I believe in God.

I believe that there is one God.
I believe that God alone created the heavens and the earth.
I believe that God is a personal God who made me, knows me, loves me and chose me. I believe God loves you, too.

I believe God’s covenant with Abraham.

I believe that God had a very personal relationship with Abraham, of the Old Testament. God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations and that we would be blessed through him. God promised Abraham that he and his descendants would inherit the land as an everlasting possession. I believe those promises are the premise for which our faith is built upon. When we are in Christ, we are those descendants of Abraham. We become heirs to the promise.

I believe in a prophesied literal Kingdom of God that will be everlasting, but has not begun yet!

I believe that in the Old Testament, there are prophecies of the coming Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God, defined as the land of the Israelites that will be restored and be peaceful, ruled by the Messiah on the throne of David for eternity.

I believe Jesus is the Messiah

I believe that in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, it announces the birth of that prophesied Messiah. That Messiah, the one to rule on the throne of David in the Kingdom of God is named Jesus. He is the Messiah, the Christ. He was supernaturally conceived in Mary, thus being able to claim the titles of being the Son of God and the Son of Man.

I believe that Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom while he was on earth.

He spent his time healing the sick and explaining the signs of the last days; what the Kingdom of God will be like; and how we should think and act if we want to inherit the Kingdom. It would have been thrilling to hear him speak. Can you imagine his passion? He was not just prophesying about the future, he was sharing his destiny of being King of the Kingdom of God.

I believe that it was prophesied and fulfilled that Jesus, the Son of God, also had to die for the sins of people. The Bible is full of symbolism and Jesus was the symbolic sacrificial Lamb. The law that came from God through Moses was that the people had to make sacrifices of animals to atone for their sins. When Jesus died upon the cross, he became that sacrifice, dying once for the sins of many.

I believe for our sins to be forgiven, we must believe that Jesus was the Son of God. We need to acknowledge that we sin against God and that we require a Savior to be pure, holy and blameless before God. It’s very humbling to admit that we have done things wrong. We generally consider ourselves to be pretty good, decent people, when we compare ourselves with those around us. However, when compared to Jesus who did not sin, although tempted like us, we come up short. We cannot be perfect....not without Jesus’ sacrificial blood to cover our sins and make us white as snow. It’s symbolic, but inside our hearts, it’s very real. It is realizing that we are sinners and that we need Jesus to be allowed to enter the Kingdom of God and have eternal life in the age to come.

I believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Which points us to the next important part of what I believe! Jesus not only died for our sins, he was resurrected back to life. This signifies what we can hope for - a resurrection from the dead to eternal life! The Bible says that Jesus was the first to do this. Although Jesus and some of the apostles brought people back to life; and even people were resurrected from the grave on the day that Jesus died on the cross, it was not a resurrection to eternal life. They still died later and are still dead to this day! No, what we can hope for is that Jesus, who right now is sitting at the right hand of God in heaven, will return to earth someday. When?? No one knows, not even the angels or Jesus. Only God knows when Jesus will return. Remember, God is God, the creator of all things. Jesus is His Son!

When Jesus returns, we, who are in Christ, will be resurrected from the dead and we will receive our immortality — a Christian term for getting to live forever and ever. If you are still alive when Jesus returns, you, too will receive your immortality as we greet him in the air and then reign with Jesus, on earth, for one thousand years.

The Bible tells us that when Jesus abolishes all rule and all his enemies are under his feet, Jesus will hand over the Kingdom to God, His Father (I Corinthians 15 is great to explain this!). Revelation 20 also is a great reference to the time-line of these events. I won’t go into any detail, but before Jesus hands over the Kingdom, there will be a great war; judgment day; and those whose name’s are not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire.

At this time, the restoration of the world will occur - Revelation 21 talks about this. A new heaven and a new earth and at this time, God will dwell with man. This is our reward - we will inherit the earth and live eternally with God and His Son, Jesus. This is what we yearn for, hope for and groan for - for right now, we are foreigners here. We might say we are citizens of the U.S., but our real citizenship, the one we are looking forward to, is in the Kingdom of God, where we will reign with Christ forever.

We are fellow heirs with Christ. We are heirs to what? The Kingdom. The land. We inherit eternal life. This city’s foundations are built by God, designed by God, and made especially for us! There will be no more death, no more crying, no more pain. Galatians 3:29 says it simply, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” It all ties back into the Old Testament promises God made with Abraham that the nations would be blessed through him and inherit the land. We are heirs to the promise. When you are an heir, you inherit! What do we inherit? The Kingdom of God!

This is so crucial to understand to tie the Scriptures together. It is so simple, yet people have problems accepting such a basic, simple Gospel. They want to complicate it. Make it more difficult to understand. But, I don’t think you have to be a Biblical Scholar to grasp these simple truths.

I believe that God has made this available to the common folk! Jesus preached to the poor and most often, just to the everyday kind of people, like us! He got pretty annoyed with the Pharisees, the church leaders of the Jewish people of that day, with all their rules and how complicated they made everything. They liked to add onto the Word God had provided them through the prophets. I think Jesus spoke to the people a simple Gospel message...the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Psalm 19:7(b) says, “The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” See I Corinthians 1:17-31 and Psalm 25:14.

I believe we need to study and examine the Scriptures with diligence and with a humble heart. I don’t claim to have all the answers! Quite the opposite. The more I learn, the more I realize what I do not know! However, I am captivated by the Word of God. I pray daily for wisdom and understanding. I question. I study. I want to be prepared to share, what little I do know, with others! I want to be confident that I will receive the gift of eternal life. I do not want to miss anything that God is willing to grant me now, here in the land of the living!

If there are spiritual gifts that God wants to bestow upon me, then I’m going to ask! If there are fruit of the Spirit, evidence of God’s Spirit living within me, then I want to see them! If I can have a renewed mind and a transformed life, then please God, do it for me! Change me! Know me! Love me!

I have a hole inside me that can only be filled and satisfied with my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus. I can be nice and sweet to those who are nice and sweet to me. But, only with God’s loving Spirit residing in me, can I love and pray for my enemies. God is how I can love and forgive those who have hurt me in the worst way. God is how I can become a different woman than I was ten years ago!

I think it’s important to note that no Christian has reached full spiritual maturity and has become sinless and perfect. I think we often think, “Wow, I’ll never get to that point. What’s the use of even trying? “ Or , “That person is supposed to be a Christian, but I know what she did last Friday!” Even though we may be changing, attempting to obey His Word, and walking in His Spirit, we will still mess up. We still sin. We still lose our tempers or say things we shouldn’t. We can’t try to pretend we’re already perfect and have our lives all together all of the time! No, we must be honest. We’re still learning. We’re still making mistakes. However, we enjoy the peace and knowledge that come with Jesus’ blood covering our mistakes, allowing God to see us as perfect, holy and blameless. We can ask for forgiveness, then approach His throne with confidence, knowing God has forgiven us...because God knows we are still just people created from dust! He knows our battles and struggles and strongholds. In our weakness, He is there for us. Loving us. Forgiving us.

I want to encourage you today: Don’t miss God and His plan for you. As I mature in Christ, I learn to trust and obey. What God has planned for me, is better than what I can even imagine for myself and for my husband and children. Why do we struggle with letting go of our control to a loving God who likes to give great gifts to His children? We don’t trust Him enough to realize that He plans good for us, not harm. We don’t know Him well enough.

I urge you today: Get to know Him. Seek Him while He can still be found. Be reconciled today. Don’t wait another day. Just pray, “Father, I want this. I want to know you. I want forgiveness. I believe that Jesus is Your Son. Become my God and let me be your child. I repent. I am so sorry for the things I have done, said, thought. I need you.” You can say it, with your eyes opened and still sitting at your desk! You can laugh, you can cry. There are no rules about how to do this~ just believe! The next step is to obey Him. For if you truly love God, you will obey Him.

Following God is easy if you keep your eye on the prize: pleasing Him; receiving His Love; and receiving eternal life in the Kingdom of God here on earth in the age to come! You submit your will to His, then step out of the way and watch Him do amazing things in your life. He really does love you. Obeying Him becomes easier. When you have an eternal perspective, it makes some things minor now. God softens your heart to Him! He does most of the ‘work!’

I believe this is the most important thing you could ever do with your life: decide to follow Jesus. It’s just that simple. Really. Love, Angela

p.s. E-mail me at: Angela @ AngelaHaysMoore .com, if you have decided to take that step and place God first in your life and in your heart ! I would love to hear from you and hear your story. We all have a story to tell!!!

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