 |
Welcome
Our desire is for everyone to come to a personal knowledge of the Lord. The truth is that God is real, and He created us to have a relationship with Him. Nothing else in the world will take away the void that each human is born with. That void is our separation from God due to sin.
No one is without sin (Romans 3:23). In fact, the bible tells us that unless God calls us to Himself, we cannot even seek God. We want to think that being good will get us into heaven, but that is not true. It is not hard to see how bad our world is and how sinful we can be. The evidence of sin is in the injustice and emotional pain caused by violent crime, divorce and immorality.
If, as humans, we are disgusted by a society of our own making, how much more pained is the God who created us for love and peace? God is so perfect, just and good, that He cant stand to look upon sin, and that means even at our best we are too sinful to be with God. We are all guilty before God. (John 1:8) The Bible says "the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) This means that the fair payment for our rebellion against God is death. It is the punishment that we deserve.
However, God provided a way for us to be reconciled to Himself through His son, Jesus. Jesus was born of a virgin, completely man and completely God, and lived a perfect, sinless life. He was crucified for us, (Romans 5:8) so that through His sacrifice, we could be forgiven our sins.
If Jesus had been just another man, His death would not have meant anything to us. If He had not risen from the grave, His promise of eternal life would be useless. The fact that Jesus died on the cross and then rose again gives us assurance that our faith is not in vain. Our Lord paid our debt and was powerful enough to destroy the power of death over us. In believing in Him, we share in His resurrection and life.
How to be born again
Many people call upon the name of Jesus, but are not sincere. They say His name, but do not know who He is. It is easy to say words without meaning them in your heart. True Christianity is not about attending a particular church, or how your parents raised you, or what country you were born in. Being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that He is your Savior. It's not good enough that your priest, pastor, mother, or aunt knows Jesus, you must know Him for yourself. They cannot believe in Him for you, you must believe for yourself. They cannot repent for you, you must repent for yourself.
Jesus, Himself, told us that we must be born again and receive the gift of salvation. (John 3:1-8) You can receive the gift of salvation and eternal life by asking Him to forgive you. He will not refuse anyone who comes to Him. The word "repent" literally means "to turn away from." You need to look at your life, admit that you are a sinner, genuinely desire to turn your back on that sin, and ask Him to forgive you. If you do this, He promises to forgive you.
Jesus is everywhere all the time. He can hear you now if you ask Him for forgiveness. Please turn your life over to Him NOW. Time slips by so quickly, don't miss this opportunity. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer something like this:
"Jesus, I know that I have sinned against you. I know the truth is that I have sinned by my own choice, and I am the one responsible for it. I know that I have earned punishment from You, and that the fair punishment would be death. Jesus, I believe that You died in my place. Forgive me for my sin. I cannot cover or take my sin away, I am relying totally and only on You. You are the only one who can save me. I reject my sin, I turn away from it, I repent. Come into my life, take away my sin, and show me how to live my life in a way that is right and pleasing to You."
If you have prayed this, and meant it with all of your heart, YOU ARE SAVED! You are now completely forgiven, a new creation, innocent in the eyes of God.
Welcome to the family of God!
It is important for you to start to grow in your relationship with Jesus. Just like any relationship, you need to spend time with someone if you want to know them well. The way to know God is through the Bible. It's also important to find a church you can attend where they teach the Bible. This will allow you to talk with a pastor who will help explain questions you might have, and it will give you a chance to spend time with other Christians who can encourage you.