"The First Step In A New Life"
(When you really want to change your life for the better)
Do you feel Empty, Lost and Alone?
Life can be hard. Sometimes, we have to endure a hard day. Other times, we face unrelenting heartache. No amount of tears can bring it to an end. Most of us face difficult times more often than we would like. Yet as difficult as life can be, hope guides us and gets us through the storms of life. Take away hope, and even the small things crush us.
As we look at the big picture in our world, we see hopeless situations. The news regularly bombards us with stories of the harmful and even evil situations people endure. Abuse, divorce, murder, war, famine, rape and natural disasters torment our lives and shred our broken world. Beyond the unexpected disasters that make the news, we're wounded by the daily actions of others who never get headlines...but, hurt us deeply.We begin to wonder how God can allow bad things to happen to good people. Is this how God intended us to live? Is this the kind of life He created us for?
Thankfully, the answer is, NO. The bible tells us the true story of how God created us and our world, how we fell away from His original design, and what He did to heal our brokenness. It offers hope because we discover that God is in the business of restoring us to His beautiful intentions. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, tells us that God created everything...plants, trees, birds, animals and you and me. God created the first man and woman...Adam and Eve in His own image and declared that all he made was "very good" (Genesis 1:27, 31). What Happened to us and our world? Look around you. What happened? How did things go from "very good" to "very bad?" How did the relationship between God, His creation and people get so messed up? The answer, in a word, is "sin."
Sin is any action, thought or word that violates God's loving standard. Because God is all-loving and all good, we can say that sin is simply being "not like God." God loves us so much that He wants us to freely choose to love and follow him. Genuine love can't be forced. So, God created humanity with the ability to choose not to love or follow him.
And sad to say, that's what we've done. In the beginning, He gave Adam and Eve clear instructions about a simple matter...a fruit tree to avoid. But, they let their pride override their desire to obey, crossing a boundary God had set. By choosing to disobey God, they traded His design of perfect community for death and separation from Him forever. Sin entered their souls and spread to their descendants.
You and I have the same spiritual disease...as we can see by our ongoing choices that disregard God's desire to lead and direct us. Our universal condition is that we no longer trust God. Instead, we live life on our own terms, hoping everything will turn out as we imagine it should be. Although God stamped His image in us, sin distorts the image. Our thoughts, feelings and actions often go against how God created us to live because sin corrupts our desire to do the right thing. In our broken condition, where do we find hope? The Bible!
Why Did God Give Us The Bible?
- He wanted to describe himself to us
- So we can understand the world we live in
- So we can understand where we came from, why the world is the way it is and where everything is headed
Gods Plan For Your Salvation
- Hear The Gospel (Romans 10:17, John 8:32)
- Believe The Gospel (Hebrews 11:16, John 20:31)
- Repent Of Past Sins (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30)
- Confess Faith In Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10, Matthew 10:32)
- Be Baptized (Galatians 3:27, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)
- Be Faithful Unto Death (Revelations 2:10)
Many of us, when someone talks about the bible, we automatically feel as if someone is wanting to take something from us; money or something. Actually, God wants to give you something....His love and a new way of life filled with more happiness than you can imagine is possible! The Bible makes it clear that everyone falls short of God's perfect standard for living...including great people. No matter what list of rules we follow, including the Ten Commandments that God gave us, we keep missing the mark. It seems the more we try of be good and do right, the more we fail. We can't meet God's standard or overcome the effect of our sin condition. Since the beginning, the death rate for humanity has been 100 percent. The Bible explains our situation. Physical death and eternal separation from God is the payment for not living up to God's perfect standard (Romans 6:23). Adam and Eve didn't instantly die. But spiritual death...spiritual separation from God...did occur when they sinned.
That delay between spiritual death and later physical death gives us hope. It means that we have been given a second chance. We have our lifetime to come to a new understanding and experience God. God loved us so much that He couldn't just let us stay in our broken condition in a life of misery and frustration. Because the wages of sin is death, the only way to pay for it once and for all would be through the death of someone else. And Christianity says that it was God himself...the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ...who did that for us. Jesus came to earth as fully human and fully God. He experienced all of the hardships and sufferings of living in a damaged world filled with broken people, just like us. But, he never sinned. This qualified Jesus to pay for all the wrongs of everyone throughout history.
Through His perfect life, death and resurrection, God demonstrated His grace and love to His creation. We can't add to that perfect gift. Jesus erased our sin debt completely...past, present and future. However, we must choose to bring our broken image to the "repair shop" to be fixed. Not only did Jesus pay the price on our behalf, but, He did so willingly. Romans 5:6-8 tells us that people might be willing to lay down their lives for a good person, but it is highly unusual for anyone to die for a scoundrel. Yet this is exactly what Jesus did on the cross for us.
He died, not while we were "very good" --like we were at creation, but while we were "very bad" --like we are right now. Even though there's nothing we can do to earn God's love or save ourselves from sin and death, we still have a choice. We can give into our pride, staying distant from God. This means that our sin will separate us from God forever in hell. Or, we can choose to accept what Jesus did for us and begin living free from the consequences of sin. This means we will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. We can rely on our own performance plan, or we can trust Jesus to do what we can't do for ourselves. The choice is up to us!
Does believing...trusting...in Jesus really overturn the hopelessness we experience in the world? What really happens when we discard our self-improvement plan and instead give up our life to Christ? When you accept something as true, it changes what you do. Accepting Christ means agreeing with Him about your sin, asking Him for forgiveness and inviting Him to be the new leader of your life. A decision to trust Jesus for your salvation means abandoning all attempts to earn His love and spending every day living in that love. Does it mean we'll be perfect? NO. Will we still sin? YES. Our old sin nature still exists in us, But, we also have the Holy Spirit. He helps us grow in Christ and live a life that pleases God. And when we fail, He forgives us and helps us start again.
The good news is that it's all about what God does in you. Salvation is God's free gift to anyone who wants to receive it. Regardless of how badly you're damaged, no matter how many awful choices you've made, even if you've totally rejected God and never believed before now, Jesus paid the price and can forgive you. The choice to accept or reject this gift is up to you. His free gift of salvation is available to everyone at anytime.
In fact, you can take God up on his offer right now. Tell Him you want to be in a relationship with Him, that you're sorry for the sins you've committed, and that you accept His free gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus' death and resurrection. Invite Him to guide you to seek to get to know him and learn to love other people like Jesus does. There's no mystery to talking to God. It's simple: Share what's on your mind and in your heart. He doesn't really care what words you use, as long as you're being real and sincere.
However, there is a real misconception that all of us have been taught. To become a real Christian, requires more than just saying a prayer and confessing your sins to Jesus Christ and therefore believing we are guaranteed a place in the Kingdom Of God. Do not be deceived in this old way of thinking, no matter what you have been taught! The grace of God is the ONLY basis for our salvation!
"Only those who are obedient to the words of Christ, will enter the Kingdom of Christ. If our lives do not reflect the fruit of following Jesus, then we are foolish to think that we are actually followers of Jesus in the first place!"
Repentance of sin is a summons from Jesus for us to turn from sin and all dependence on ourself for salvation. Repentance involves renouncing a former way of life, in favor of a new way of life. When we become real followers of Jesus, we make a decided break with an old way of living and take a decisive turn to a new way of life. Therefore a definition of someone saved by Christ: "We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives and dwells in Us!
The end of the story is certain, and God will never stop loving us as it unfolds. There is no hope like the hope God offers through Jesus Christ. Whoever or whatever let you down in the past, Jesus is not like them. In Him, you will find your greatest dreams fulfilled. His love is like no other. His forgiveness frees us to be all He created us to be. His power is without limit and your future with Him is the best thing that could ever happen to you!
If you really understand that you need a new way of life, a life that will lead you on the best path and journey you will ever experience and are willing not only to ask Jesus to save you and forgive you of your sins, but, to actually change the way you have lived your life and ask Christ to live and dwell within you, then truly you are ready to accept Jesus Christ. You call on Him today, admitting your sins, asking Him to give you eternal life, trusting only in Him and his guidance and grace....You can be assured of acceptance and a new journey. The next step of your new life begins today!
You can begin the next step in your new life's journey, first by praying this simple prayer:
"Lord Jesus Christ, I know I am a sinner and do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. Lord Jesus, come into my life; take control for my life; forgive my sins and save me. I repent of my sins and now place my trust in You for my salvation. I accept the free gift of eternal life. For I Ask These Things In Jesus Christ's Holy Name ---Amen"
Now, you can begin to change the way in which you live your life on a daily basis and allow Christ to lead you in his direction. O.K. Now What? Go on and review the next web page: The Next Step!
Our organization is here to continue to provide you with the tools and resources you need, to keep you on the right path of your daily journey. We are here for you 24/7 and are happy to provide whatever continued support you may need. When your ready and at your convenience, you can contact us at: (800) 649-0925 or you can use the e-mail form below.
