God loves you and has a purpose for your life:
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, Jesus Christ, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. (John 3:16 MSG)
My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. (John 10:10 MSG)
But there is a problem….
All of us sin and our sin has separated us from God:
For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23 NLT)
We were created to have a relationship with God; but, because of our independent ways that fellowship with God was broken. The bible calls this sin.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)
Sin separates us from God. We try to reach God through our own efforts, like a good life, philosophy or religion, but we fail.
Jesus Christ is the only one that can bridge the gap to God.
But God showed his great love for us by sending Jesus Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT)
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me––that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time (1 Corinthians 15:3-6 NLT)
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NKJ)
But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT)
What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)
God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT)
Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. (Revelations 3:20)
Starting our relationship with God involves believing in Jesus Christ, turning from sinful desires (this is called repentance) and trusting Jesus to come into our lives and forgive our sins.
Next comes speaking to God (this is called prayer). God knows our heart and is more concerned with our attitude, than with our words.
Here’s a sample prayer…
"Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."
If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, then you can pray this prayer right now and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.
If you would like someone to pray with you concerning your decision to follow Jesus Christ, please call: 1-800-4PRAYER
