Guigoz 1
Corrine: Good morning Mike, how are you?
Mike: Hey Corrine, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you
C: I’m fortunate to have found you since I’ve been looking for you for two days now!
M: Well I’m here now!
C: First off, let me tell you that it’s been two days since I was invited to an out-door meeting where my heart was touched by the message and I gave my life to Jesus Christ
M: Oh wow! Praise God. You know, you have made the best decision of your life
C: But I don’t really understand very well what it means to be born again
M: It’s exactly what you have done. It’s accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and inviting Him to come into your life and transform you
C: Transform me?
M: Yes, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ Jesus, he or she becomes a new creation, the former things are past and everything is new.
C: But I’m a Catholic as is my whole family and I have no desire to change religions
M: There is no religion that can save a person’s soul- only the blood of Jesus can cleanse your sins and purify your heart. The Bible says in Matthew 5:8 that it is the pure in heart who will see God and it’s only the blood of Jesus that can purify a person’s heart.
C: Besides the blood of Jesus what other sacrifice must be made in order for a person to be saved?
M: The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by grace and not by works and Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 16:24 that if anyone wants to come after Him, they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him.
C: Please be a little bit clearer Mike, I don’t really understand why we are talking about the cross…I thought that Jesus finished up everything about the cross?
M: What I mean is that you have to renounce yourself and do what pleases the Lord. The cross is the symbol of death where all your carnal desires, your passions….must die and from this point forward you must search out the will of God for your life.
C: Oh my goodness! Do you think that’s possible?
M: You can’t do it in your own strength, but the Holy Spirit can help you to do it
C: Can you teach me to read the Bible? I don’t know where to start and it seems somewhat complicated to me.
M: Oh no Corinne! There’s nothing complicated about it. First of all, you have to understand that man can’t live by bread alone but only by every word that comes from the mouth of God as Jesus says in Matthew 4:4. If you don’t read the word of God, your spirit will die and you will be totally ignorant of the God’s commands as well as His promises. For example, when I gave my life to Jesus, I started reading the New Testament because I was really enthusiastic about the miracles that Jesus performed and especially by the promises concerning eternal life. After that I started reading the book of Genesis and continued from there.
C: I have a friend that told me that every time she reads the Bible she closes her eyes and then opens her Bible randomly to read the chapter or verse that first gets her attention
M: Corrine, I think you should know that our God is not a God of chance or random happenstance. First, when you go to Christian meetings such as a service at church, you should write down all the verses mentioned and then reread them contemplatively once you return home. Another thing, when you want to read the Bible you should say a short prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you insight because without Him you won’t be able to understand anything.
C: Could you talk to me a little bit more about the Holy Spirit?
M: First, digest the first can of Guigoz and then I will talk to you about the Holy Spirit in Guigoz lesson # 2.
