Perhaps, you’ve never known why you could or should believe in Him. Let me take a moment to introduce you to Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the greatest Person who has ever lived in all of Creation and in all of eternity. For those who look at historical evidence and the testimonies of eyewitnesses, the verdict is obvious. Jesus was and is God. He is the beginning and the end, the first and last, the Alpha and Omega, and the Author and Finisher of everything! Jesus is the eternal God and yet, He humbled Himself by stepping out of heaven to become a man and live on earth for thirty-three years. God put on human flesh and came to the planet He created.
While on earth, Jesus was the visible image of the invisible God. He loved people. He preached the truth. He went all over teaching, preaching and healing, to show people what God was like. He said that when people saw Him, they had seen the Father. He showed compassion. He did miracles. He raised the dead. He loved sinners. He healed the sick. He blessed children. He cared for the poor. He taught the Scriptures. He preached salvation. He cared about honesty, integrity and justice. He didn’t like religious phonies. He called out hypocrites. He revealed the true nature of God. He went about doing good things and teaching people about the Father God.
Jesus was a good man and a great Teacher, but the primary reason Jesus came to earth wasn’t to add His name to the list of well-known, religious leaders. The main reason Jesus came to earth was to rescue mankind and restore us back to God. He literally came to be our Savior––our Redeemer. He came to perform the most important and far-reaching search and rescue operation known to man.
Jesus was––and is––the only one qualified to fulfill such a mission. He is God––and man. As God, He humbled Himself and became a man. He was born as a baby in the Manger, so He could die as our Redeemer on the cross. He exchanged His sinless life for our sin-stained lives when He paid the ransom sin demanded with His spotless blood. He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sin. “For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness,” Hebrews 9:22, NLT.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He paid the wage our sins demanded, but He didn’t stay dead. Three days after His death on the cross, God raised Him from the dead. He is alive and seated in heaven. Jesus is not a dead religious leader; He is the living Savior of the world! It’s no wonder Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” John 14:6, NKJV.
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MAKE IT PERSONAL
Are you beginning to get a glimpse of how great God is? Can you see how much He loves you? Jesus is God’s answer to the sin problem that plagued mankind. He is God’s only provision for our sin. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to forgive all our sins. He came to set us free. Jesus came so we could pass from death to life. He came to give us life more abundantly.
That’s all great, right? Here’s where it gets personal. God doesn’t want Jesus to be an interesting biographical study, the subject of a lofty theological debate or an historical figure in a heady thesis on western civilization. God went to these great lengths because He wants to have a personal relationship with you.
This requires a decision on your part. It’s not enough to know about Jesus, the gospel or Bible stories; you must make a personal decision to receive Jesus. God will never force Himself into your life; He gives you the choice to accept or reject His Son. He gives you the choice to turn from trusting in yourself––your own good works, religion and self-righteous acts––to trusting in Jesus.
Trusting Jesus and becoming a Christ-follower––a Christian––is not difficult. You simply put all of your trust in Jesus by believing, receiving, and inviting Him into your heart. Declare Jesus as the Lord of your life. The result of trusting, believing, receiving and declaring Jesus as your Lord, is that you become a true-blue Christian!
If you have never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life––please, take time to do so right now. Let’s pray:
“Dear God, I want to become a Christian. I do believe and trust in Jesus. I believe He came to this earth to live a sinless life and to shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of my sin. I believe You raised Jesus from the dead and He is alive today. Jesus, I receive You into my life. Thank You for forgiving me of all of my sins. Today, I declare that Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life. I am saved. I am born again. I am a Christian! Amen.”
DID I MENTION THE BIG JUDGMENT?
If you prayed this prayer, congratulations! It’s a good thing, because I forgot to tell you about the judgment to come. While God is loving and full of mercy, He is also a God of justice and judgment and one day every person will stand before Him to give an account of their lives and choices.
The Apostle Paul said this, “On that day when, as my Gospel proclaims, God by Jesus Christ will judge men in regard to the things which they conceal (their hidden thoughts),” Romans 2:16, AMP. At the judgment, those who have rejected Jesus will find that their biggest sin and most notable deed is their choice to not trust, believe, receive or declare Jesus as Lord. Unfortunately, this choice will have grave eternal consequences.
The book of Revelation makes it clear, “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:11-15, NLT.
Thankfully, because of your decision to welcome Jesus into your life, when you stand before the Lord, you don’t have to be afraid. With Jesus as your Lord, the Father will see you in Him and all of your sins washed in His blood. When you arrive at the Pearly Gates, there is just one pass- word: Jesus!
Your entrance into heaven might sound something like this: “Thank You Heavenly Father for allowing me to enter Your eternal kingdom. I am so glad my name was written in Your Book of Life. I know that in and of my self, I have nothing to boast about. I don’t deserve to be here, but Jesus is the Lord of my life. My trust is in Him and not in myself. On the cross Jesus took all my sins and He gave me His righteousness. He rose from the dead and is my Lord and Savior.” At about that time, God will smile at you and nod to a nearby angel who will take you to see your loved ones and give you a grand tour of heaven. Something like that.
SCRIPTURES TO READ
___ John 10:10
___ Romans 3:23, 6:23
___ Ephesians 2:1-4
___ John 14:6
___ John 1:12
___ Romans 10:9-10
___ 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
___ Revelation 20
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