Have you heard about God but never really done anything about it?
I’d love to tell you the good news of the gospel of Jesus, and show you the way to begin a relationship with Jesus!
But before I share the good news, I have to tell you the bad news. (The links in this post will take you to the applicable Bible passage.)
The bad news is that we are all dead in our sins, having broken God’s commandments and turned away from Him. And God is holy, set apart from anything sinful, so we cannot enter God’s presence or have a relationship with Him in our sinful state. The payment for sin is death, eternal separation from God.
But the good news is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God showed His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Though the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Salvation is a gift–we do not earn it or deserve it, but God gives it freely to all who believe in Him, and through Jesus we have peace with God.
But the good news gets even better! Jesus didn’t stay dead–He came back to life on the third day, and God exalted Him to the highest place, and He rules as Lord over all. When we choose to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, we receive God’s forgiveness of our sins, and we surrender control of our lives to Jesus.
What happens then is our dead spirits come to life, and we begin a relationship with God that continues for the rest of our lives and into eternity. We are adopted into God’s family as His children, so we no longer fear God but instead run to Him as our Father. God welcomes us into His presence every day, and His Spirit lives inside us, empowering us to accomplish God’s work here on earth and teaching us more and more about our heavenly Father. We can now boldly approach God’s throne of grace to find help in our time of need. And though we may still miss the mark of God’s perfection and holiness, when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all wrongdoing. He frees us to live the life that He created us to live, filled with amazing projects, dreams, and good works that God prepared in advance for us.
The Christian life is not a set of rules, but rather a relationship, and God wants us to grow deeper and deeper in our intimacy with Him by intentionally seeking Him every day. Though there is no 3-step formula to Christian growth (after all, what relationship works that way?), there are spiritual disciplines that we can practice to open ourselves to God’s work in us, as He grow us in spiritual maturity. The most common ones practiced by Christians throughout history include prayer, worship, reading the Bible, and gathering with other Christians in church.
If you want to begin a relationship with God, tell Him so in a simple prayer from your heart. Or, you can use the prayer I’ve written below to guide you:
Dear God, I realize that I’m a sinner and my sin separates me from You. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that He rose again on the third day. I accept Jesus as the Savior and Lord of my life, and I believe, based on what You promised, that I am saved from my sins. Thank You for the gift of eternal life, for sending Your Spirit to live inside of me, and for welcoming me into a relationship with You. Teach me how to grow deeper with You, and I look forward to an eternity of getting to know You more. Amen.
If you’ve just prayed to receive Jesus as Your Lord and Savior, would you let me know? I would love to celebrate with you! Woo-hoo! And I’d like to send you a gift to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. Simply send me an email here