves us from ourselves - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/god-saves-us-from-ourselves.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God saves us from ourselves - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the greatest benefits of God\u2018s provision is that He rescues us from ourselves. I look in the mirror and see how much I’ve changed over the years. \u00a0Gravity has taken a toll on my body. \u00a0Every body part that can fall has fallen by at least four inches. \u00a0 Yet, one thing that…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/god-saves-us-from-ourselves.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-04T15:12:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-02-04T15:14:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/02\/drowning-man.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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