Knowing Christ
Is There More to Life?
We live in a day and age when the security of
“knowing” has been replaced with confusion and wonder.
There are so many voices today; who’s right and who’s wrong?
Never before in the history of mankind have so many different
viewpoints, opinions and perspectives been available to us.
It seems that with the internet, TV, news and print, there is
a never-ending assault on our own beliefs.
What we believe today may not be what we believe tomorrow.
It seems as though our beliefs and convictions change like
the weather in Cleveland.
And yet somewhere, deep down inside of all of us, there is
this nagging feeling that there has to be more to life than this.
You know what, you’re right!
The fact is, Almighty God loves you and has a purpose and
plan for your life, and, hard as it is to believe, God loves you,
yes you.
Where am I?
Aside from those who choose to reject or ignore
it, most people alive today have a belief in God.
Most people also know, if they were honest, that we as
people, have missed the bull’s eye in terms of our relationship with
Him. So what does it
take to “get right with God?”
If you’re asking this question, then the good news
is that you’ve already taken the first step towards God.
So where are you now?
Well, you’re in the same place as the rest of all mankind,
separated from God. And
what separates us? The
Bible says in the book of Romans, chapter 3 and verse 23, that “all have sinned,” and that is why we are separated from God.
If we choose to ignore this or refuse to confront it, the
Bible says that it will result in eternal separation from God.
The Solution
You’ve seen it at football games and maybe at
other sporting events, you know, the big sign in the end zone that
says JOHN 3:16. It’s a
reference to a verse in the Bible from St. John’s gospel that says,
“For God so loved the world
that He gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This verse in the Bible is perhaps the most memorized, most
quoted verse of all scripture; but what makes it so important?
The verse tells us that God, understanding our “separated
state,” not only loved us, as it says in John 3:16, but He also
demonstrated His love to us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to die
for us. God did this,
even though we, as sinners, were separated from Him.
Most of us know the story of Christmas, no not the Santa Claus
version, but the Babe in the Manger version.
What most people don’t know is that it was a real, historical
event and not just a story.
God, wanting to close the separation between Himself and His
beloved creation, sent His only Son, Jesus to be born of the blessed
Virgin Mary on that Christmas morning, to live, and ultimately to
die an agonizing death on the cross, so that each of us could have
the debt of our sin forgiven and live the life God intended both
during our stay here on earth and through all of eternity in His
heaven.
What do I do now?
The Bible uses a word that is not often used or
real familiar today; the word is “repent.”
It’s a word that simply means to have a change of mind.
It’s as if you were heading some place and decided that you
didn’t want to go there, so you turned around.
In terms of our relationship with God, it simply means that
we want to turn from our life of separation from God to a
life with God. In
terms of our stubborn ways (sin), you simply acknowledge before God
that you are sorry for who you’ve been and what you’ve done, and
then make that “change of mind” that says to God, “Alright, I’ll
stop doing my thing, and allow you to do your thing in my life.”
If you’re ready to make that decision now, I invite you to
say this prayer.
A Prayer
“Lord Jesus, I’ve just read how you came to
this earth to die for my sins and I want to thank you.
I humbly ask you now to forgive my sins.
I ask you Lord Jesus to help me, through the power of your
Spirit, to repent. I ask
you Lord Jesus to come into my life, be my Lord and my Savior.
Help me to make this big decision in my life, to change my
mind. Lord Jesus, I ask
you to dissolve the separation between me and our Father in heaven.
I want to be with you and to serve you for the rest of my
time here on earth.
Amen.”
Did you pray this prayer?
YES
NO, I have a question
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