About Jesus

The facts of Jesus’ life cannot convey the impact He was to have upon the world. Born in an obscure village under Roman occupation two thousand years ago, his parents were peasants, unable to make the expensive religious sacrifice at the Jewish temple. His parents fled to Egypt before a terrible massacre, turning them and Jesus into refugees. They returned to Roman Judea a few later and Jesus grew up to become a carpenter.

At approximately thirty years of age, Jesus began three years of travelling within Judea and the surrounding areas, to teach on a new revelation about God. He taught His message to twelve disciples and many others. Those who walked with Him testified He healed people and raised people from the dead.

Though He never received a professional education, He spoke with profound authority about God and revealed spiritual truths which transformed the lives of those around Him. Those who study His words will think, “These are not the words of a mere man. No one has ever spoken like this before.”

Jesus had no interest in politics, never wrote a book or led an army. He remained poor and often preferred solitary places to crowds. When His hearers wanted to make Jesus King of Israel He refused, choosing the path of servanthood and suffering.

Arrested three years into His ministry, He refused to free Himself and was tortured, and crucified, dying on the cross. Three days later He rose from the dead, as a promise that all who believe in Him will also rise again.

Despite never travelling over two hundred miles from where He was born, over two billion people worldwide today put their faith in Him, and follow the risen Christ as their God and Saviour.

The Lord is present in Heaven today and willing to hear your prayer. The prayers that God responds to will be sincere, not exquisite poems of praise, but words from a broken heart. One of my favourite encounters in the Bible is the man who met Jesus and said, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). God will meet you where you are and accept the words of your heart.

If you’ve never met Christ personally and want to experience a spiritual awakening, but don’t know what to say, the following words may help you, as you pray them with passionate sincerity.

“Lord Jesus forgive me, I repent of my sins, and believe You died and rose again for me. Please awaken my soul by the power of the Holy Spirit and give me new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to follow You as my Lord and Saviour, and become Your disciple. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

If nothing revolutionary has taken place in your soul, then return to prayer seeking God, with the precious words of your own heart, until Christ reveals Himself to you in a supernatural awakening. Find some revived Christians you can pray, study Scripture and worship with, and they will help you with your walk with God.

The Bible says: ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:9). Discover more about faith in Christ with the book Christianity Rediscovered by Mathew Backholer.

By Paul Backholer