John 3:16
This is quite possibly the most famous verse in the Bible. But do you really understand it's meaning and what an eternal gift these words proclaim? Every human is a child of God, created in God's own image. And even more than we love our own children, God loves us. And that is what this verse is all about. God wants us to be with Him for all eternity, to live with Him in a world of no pain, suffering, or tears; a world of no sin. But unfortunately, we are all sinners and by our own decisions we have fallen short of Gods perfection and righteousness, and there is a heavy price to pay. The penalty of sin is death. But being a loving God that is full of grace and mercy, He gave us a substitute to take the punishment for our sins that we deserved. He sent His perfect, sinless Son Jesus to this earth to be the sacrifice for all mankind. Jesus humbled Himself, gave up His throne in heaven and came to this earth as a human to serve, teach, heal and save us from ourselves. No matter what sins we have committed, the perfect blood of Jesus has been shed to wash away ALL of our sins and grant us the opportunity to have eternal life. We just have to accept the gift.
Do you have the peace inside of you that can only come from knowing and accepting Jesus as your Savior? Do you have the confidence of knowing you will spend eternity in heaven? If not, it really is an easy thing to do. Romans 10:9 tells us "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved". It really is that easy. There is nothing else that you have to do (or can do), Jesus did it all for us! And you don't have to change anything. God wants you right now just as you are. If you want to secure your eternal home in the kingdom of God, you can do that today. Pray the following prayer:
Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner. I have not lived my life and followed You as I should have. But I want to repent and change that right now. I believe that You sent Your son Jesus to this earth to be my savior. I believe that Jesus went to the cross as my replacement, to take the punishment that I deserve, and that God raised Him from the grave. I need you Jesus! Please take my life and do with it what you will. I am yours. Guide me to live a life that pleases you, serves you, and teach me to become more like you. Thank you God for loving me and offering me eternal life with You despite my sin. Jesus, I am yours. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer for the first time, I am so happy for you. Here are a couple of tips to help you with your new walk with God. One would be to get a newer translation Bible with wording that you can understand. I like the "Life Application Study Bible" or the "NLT Bible" (New Living Translation). Whatever version you get, just make sure that you read it. God gives us direction for every situation in life, but we have to read the Bible for His word to help us. The other thing that I recommend is to find a church that is Christ centered, that holds and teaches in a relevant manner (focusing on our current society and life) and biblical truths (not only what our society approves of). It may take a while to find a church like that, but they are out there so don't give up the search. God bless you!
This is quite possibly the most famous verse in the Bible. But do you really understand it's meaning and what an eternal gift these words proclaim? Every human is a child of God, created in God's own image. And even more than we love our own children, God loves us. And that is what this verse is all about. God wants us to be with Him for all eternity, to live with Him in a world of no pain, suffering, or tears; a world of no sin. But unfortunately, we are all sinners and by our own decisions we have fallen short of Gods perfection and righteousness, and there is a heavy price to pay. The penalty of sin is death. But being a loving God that is full of grace and mercy, He gave us a substitute to take the punishment for our sins that we deserved. He sent His perfect, sinless Son Jesus to this earth to be the sacrifice for all mankind. Jesus humbled Himself, gave up His throne in heaven and came to this earth as a human to serve, teach, heal and save us from ourselves. No matter what sins we have committed, the perfect blood of Jesus has been shed to wash away ALL of our sins and grant us the opportunity to have eternal life. We just have to accept the gift.
Do you have the peace inside of you that can only come from knowing and accepting Jesus as your Savior? Do you have the confidence of knowing you will spend eternity in heaven? If not, it really is an easy thing to do. Romans 10:9 tells us "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved". It really is that easy. There is nothing else that you have to do (or can do), Jesus did it all for us! And you don't have to change anything. God wants you right now just as you are. If you want to secure your eternal home in the kingdom of God, you can do that today. Pray the following prayer:
Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner. I have not lived my life and followed You as I should have. But I want to repent and change that right now. I believe that You sent Your son Jesus to this earth to be my savior. I believe that Jesus went to the cross as my replacement, to take the punishment that I deserve, and that God raised Him from the grave. I need you Jesus! Please take my life and do with it what you will. I am yours. Guide me to live a life that pleases you, serves you, and teach me to become more like you. Thank you God for loving me and offering me eternal life with You despite my sin. Jesus, I am yours. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer for the first time, I am so happy for you. Here are a couple of tips to help you with your new walk with God. One would be to get a newer translation Bible with wording that you can understand. I like the "Life Application Study Bible" or the "NLT Bible" (New Living Translation). Whatever version you get, just make sure that you read it. God gives us direction for every situation in life, but we have to read the Bible for His word to help us. The other thing that I recommend is to find a church that is Christ centered, that holds and teaches in a relevant manner (focusing on our current society and life) and biblical truths (not only what our society approves of). It may take a while to find a church like that, but they are out there so don't give up the search. God bless you!