A Polish Girl from Cracow
I would like to share with you of God's presence in my life and His faithfulness. My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 1: 6, " Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ".
I grew up in a Catholic family and did not know what it meant to be " saved " until I was 15 years old and when I went to a Church camp in my country Poland. This camp was part of an evangelistic youth movement in Poland which was started with the help of Campus Crusade for Christ. My husband Joe was part of this from the very beginning, it was his mission in Poland in the 1970's. It was here where I heard the " Four Spiritual Laws " and became a follower of Jesus Christ. The second law upset me as I was a very religious person who didn't consider herself a sinner. The Holy Spirit convicted me during the camp time and I was born again. I placed my faith in Christ alone and understood that He died in my place. I participated in the 1980's and we met in America in 1990. We were married six months later. This recent picture below shows how God has blessed us.
How did the Lord bring us together ? I came to the United States, taking a break from my Theater studies at the University of Kraków. I was planning to have a career as a theater director. By this time I had already drifted from the Lord, after four years of University studies away from my high School fellowship group.
Satan is always working on you, looking for weakness and the right moment. My " weaknesses" were the theater and being too open to new things, changes and new people. I was like ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
You may have heard about the story of the frog who was thrown into boiling water and jumped right out; But of you put the frog in cool water on a burning stove, he will sit there and die slowly. In this way I was caught up in the business of theater life, doing projects, watching plays, studying and strange relationships. I was falling slowly, slowly for four years and I was almost spiritually dead. I was still acting good, looking like a believer and having some sucess in my career, but with a painful emptiness in my heart.
It was so painful, because I once experienced a fruitful spiritual life; Unspeakable joy, peace and closeness with God. I was teaching other girls and leading others to faith by sharing the four spiritual laws. Now I couldn't pray or read the Bible: doing this was so hard and awful. Remembering my past was like a dream and I even wondered; Was this me? I was miserable and like the frog dying slowly. I left my home town because I thought that maybe I just needed a break.
One week after my arrival to Chicago I met my husband to be, Joe. I had to deliver some political books to him from my brother who knew about Joe and his newsletter about the situation in Poland during martial law. We didn't plan on spending more than five minutes together, but Someone had a different plan for us.
For both of us, this time in our memories was the most meaningful and joyful time of our lives, which we could never forget. We both had our own situations now and were amazed to come across one another at this time in our lives. On this first day we spent about eight hours talking and sharing like we couldn't remember when for years.
In America I learned not only to read the Bible, but to love God's Word. Through the study of Romans the joy of my salvation has returned. Mary Whelchel of the Moody Church was my first teacher. Here are some of the first things that I learned about God's love and forgiveness.
1. Jesus proved His claims to being God in the flesh by fulfilling over 300 prophecies and types from the Old Testament, His brilliant miracles, His resurrection and His foretelling the future which is unfolding before our very eyes today. There is no one in all of history who compares with Him and everyone in the world wants to live near His true followers who live by His word and in His Spirit. " You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. " John 8:23,24
2. Jesus did not come from Heaven to condemn people but to save them from condemnation. He came to rescue sinners who needed forgiveness from guilt and the penalty of eternal condemnation in Hell. “ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son. That whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ” John 3: 16-17
3. Which side of the Cross of Jesus Christ determines your eternal destiny. Two thieves were crucified on either side of Jesus. One did not believe in Him, but the other confessed his sin and did believe in Him. One died in his sins and the other went to Paradise. You must decide yourself if you will trust in Jesus alone and accept His full payment for your sins. “ He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ” Col. 2:13, 14
4. Jesus, the God - Man said that only God is good. He even told the Apostles that they were sinful. In Heaven it is recorded by the Apostle John, who was taken there in the Apocalypse, that Jesus Christ, who is also God was the only human to live a perfect and holy life. This means that every other human in all of history is not good and in need of Salvation. We must see our sinfulness as our great enemy ( meta-noia ) and look to Christ in obedient faith for our free gift of salvation and new birth. “ Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good -- except God alone. ” Mark 10:18 ( This statement is recorded in Luke and Matthew as well. )
5. Jesus Christ offers eternal and abundant life, starting here and now to all who commit their full trust and faith to Him. If you believe only in Him, He will change your life now and forever. You will never be condemned for your sins. His salvation is God’s gift to you, paid for by Him on the Cross where His shed blood paid the full penalty for our sins. " I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. ” John 5:24
6. He looked for those who would trust in Him alone for salvation and not in their religious works of self righteousness or by following any religious system. The finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary is our only hope of ever seeing Heaven. None of us can ever earn our way to Heaven. True goodness is the result of His changing us from within after we come to Him for salvation. “ He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. ” Titus 3:5
7. An individual relationship with Christ must be our most important relationship. As we walk in His Spirit abiding in Christ, the life of a follower involves good works, church fellowship, believer’s baptism, partaking in full communion with other believers, daily Bible study, immediate confession of sin to God in prayer, daily repentance ( burning physical and mental bridges to all sinful behaviour ), walking in living faith with the full armor of God, overcoming the world and fulfilling God’s mission for our life. " Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:33-35 ( This statement by Jesus is also in two other Gospels for emphasis )
If Jesus Christ is not everything to you and you want Him to be, today you can begin a never ending relationship with Him by trusting in Him alone and by wanting Him to change you. This means that His word is supreme in your life. The Holy Bible is the only book in all of history which has the words of Jesus, the words of the Apostles He Himself chose and the word’s of the prophets whom He often quoted. Jesus who is God and the Apostles asked us to never change their message and warned us that those who did are in danger of God’s wrath. Providentially we have thousands of ancient manuscripts and sources which let us know that we have their message in our possession.
" Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed. " Galatians 1:8 ( The Apostle Paul )
It is here alone where you will find His will for your life. Pray only to God and find a fellowship of believers who honor Christ and His word. Here is a suggested prayer that can express your commitment of faith to Him.
“ Lord of Heaven and Earth, Thank you for becoming a man in the person of Jesus Christ and for dying in my place on the Cross of Calvary. I am a sinful person in need of your complete forgiveness for my guilt and for the penalty of my sin. I accept you as my Savior and Lord; I surrender my trust to you alone. I now see that my sin is destroying me ( Meta - noia ). Please change me to be all you have meant me to be. I love you and want to serve You for the rest of my life.”
If you have prayed this prayer in earnest, please let us know.
Anna Losiak - P.O. Box 306 - Zion, IL 60099