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Our people defeated Satan because of the blood of the Lamb and the message of God. They were willing to give up their lives.
Petra lead singer, John Schlitt, shares his favorite life verse and various stories in the Bible that inspire him on a daily basis.
“I know everything you have done, and you are not cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other. 16But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Estelle writes:
I heard the voice of God when I was at a Women’s retreat in January of 2000. A friend that I attended the retreat and she showed me a Scripture. We were discussing giving our all to God, and that I needed to be in a Bible study. I told her that I loved God with my whole heart but I didn’t want to be part of a Bible study because I didn’t feel comfortable in group settings, and that I couldn’t change my basic personality.
She opened the Bible to Rev. 3:15-16 “I know your deeds, that your are neither hot nor cold! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” After reading the Scripture I heard a voice that encompassed my whole being say, “Do not be afraid.” I felt a warmth and peace spread throughout me and I was awed. I just stared at the Bible. I felt like I was suspended in time.
It was a dilemma for me to serve God. I didn’t understand what it meant to give Him my All. I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t feel wise enough, confident enough, committed enough, nor did I trust Him enough. But He had a plan.
“All who call out to the Lord shall be saved.”
Janet writes:
This verse is awesome, it has no boundaries! It really has impacted my life because it reads. WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Meaning I was able to come to Jesus just as I was! And at the time I was deeply involved in the Occult.
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
Hicham writes:
I grew up in a world of bitter animosity between Muslims and Christians, which I experienced personally in a physical attack when only about 7. By age 13 I was recruited by an extremist Muslim group and later fought against Christians in the 1975 civil war in Lebanon.
I was preparing to become a Muslim Preacher (Imam) when a car accident laid him up for a year. In 1980, in my first semester in college, my brother was killed by Christian militia. My response was to study by day, and by night take out my revenge in attacks on Christians.
However, hearing the Sermon on the Mount, in a course of cultural studies (in college), especially Jesus’ words: “love your enemies” brought me to faith. Later, I earned an M.A. in the history of the Arabs and did Ph.D studies in the history of Islam. I finished my pastoral education at Concordia, Fort Wayne, IN, and am currently in the Ph. D program there. I am delayed vicarage. I work as a missionary to the Muslims in Illinois.
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”
Melissa writes:
I just gave my heart to God,and put my life in his hands.This verse spoke to me in so many ways, as a new christian especially. I hope all new chrisitians read this verse. It gives me great comfort, and I believe god sent it to me.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
Patricia writes:
A cute story of Baptism. A dear friend was raised another denomination and was not baptized, her beliefs did not make it necessary for her. I shared with her, prayed with her and for her, mostly realized she was watching me and how my faith in our Lord is with me every minute of everyday. Its part of me, who I am ..I was around her alot for about 2 months, when I was home I got a call. I am being Baptized, it was her..I was so excited and filled at the same time. She told me of how she gave her life to the Lord and her husband and children did. When time to be Baptised she wanted me there. When time came I could not be there, in person, in love and Spirit I was. She wss Baptized in the ocean that she loves so much. She was telling me that the ocean was rough and they had to get others out to help them be Baptized , the waves would not let them stand up and the Pastor had a hard time doing the Baptisem. Others came out to help him…So she told me of the event and we laughed. They had a hard time getting it done..but really the waves were knocking them down and they could not dunk them so it was like they were Baptized over and over by the waves and more than that family was in on that occasion..She said it was so funny to see…This was right for her.. The Lord knew it needed to be a specail one for her and because she loved the ocean ,, He made it that way for her and family..God is so good. She is a good and faithful servant…He gave her talents to help others and she does and so does her husband.. I am so filled with thankfulness the He used me to help show her Him…
“give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Felix writes:
Walking through the jungle all alone. Surrounded by animals on all sides. Walking faster to escape your fate. No escaping what you cant see. No escaping what you cant touch. You see things that are not there. You want to run but where will you run to? There is a way out of the jungle. You see two paths ahead of you. One path leads deeper into the jungle. Thick trees surround the path on both sides. There is little light as far as you can see. The little light that does break through lets you see a relatively clear path. There are thick tree trunks that have fallen from the jungle. Once you clear these obstacles it gets much easier to walk. You also sense an unseen presence. This path seems to have had little use though. The other path is clear but it winds to and fro. There are many thick tree roots waiting to trip you up further down the road. The terrain is choppy and the earth is twisted. It looks like many others have been down this path before. This path seems very lonely to you anyways. The sun is allowed to shine here. It is an illusion. Look further down and you will see the thickness of the trees choking off the light. Once you get there it will be too late. The path will leave you blind and disoriented. There is no turning back once you choose this path. The first path will lead you to a city of unheard riches. There is only one doorway to this city. The walls and the streets will be built with the finest materials ever imagined. Walls surrounding you paved with gold and precious jewels. With every step you feel the mix of platinum, gold, and the finest silver melted into the most gloriously soft substance ever imagined. The people who made it to the city seem constantly filled with joy. The joy can be seen on their faces as they sing and dance. They do not seem self conscious at all. Everyone here looks fulfilled in every sense of the word. There is no sickness, no pain, no disappointments, just love. Love made this city and love made these people. Love took away the sickness and pain. Love does not disappoint. Love lifts you up. Love gives you what you desire most. Inside the walls Love reigns. Outside these walls are a different kind of life. This is where the second path will lead. Outside the wall there is no rest for the weary. There is no counseling the heart or the mind. There is only the hurt of separation. The people here look very tired. They walk around as if they are dead. They feel every hurt and every pain of being away from Love. There is no love here. There is only deception and separation. The people cry out for help. You can hear their hearts asking for reprieve from a desperately and lonely situation. When these people hear the songs of the people inside the city their hearts become harder. They begin to hate more and more. Inside they are torn apart. They have no hope for themselves. Hate and despair make themselves ready for a long stay here. There are no paved roads or walls here. There is only a dark, bleak, landscape with no life besides the people there. Hard dirt like concrete underneath your feet. You are staring at the two paths. The presence you felt earlier appears before you. It comes like a bright light. Feet like bronze, wearing a robe white like snow. Eyes seem like fire yet seemingly kind and gentle. He reaches out to you and he speaks….
This is how I felt before God saved me. This verse describes how I feel towards God as He drew me to him.
“For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.””
Phil writes:
I used to be buried in shame. I had been born out of wedlock to a mother who loved me and a man who wanted me to be aborted. Because of this I grew up without a father. Later, in preschool I was molested by my preschool teachers. A short time after that my mom married my first step-father, who turned out to be an alcoholic. The next seven years were filled with emotional torture, and eventually included physical abuse.
We were poor most of that time, even living on welfare at one point. Because of a number of factors related to that poverty and my upbringing, I was constantly bullied and made fun of at school from elementary school through middle school.
By the time my mom and step-father divorced I was depressed and suicidal. Though I went through counseling and became convinced that God must have a purpose and plan for my life, I turned towards sin and entered into a crippling addiction to pornography.
To deal with the shame I felt at my past difficulties and present sin, I did all I could to cover it up with a happy and fun exterior. By the time I came to college I jumped into the partying lifestyle as a part of that fake exterior. Finally I woke up one morning in a pool of my own vomit because of how much beer, mixed drinks and liquor I drank the night before.
At that point, overwhelmed by shame, I knew something had to change but didn’t know where to go for help. Two days later I went to a church where I heard the pastor say that we can begin to see God when we have been humbled. Since I felt humiliated, I figured I must qualify as someone who was close to beginning to know God.
One month later an evangelist came to my university and preached the Good News of Jesus Christ saying that God would become my Daddy if I would repent and trust in Him. He also said that God knew I would become the father I never had.
The shackles of shame dropped off of me that day nearly 8 years ago when I tearfully put my trust in God. Every day since then I’ve been learning how to keep living without shame as I put my trust in Jesus Christ. I am so thankful to God that he has made me new and clean, and that as I trust in Him I will never come under the power of sin and shame again. Even more wonderful is that He wants to do the same for you too!
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
April writes:
I was gay, I mean really, really gay. I share my story of how I became a Christian all the time, but there’s a big part to “my story” that I have never told but really feel led to tell it now. Here goes, I was the youngest of three girls, often criticized for my skinny and premature behaviors. I would always get harassed by my sisters and friends about why I hadn’t started puberty or why I am not developing like all the other girls. This gave me an insecurity that had me thinking “why am I so different? Am I an accident? Am I pretty? Am I gay?” I went on in my teens and began even more to feel out casted, especially by my own family. At the age of 13, I turned to drugs and alcohol but that is just one of many addictions I had to overcome. I started to grow more and more curious about my sexuality and began watching porn. I was 18 when I decided I was gay, and no one could convince me otherwise. I fell in love with a girl named Elizabeth and felt this was it. I wanted to marry her. I became an advocate for gay & lesbians because of all the persecution I got from ‘coming out’. I even marched in the annual gay pride parade in San Diego. The more people told me I was wrong for being a lesbian the more I fought for the freedom to be one. All the while I never dealt with my insecurities and they certainly didn’t go away because of my new lifestyle. I was still empty inside. I felt a deep rooted question in my heart “if being gay feels so right how it could be wrong? Is it wrong and who says?” but I would never share my wonders with others because I was in it too deep. Elizabeth and I broke off our relationship after 5 years, which was the hardest and only real break up I ever had. I moved far from her but not far from my lifestyle. I continued this lifestyle and had no boundaries to my choices in relationships. I was still empty, even more than before. I worked for a well known gym in LA and the manager of the store was a Christian. He would preach to me all night every night. I would hate it; I debated him every night for 4 months. Until one day to get him off my back I took him up on his offer and went to a bible study with him. It seemed the people at this bible study had something I was longing for my entire life, true joy and love in their hearts. They were full of love and didn’t judge me. They truly had my eternal interest at heart. They helped me understand the most difficult questions I had in my mind about God and what Gods plan for me is through scripture. I came to Christ that very night and did not look back. The funny thing is I didn’t have to stop using drugs first or even be sober or not be gay to believe. All I did was cling to Jesus and His word; believe in my heart what He had done for all mankind. Sure repenting took a little while and I still am learning what Gods eyes see as sin. Quickly I became convinced that being gay was a way for me to place my insecurities away without dealing with them. My insecurities were in charge of my decision to be gay. But once my insecurities were dealt with, and I mean really dealt with deeply, I became more and freer from them and that lead me to choose to no longer live as a gay person anymore. Then after examining my intensions and looking at Gods word I knew that all this time it was an obedience battle. Yes I said it. I was making my sexuality the core focus of my life and when you turn your focus on Jesus and what He did for mankind that changes everything. After time, He changed me. I am so happily married now to a great man and for the first time in my life I feel truly beautiful and valuable the way I was intended to feel. People may call me a hypocrite and I do have to deal with persecution sometimes but at least it’s for Jesus. Nobody could do what He did and certainly nobody else freed me but Him. Thanks for letting me share.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Fran writes:
I was twenty-seven before I heard the way of salvation was other than being good. I was living the normal merry-go-round life of a wife and mother of two. Except it wasn’t so merry sometimes.
I put myself under such pressure, even a simple phone ringing sent me for the bottle of tranquilizers. Then the unexpected death of my parents shook my already unsteady world. Besides my deep grief, I now had big questions. What happens when you die? What is life all about? I tried going back to my childhood church whose hypocrisy had years ago turned me off of religion. They had no answers for me. Seeking peace and answers, I increased the speed of my merry-go-round. God being so merciful, pursued me until I found Him. He sent Donna into my life. Through her love and prayers, she led me to the doorway of salvation.
She gave me a Bible and patiently answered my myriad of questions. I learned I couldn’t work my sin away, I couldn’t do enough good works to get to heaven. It was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who had already earned my way for me (Rom 5:8).
When I read in the book of John (14:27) that Jesus said He gives me peace and it wasn’t the peace as the world gives and that I was not to let my heart be troubleld or afraid. I knew this bible was for me.
Donna told me if I’d even if I’d been the only one, He loved me enough to die just for me!
No words can describe what happened in my life once I chose to go through the open door of salvation. God gave me true peace and joy, and a love for Him and His Word.
No matter what life has brought, no matter which doors I have chosen, I have weathered it—for He is the Source of my peace and joy. While I didn’t become instantly perfect , He began a gentle work which is still going on.
Each day is indeed an adventure with Him—and it keeps getting better.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NIV).
Prayer: “Thank you Father, for your Son Jesus Christ who died, was buried, and rose again for my sins. I come by faith and ask You to forgive me. I surrender myself to you, and thank You for coming into my life. I believe Your promises are true, and I am now Your child by faith. Amen.”
