Why did you come by this site today? Were you looking for some
Bible study materials for your church? Are you leading a home Bible study
group? Are you doing research for a school project? Maybe you are a
skeptic seeing what the other side has to say?
Regardless of why you came by today, regardless of who you are pastor,
teacher, student or skeptic, this may well be your day of decision. You
can be in church for years, even studied for the ministry, or taught Sunday
school classes, but if your have not had a personal experience with Christ,
you will have missed out on the greatest gift of all -- God's forgiveness and
Salvation.
If there is a single theme to the Bible, it's God loves you. It's the
greatest love story of all. Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish
but have everlasting life." (John 3.16). However, there is a
problem. That problem is sin. The Bible says that "All have sinned
and come short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3.23).
Now, sin simply means to miss the mark. It's like in archery, you are
aiming at the target but you can't seem to hit the bullseye. The arrow
falls short of the target because try as you might, you just don't have enough
strength to pull the string back far enough.
The "mark" we are speaking of here is God's righteousness. And without
that righteousness we will be forever separated from God beginning here and
now and going on through eternity.
So, if we can't obtain God's righteousness on our own, and we need it to have
a relationship with him, where does that leave us? Remember, I said God
loves you. He loves you so much that he came in the form of Jesus
Christ, lived among us, and then took the penalty of sin, which is death, upon
himself so we could be become the children of God. Romans 5.7 puts it this
way, "God showed his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ
died for us."
So, what do we need to do to obtain this salvation and have an eternal
relationship with God? It's simple really. First we acknowledge
that we are sinners and need to be cleansed. I John 1.9 says "If we
confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness." Then we need to repent. What that means
is to determine with God's help to not return to those sins we committed in
the past. In other words, we let God take over the control of our lives.
Whether you have been in church all of your life, or you have never been in
church at all, unless you have a personal, living experience with God through
Christ Jesus, you will not spend eternity with Him. It would be like
driving south and expecting to end up in the east. It will never happen.
The Good News is that God makes this salvation available to everyone.
So, if you want that salvation today, simply ask him for it. If you
don't know what to say you can use this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I am sorry for my sins and I ask forgiveness. Please, come into my heart and
make me clean within. With your help I will live for you and serve you. Thank
you for the gift of salvation. Amen
If you said that prayer, and really meant what you were saying, you are now
part of God's Eternal Family and even the angels in heaven are rejoicing over
your decision.
You can make your first confession right now.
Click Here and write me a note telling me about your decision. I will get
back in touch and send you some material which will help you begin your
Christian life.
You can get started now with a special Bible Study for someone just beginning
to walk the Christian life. Just
Click Here and
if you need any help don't hesitate to
write us.
You also need to find a good Bible Believing church home. If you live in the
Fresno, California area, I invite you to
Evangel Tabernacle Assembly of
God. You can also find the addresses of other
Assemblies of God churches on-line. But whatever the church or
denomination, there are many good churches in most communities. Plug in and
grow through fellowship.