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Are
you searching for answers to life’s most troubling questions?
In the
next few moments, you can find forgiveness, a personal relationship
with God, peace, freedom from guilt, wisdom, and the Father’s
plan for your life.
What are
the steps for you to take to discover these vital answers?
Step
1—Understand that God’s desire for you
is life, abundant and eternal.
The Bible
declares: "I am come that they might have life, and that
they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Giving
you abundant life required the supreme sacrifice: "For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life" (John 3:16).
God desires
fellowship and companionship with you. What a wonderful gift
the Father has given, yet if God gave His own Son to provide
an abundant and everlasting life, why don’t more people
have what He has designed for us to receive? It is a question
answered by this sobering realization.
Step 2—Realize that you are separated
from God.
There
is a gap between God and mankind. He has provided a way for
us to receive an abundant and eternal life, but people throughout
the ages have made selfish choices to disobey God Almighty.
These choices continue to cause separation from the Father.
God’s
Word shows us that the result of sin is death. He says in
His Word: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs
14:12).
And God
also said, "But your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you,
that he will not hear" ( Isaiah 59:2).
Paul the
apostle states in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God."
And in
Romans 6:23 we read: "For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord."
Every
human was created with the ability and need to know God and
fellowship with Him. Augustine, a minister who lived during
the fourth and fifth centuries, called this longing in each
of us "that God-shaped vacuum."
Every
day we hear of people who are rich, famous, achievers, star
athletes—people who seem to have the best life can offer—yet
they try to fill that empty void in their lives with "things."
They even try good works, morality, and religion. Yet they
remain empty, for only God, through His Son, can fill that
emptiness.
Step 3—Accept the fact that God has
provided only one solution to sin and separation from Himself.
Jesus
Christ, His Son, is the only way to God. Only He can reconcile
us to God the Father. Mankind may seek other solutions and
worship other gods, but Jesus Christ, alone, died on the Cross
for our sins and rose in triumph over the grave and eternal
death. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap
between God and mankind.
The Bible
explains: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8).
We are
also told, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God"
(1 Peter 3:18).
There
is only one way provided: "For there is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"
( 1 Timothy 2:5).
For in
John 14:6 we read, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me."
God Almighty
has provided the only way. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for
our sin and rebellion against God by dying on the cross, shedding
His blood, and rising from the dead to justify and reconcile
you back to God the Father.
Step 4—Receive Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord.
You can
be brought back to God, and your relationship with Him can
be restored by trusting in Christ alone to save your life
from destruction. What an incredible exchange: Your worst
for God’s best!
This step
happens by asking Jesus Christ to take away your sin and to
come into your heart to be your Lord and Savior.
God’s
Word is very clear: "Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me"
(Revelation 3:20).
And the
Bible tells us, "That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved"
(Romans 10:9).
Is there
any good reason why you cannot receive Jesus Christ into your
heart right now?
Are you
willing to let go of your burdens and sins?
Are you
willing to turn away and repent from your sins?
Are you
willing to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now?
Step 5—Pray to receive Jesus Christ
into your life.
At this
moment you can pray the most important prayer of your life
by simply saying:
Dear
Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You
came to earth 2,000 years ago. I believe you died for me on
the cross and shed Your blood for my salvation. I believe
you rose from the dead and ascended on high. I believe You
are coming back again to earth. Dear Jesus, I am a sinner.
Forgive my sin. Cleanse me now with Your precious blood. Come
into my heart. Save my soul right now. I give you my life.
I receive You now as my Savior, my Lord, and my God. I am
Yours forever, and I will serve You and follow You the rest
of my days. From this moment on, I belong to You only. I no
longer belong to this world, nor to the enemy of my soul.
I belong to You, and I am born again. Amen!
By praying
this prayer, confessing your sins, and receiving Jesus Christ
into your heart, God has given you the right to become His
forgiven child. The Bible gives you this assurance: "But
as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become
the sons of God, even to them who believe on his name"
(John 1:12).
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