how to become a christian

Christmas for You, in 60-Seconds

Jesus, God’s only begotten son, vacated his right place in heaven, therefore giving up his Godhood, to become one of us!  He was born to a woman named Mary and came to carry out a mission: to make way for the salvation of all humankind.

Of course he succeeded!

Jesus grew up, lived a sinless life, rallied many toward the Kingdom of Heaven, and then died upon a cross, sacrificially shedding his blood in the ultimate act of forgiving all of us of all of our sins.  He died for every bad thing, every bad thought, every lie, every hurt. Three days later he arose from the dead.

All you have to do is believe this, willingly receive Him as your Savior, trust him as Lord of your life, and you will be saved from an eternity in Hell and instead be guaranteed life in Heaven. He will then place His Spirit within you, to empower you to live as He would have you to live.

As the Bible says:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Perhaps a simple prayer for you could be: Lord Jesus, I need your forgiveness, please take away my hurts and pain, and fill me with joy. I surrender my life to you. Empower me to do this Lord, because I can’t do it on my own. Amen.

Find a Bible and read the Gospel of John. You will love it.

Merry Christmas from the Sussman household to yours!

This was originally published on December 24, 2013, and updated Christmas day 2022.

STD’s in the USA: The High Price of Turning From God

America’s deep, dark, dirty little secret has been, for decades, the fact that it produces more pornography than anywhere else on the entire globe (source: Business Insider, and Daily Mail).  In fact, some two-thirds of all U.S porn sites are hosted in California with the country hosting a total of at least 4.2 million domains containing porn. That latter stat is just another reason why I loath the state in which I was born.

Pornography fuels a host of evils. It ruins a man’s ability to properly relate to women. It is a major cause of divorce and thus tears apart families. For millions, it is a literal addiction and has, for so many, led to abhorrent sexual behavior that has resulted in dangerous, and even deadly, sexually transmitted disease (STD).

This year, STD’s in America are worse than ever.

In a bold article at CNSNews, David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, calls the spike in STD’s, “out of control.” Syphilis cases are now at their highest rate since 1991 and the total cases hit its highest since 1948. HIV is up 16 percent from last year.

Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and homosexuals have the highest rates. Drug use and alcohol use are contributing to risky behavior.

According to the Mayo Clinic, “In the U.S., gay men are more likely to smoke than are heterosexual men, and gay men are more likely to deal with alcoholism than is the general population.” Moreover, the latest news comes on the heels of monkeypox, a disease that is overwhelmingly driven by gay sexual practices.

Even more bizarre, it was found that condom use is declining.

Of course, Harvey’s group declares the answer is more federal dollars—at least $500 million—for STD clinics. Also, Dr. Leandro Mena, director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, is calling for policies the reduce stigma of things like gay sex.

Like either of those will help.

Satan has succeeded in twisting and perverting sex. He has taken what is good and right (love between a husband and wife) and replaced it with lust, pornography, adultery, rape, and homosexuality. Pornography can be the first step on a very slippery slope of ever-increasing wickedness and immorality (Romans 6:19). The addictive nature of pornography is well documented. Just as a drug user must consume greater quantities of drugs or more powerful drugs to achieve the same “high,” pornography drags a person deeper and deeper into hard-core sexual addictions and ungodly desires.

My friends at Got Questions remind us of God’s remedy for such destructive impulses:

The three main categories of sin are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Pornography definitely causes us to lust after flesh, and it is undeniably a lust of the eyes. Pornography definitely does not qualify as one of the things we are to think about, according to Philippians 4:8. Pornography is addictive (1 Corinthians 6:12; 2 Peter 2:19) and destructive (Proverbs 6:25-28; Ezekiel 20:30; Ephesians 4:19). Lusting after other people in our minds, which is the essence of pornography, is offensive to God (Matthew 5:28). When habitual devotion to pornography characterizes a person’s life and he/she continues in sin without seeking help, making no attempt to stop or feeling no desire to change his/her behavior, it demonstrates the person may not be saved (1 Corinthians 6:9-12).

For those involved in pornography, God can and will give the victory–you just have to want it.

Are you involved with pornography and desire freedom from it? Here are some steps to victory: 1) Confess your sin to God (1 John 1:9). 2) Ask God to cleanse, renew, and transform your mind (Romans 12:2). 3) Ask God to fill your mind with things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable (Philippians 4:8). 4) Learn to possess your body in holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). 5) Understand the proper meaning of sex and rely on your spouse alone to meet that need (1 Corinthians 7:1-5). 6) Realize that if you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). 7) Take practical steps to reduce your exposure to graphic images. Install pornography blockers on your computer, limit television and video usage, and find another Christian who will pray for you and help keep you accountable.

If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, it’s a very simple process to get the ball and chain of pornography from your body.

Admit you are a sinner, believe He died once and for all for your sins; understand by faith that he rose from the dead and conquered the grave for you; believe in your heart He is returning as your King and someday you will live forever with Him in Eternity. Then, surrender your life to him,

Once you take the above step of faith He will fill you with His very own Spirit. This “Holy Spirit” will provide you with the incredible power necessary to beat back the lust of the flesh.

Back to Basics: My Story

My story of coming to faith in Jesus began when I was a boy. My dad made sure my brother and I grew up with our Jewish identity, but we were largely quite secular.

During the fall of my tenth year I happened upon a terrible accident that occurred on a Saturday afternoon just up the street from the apartment complex we lived in. There was a small MG sports cars parked, with a dented front end. Outside the car a teenage girl was completely distraught. In front of the car was a twisted bicycle. Next to the bike was the body of a young boy.

I didn’t know who the boy was until his parents arrived on the scene. It was my friend Kenny. We had just played a Pop Warner football game that morning.

Kenny didn’t make it. Later that week I was a pallbearer at his funeral.

I came home from that funeral petrified of death. That night I prayed: God, if you’re there I need to know who you are. I don’t want to die like Kenny. I don’t want to go to hell; I want to go to heaven. 

There seemed to be no response from God for many years.

My life began to unravel from within as I was so paranoid about dying. I don’t need to go into all the details, but I was a mess. Finally, in college, I met woman my age who recognized the need in my life. She encouraged me to read the New Testament with her. I was reluctant, because as a Jew the New Testament is off-limits. But, honestly, thanks to her attractiveness, I obliged.

I read about Jesus and his disciples. They were all Jewish. Jesus spoke of heaven and eternal life. He said, “Cast your cares upon me.”  Jesus was more than just a good man. He was the only Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. He promised his followers eternal life.

It was everything I had hoped for.

So, I prayed. I privately prayed to God to take my fear away, and come into my life and empower me with His Spirit. Immediately that fear of death and hell that had gripped me for years finally vanished. That initial prayer turned into a lifestyle of surrender to Jesus.

My heart has been in a state of renewal ever since.

This is my story.

And by the way, I married the attractive young woman.

Are you ready to let God rewrite your story?