Have you ever noticed that millionaires and people that outwardly seem to have “everything” are actually quite miserable?
This world would like us to believe that if we are rich and have all that money can buy, then we can be happy.
We live the dream waiting. We think… well as soon as I go to college and begin to live life on my own I will be happy. As soon as I graduate college and get my first job I will be happy. As soon as I find that perfect someone and get married I will be happy. As soon as I buy my first home I will be happy. As soon as I get a new car I will be happy.
And it goes on and on and on and on.
It is not true.
John 3:16 says: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Did you know that God loves you? Take a moment to really think about that statement – God loves you. Regardless of your race, age, background, past failures or any other aspect of your life, He deeply cares about you and is personally aware of all that is going on in your life. In short, God has an incredible love for you and wants more than anything else to have a genuine, personal relationship with you that can last forever.
But there is a problem.
Romans 3:23 says: For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.
You have a problem; in fact we all have it – we have broken God’s commands. The Bible calls this sin. Have you ever lied, stolen, or thought a wrong thought Each of those actions breaks a command of God. Looking honestly into our own hearts reveals the truth – we have committed sin and are now forced to live with its devastating results. Sin did not always exist though. It all began with a choice that Adam made in the gardne of Eden. God had given him just one rule – to not eat of a specific tree – and he broke it. By that choice, he corrupted his own nature and would eventually pass that ruined nature on to us. When we were born, we took on the physical traits of our parents, but also received the sinful nature passed down to us by Adam.
There is also a penalty.
Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death…
Sin has a penalty, a punishment for wrong actions. You may think that you are a good person who does good things, but we are all guilty of breaking God’s commandments. Because of this we have to be punished. If someone were to commit a violent crime against you, but then the judge released that person unpunished because they attended church, volunteered in community events, or helped out their neighbor, you would rightly say that the judge was not a just judge. God is a just judge, and because of this He cannot let sin pass. We’ve all sinned and we deserve the penalty for that sin – an eternity separated from God, which the Bible refers to as spiritual death in a place called Hell.
There is a solution.
Romans 5:8 says: But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The only accepted payment for sin is death (which is separation from God), but God created a plan so that someone else could die to pay your sins.
God didn’t want to be separated from you.
I mentioned earlier that God loves you. The biggest obstacle to God’s reconciliation with you is your sin. God will not allow sin in heaven or build a relationship with those who have sin in their lives. There would have to be a full payment for your sin before you could have a relationship with God or enter heaven.
God provided a full-payment for your sin.
In His love and mercy, God chose to give His Son Jesus to pay for your sin. Jesus is just as much God as God the Father is, yet He came to earth and walked among us. God literally wrote Himself into human history in order to save mankind. While on earth, Jesus faced all the trials and temptations that we face, but never sinned. After a few years of preaching, some civic and religious leaders who didn’t think Jesus really was God had Him crucified. As He died on the cross, having done nothing wrong, He accomplished His greatest work – He paid for your sin. Three days later, he would rise from the dead, proving to all that He truly was God.
What will you do with this free gift that is being offered you?
Jesus died for you but like any gift that has been given you have a choice. You can accept it, ignore it, or reject it. What will you do with Jesus Christ?
Romans 10:13 says: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
What is your response?
Everyone responds to the gospel. Some ignore it, refusing to pay attention to God. Others reject it, choosing to take their chances with eternity. Then there are those who accept it, believing that Jesus really will save them from the penalty of their sins. For those who want to get right with God and live with His blessing on their life, there is a simple process of making the relationship right:
Admit your guilt and turn from sin.
For all have sinned… Romans 3:23
Believe in Christ’s payment for your sin.
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Pray, believing Jesus Christ is Lord and ask God to save you.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9
When I was 15 years old on December 13, 1990 when I was alone in my room I called out to God. Up to that point if anyone has asked, I would have told them I was an atheist. I called out to God and I said, “God I don’t even know if you exist… but if you do, I give my life to you. Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and save me.”
When I said those words my world changed.
It was not the saying of the words that did anything. It was the heartfelt cry out to God. Faith. Belief. Trust. Repentance.
When I said those words, a peace like I had never known came into my heart and gave me joy and happiness like I had never known before. I felt like God was putting his arms around me and giving me a warm hug.
It was that moment that I was “born again” and born into the family of God. God saved me and washed ALL my sins away and it was from that date forward if anyone ever asked me, “If you were to die today are you 100% for sure you would go to Heaven when you die?” That I could answer with a definitive YES.
When you get saved certain things happen. You are born into God’s family. You begin to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. You begin to have peace and joy.
I ask you. I challenge you to honestly ask yourself. If you were to die today, are you 100% for sure you would go to Heaven when you died?
If not, consider calling on Him today. What have you got to lose?
For the last few years of doing business online, I have always tried to keep my personal views and my business completely separate. It was never a secret that my main day job is living in Puebla, Mexico where my family and I serve as missionaries. (http://www.ReachingPuebla.com) It was never a secret that my husband is a pastor. That when my first child was only 4 months old, I left my home and went to a strange city where I did not know a single soul to start a church with my husband. I was never ashamed of my true passion in life… but I wanted to keep it separate.
