Erickson gives a great overview of the human experience when a person begins the road to salvation. “All humans are lost to sin, spiritually blind, and unable to believe, however, some action by God must intervene between his eternal decision and the conversion of the individual within time” (Erickson, 2015, p.350). The journey starts with the call that God places on our hearts. Then God starts the conversion. The conversion is an event that changes your life. There may be many conversions. “The first step of the Christian life is called conversion. It is the act of turning from one’s sin in repentance and turning to Christ in faith” (Erickson, 2015, p.351). God converted me many years ago, when I was a child but I have been on many conversions …show more content…
There was a time several years back that God had let me go down a destructive path. I made all the wrong choices and pay with deep consequences. There was one day I made some long lasting chooses that led me to cry out to Jesus in true deep sorrow. I begged for forgiveness and was deeply sorry for my sins. I’m grateful for that day, my life has never been that same since. Although, I don’t enjoy the pain and consequences I am grateful for the forgiveness. Faith is the next step in the process Erickson describes in chapter thirty-three. We have to repent in order to have faith and gain God’s grace. “The type of faith necessary for salvation involves both believing that and believing in, or assenting to facts and trusting” (Erickson, 2015, p.355). Next, there needs to be a transformation. “Regeneration is God’s transformation of individual believers- reversing their natural tendencies, giving a new spiritual vitality to their lives, and thus restoring them to what they were originally intended to be” (Erickson, 2015, p.355). The years to come after I cried out to Jesus brought lots of restoring my spirit for what God had intended me to be. God made me
It is a journey of continual conversion, characterized by deepening faith, hope, and love. In "Remember The
My mom once told me when I was young and ignorant, “Faith is the foundation of a beautiful friendship with the one person who will always remain by your side”. These words were expressed even more profoundly every Sunday in the echoing corridors of a small church by a priest I had yet to know or even care about. Preaching with his perplexing words in which I could only muster barely a fourth of my full attention span listening to. Thus, the term faith did not exactly resonate with me until many years later. My early years were filled with the teachings of the bible in Sunday school and later on as well in middle school during Friday night sessions. Unfortunately, my mom was an extremely strong enforcer of our faith for she was also raised Catholic from birth, but my dad on the other hand has a more scientific approach to how the world came to be. The years I spent in Sunday school blurred into an everlasting line of bleak nothingness just a ticking clock waiting till an end. Even today I do not remember anything that occurred within those taxing sixty minuets of constant bible studies it’s as though I lost the key to the inner workings of my childhood. Nonetheless, there have always been unbelievably great role models in my faith such as my mom, youth ministers, and friends who encourage me to be open to my faith. However, it’s always been my own restrictions that prevent me from furthering my relationship with God. So when my sister suffered her first severe
In considering how the call to be a Christian lead to a transformed life imparts knowledge, understanding which give you discernment for the other two callings because it is all connected as a whole. Answering the first call of being born again is the biggest transformation of humanity. Being transformed is much more than changing behaviors or turning over a new leaf, it is all about renewing your mind to fulfill God's call and purpose in life. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2 (English Standard Version). When I received Christ into my life, my heart (spirit) became one with God, actually transpired; therefore, was a real spiritual transformation from spiritual death to life. Our life becomes one with God. "But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him" 1 Corinthians 6:17 (English Standard Version). That is why the scriptures are so essential for our life; because it is the Word of God. Christians are born of the Word of God which give everlasting life, which is by the Spirit
As an example, I can remember at one point in my Christian walk when I felt like I lost my zeal for God and the need to worship God. I felt like the gifts that he put on the inside of me were all gone. That feeling was very consistent until one day I began to pray and ask God to give me the zeal to want to worship him again. Through many months of praying and many influential spiritual leaders in my life, I was able to gain the zeal that I once lost back again. During that time in my life it was not an easy journey, but I knew that if I wanted to see change in my Christian walk that I had to meet God half way. I also knew that I had to make the effort to pray and read the word of God more. Today, I continue to pray and seek spiritual guidance to work through those challenges and many other challenges that come my way daily as a
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” There are four steps that are involved in the stage of declaration. Curious, convicted, convinced, and converted are the steps that have to take place according to Dempsey and Earley. When God begins to deal with a person’s heart, Jesus will be a curiosity to them. This is where they might visit a church or Bible study group. Then as they become more curious, God’s convicting power starts to stir their hearts and convict him or her of the sin in their life. It is at this point that one of two things will happen. The person will either ignore God’s call and the conviction of their hearts, or they will be convinced God is real and alive and that He wants to forgive them. Once the sinner is convinced, it should not be much longer before they take the final step of conversion. Conversion is where the person surrenders to the drawing and calling of the Holy Spirit and asks for forgiveness of their sins. Once repentance and conversion take place, the first stage of discipleship is completed.
The work of Erik Erikson greatly influenced the field of early education. This paper will include a brief summary of Erik Erikson’s life, a description of his major theories or ideas, and how those ideas impact early education today.
Adam is a nineteen-year-old male, unemployed, in debt and cannot afford to maintain his independence. According to Erickson life stage, Adam is in intimacy and isolation life stage. It is a point where Adam should be able to form meaningful relationships and share intimacy with others; this could lead to Adam finding his identity and being comfortable in a relationship. Adam needs a sense of safety, commitment and care in a relationship and this may result in being able to form an emotional connection and loving someone. Erickson also suggested that if Adam avoids intimacy, commitment, and forming relationships could lead to isolation, loneliness and sometimes depression. Erikson implied that when individuals follow the development stages,
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the devils believe –and tremble! But do you want to know. O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:18-20) A common belief among people today is that once a sinner believes in Jesus and recites a simple prayer, he is guaranteed salvation; however, the Bible teaches differently.
A conversion experience is one in which the ‘goal’ is to change one set of beliefs. This process is called a double action; this is because one must turn away from a previous lifestyle and turn to a new state of being. The development of conversion can be a sudden experience or a gradual one and the end result is usually a greater understanding of faith. People may convert for several reasons; It may be about years of searching for a spiritual home, or about a moment of inspiration that has caught them by surprise; sometimes it involves the pain of breaking away from a previous path, a sense of loneliness and wrestling with doubt. Some may say that a conversion takes place when one’s identity is perceived to be inadequate and so they move to being in a state when adequacy is met, and the knew life they start is a holy one. There are four main stages identified which can lead to a conversion experience; a prior interest in religious questions and other related issues, the influence of other cases of conversion, a situation which may involve physical and emotional upset, and the moment of conversion which brings about a radical change in feeling and outlook of the persons life. There
Faith is a gift from God. Faith means I won’t go to hell when I die. We were God’s perfect creation. Being the loving God he is he gave us free will. We abused that free will and fell into sin. God loved us so much he sent his own son Jesus (who is also God) down to earth, Jesus was willingly tortured and slaughtered by the people he came to save, dragged the sins of the world into the pits of hell and rose again so that everyone can go to heaven and be God’s children if they have faith. Jesus didn’t stop there. He stayed and taught people for 40 days, promised that the the Holy Spirit (who is also God) would come and then ascended into heaven. 10 days later the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost.
My journey on to my Christian faith began when I was born so I basically didn’t feel. I had a choice not to be a Christian but I never asked why am I a Christian because I felt as though being a child of god was the right way to go I felt as though that god would always be here for not just me but with everyone that needed him. My journey to Christ probably would have to be in the miracles that he have brought me through and I have seen. A long time ago my uncle basically overdosed and the doctors said that he was brain dead and that we should just cut the cord. I will never forget the hospital room filled with the people from my church praying out loud. As I was sitting in there I could feel the spiritual energy. It felt like my skin was crawling with adrenaline. The doctors took us back there to see him and when I saw him I was honestly scared I didn’t think he was going make it but he made it my mother told me when she went back there she saw a angel over him and she said that his wings filled the room. After that day my uncle began to get better when he got home he didn’t have any memory of any sort he had to start completely over we had to help him step by step. And now today my
Once we recognize God’s true love for us and see the need of looking to Christ to change our hearts rather than trying to do it on our own, we see our need of repentance, which involves a change of direction, turning our back on previous intentions and actions, and seeking new direction in life. Instead of making excuses, blaming circumstances or others, repentance means taking full responsibility. King David, after committing murder and adultery appealed to Christ: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10). He accepted his guilt and asked for a new direction – from Christ.
In the past, my faith had been challenged on numerous occasions. The very first time that my faith was challenged was when I was nine. I was diagnosed with type one diabetes (T1D). This was so hard for my family and I to cope with and to understand. I did not know anything about T1D nor all the strains that came with it. I blamed God for giving me this disease, I had asked him “Why me, what did I do to deserve this?” I spent a lot of time seeking for this answer.
One experience of conversion that I had in the past, was when my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, and everyone in the family was extremely worried. He was very important to the family because he had many various activities that he does for us such as cook and prepare our meals, take me and my sister to school when both of my parents are working. As time went by, my grades were going downhill because I worried about my grandfather and my parents were stressing out. My dad had to work night shift so he could alternate with my mom to take him to the cancer center for his daily treatments. My whole life became stressful, so I started praying to God more often. I prayed before I went to bed and to school. I asked God to give my grandfather
Regardless of whether or not conversion is sudden or gradual, conversion is created totally by the action of God and is enacted upon by human beings (Carlin, 2016, p. 293). Furthermore, conversion is personal and communal, private and public, and both passive and active (Carlin, 2016, p. 293). Likewise, conversion can be characterized as a retreat from the world and is a source of empowerment to go into the world and confront (Carlin, 2016, p. 293). Finally, conversion is much of an event as it is a gradual process, but in the end, conversion leaves a person transformed (Carlin, 2016, p. 293). Hence, the signs that an individual has converted biblically is more than just reading the Bible, praying, and going to church. Thus, a person who has converted seeks the Kingdom of God first (Matthew 6:33) and is born again spiritually (John 3:6) through the