God's Good News For You!

Did you know that God's got good news for you? The good news is that He loves you and has made a way for you to live forever with Him in heaven. The Bible says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." 

But why did God have to send His only Son into the world in order for us to have eternal life? The answer is that all humankind... every man, woman, boy and girl is separated from God because of sin. Sin is when we disobey God and His rules. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Sin is the reason there is death in this world and the only remedy for sin is God's free gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. 

At Christmas time we give gifts to each other to celebrate the birth Jesus. But He is God's GIFT to the world. While Jesus was here on earth he did some very important things. He taught us about God and how much He loves us. He also did many miracles to prove that He was God's Son. And most important, Jesus lived a perfect life, completely free from sin, and then He died on a cross. Through His death He took upon Himself the punishment for sin that we all deserved. This is what the Bible calls "salvation". In Romans 5:8 it says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Jesus' work of salvation did not end with His death. He also rose from the dead after three days proving that He had power over death and the power to give eternal life.

Isn't it good news that Jesus loves us so much that He died so that we could be saved from our sin? But what do we have to DO in order to get eternal life? Can we earn it by being good and pleasing God? Well, it is important to be good and to live by God's rules. But, being good enough is NOT how we get eternal life. You see, we could never be good enough on our own to EARN God's salvation. That's why we need Jesus. Eternal life is a FREE gift that's available to everyone who believes in God and in the work that Jesus did on the cross. All we need to do is RECEIVE it. In John 1:12 the Bible tells us," To all who received him, to those who believed in his name; He gave the right to become children of God." God wants you to be His son or daughter and be part of His family forever and ever. You just need to receive the gift that He is offering. 

Some people might think that they don't need Jesus to get to heaven. Maybe they think they can be good enough on their own or that maybe there's a different way to God. Well, Jesus claimed that He alone is the ONLY way to God. In John 14:16, "Jesus said, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." If there were any other way for us to get to God, Jesus would not have had to suffer and die on the cross. But He willingly laid His life down because He loved us so much and wanted us to live forever with Him. 

Eternal life is given to us when we believe and trust in Jesus and in what He has done for us. In Romans 10:9 the Bible tells us, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Receiving God's salvation is only a prayer away. Once you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and He rose again from the dead, the next step is to ask Him to forgive you of everything you've ever done wrong and to come into your life. 

God wants to forgive you of all your sins and give you hope that you will live in heaven with Him forever. He also wants to come into your life right now through the presence of His Holy Spirit and give you the power to be the person He created you to be. So, if you are ready to receive God's free gift of salvation and invite Jesus into your life, just pray this simple prayer...

Father in Heaven, thank you for loving me.
And for sending Jesus to die so I can be free.
I ask for your forgiveness, please cleanse me of my sin.
Fill me with your Spirit now and change me from within.
Thanks for your forgiveness and life that will never end.
I pray this simple prayer to you in Jesus name, Amen.

If you prayed this prayer and really meant it from your heart, God wants you to know that He has forgiven all your sins and has given you eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. He also has come to live in your heart through His Holy Spirit and promises never to leave you all the days of your life. 

Because eternal life is a GIFT from God and not something we earn by being good enough, we never have to worry about God taking it away from us, even if we make a mistake and do something wrong. You see, God never lies or goes back on His word and He promised that if we believe in Jesus we WILL have eternal life. On top of this, Jesus also promised us that we are safe in His hands. In John 10:28, Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand." We can know for sure that we have eternal life because God's word promises it to us. What's more, this eternal life doesn't just begin when we go to heaven. It begins right now! 

When you believe in Jesus, receive His gift of salvation and invite Him into your life something amazing happens. God actually comes to live in your heart through the presence of His Holy Spirit and you become a new person. The Bible calls this being "born again". Just like a new-born baby opens his eyes and sees the world around him for the first time, our eyes are opened spiritually and we see things in a whole new way. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Bible says, "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come." As a new believer you are now "in Christ" which means your life is now a part of His and you will begin to see the world through His eyes. Welcome to the family of God!!!