His Gift to you……
Just
accept and cherish it.
We believe that accepting
Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior is the most important decision
that any person can make. We are thankful that you're considering making God the
center of your life. It is our prayer that after reading the following page you
will ask Christ into your heart as your Savior or that you will renew your
commitment to live your life for Christ. Should you have any questions or
comments, please email us.
How you can have a Personal Relationship with Jesus:
1. God loves you
and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
God's Love: "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" (John 3:16)
God's Plan: [Christ
speaking] "I came that they might have life, and might have it
abundantly" [that it might be full and meaningful] (John 10:10)
Why is it that most people
are not experiencing the abundant life? Because . . .
2. Man is sinful
and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and
plan for his life.
"All have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
Man was created to have
fellowship with God; but, because of his own stubborn self-will, he chose to go
his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will,
characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an
evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
MAN IS SEPARATED: "The
wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23)
The
diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates
the two. The arrows illustrate that man is continually trying to reach God and
the abundant life through his own efforts, such as a "good" life,
philosophy, or religion - but he inevitably fails.
The
third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf between God and man . . .
3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you
can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.
JESUS DIED IN OUR PLACE:
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD:
Christ died for our sins ... He was buried ... He was raised on the third day,
according to the Scriptures ... He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After
that He appeared to more than five hundred ..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
HE IS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD:
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father but through Me'" (John 14:6)
This
diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by
sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay
the penalty (our penalty) for sins. It is not enough just to
know these three laws . .
4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we
can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
WE MUST RECEIVE CHRIST:
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of
God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)
WE RECEIVE CHRIST THROUGH
FAITH: "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should
boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9)
WHEN WE RECEIVE CHRIST, WE
EXPERIENCE A NEW BIRTH: (Read John 3:1-8)
WE RECEIVE CHRIST THROUGH
PERSONAL INVITATION: [Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and
knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him"
(Revelation 3:20)
Receiving Christ involves
turning to God from self (called: repentance) and trusting Christ to come into
our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to
agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the
cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional
experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will. These two
circles represent two kinds of lives:
Which circle best represents your life?
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?
The following explains how
you can receive Christ: You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through
Prayer: (Prayer is talking with God)
God knows your heart and is
not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The
following is a suggested 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.
Does this prayer express the
desire of your heart? If it does, I invite you to pray this prayer right now,
and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.
Did you just say that prayer
to God? If so, you are now a New Believer - a true Christian! If so, Please
e-mail us so we can rejoice with you.
How to know that Christ
Is in your life:
Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelation
3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would
come into your life. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that
God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word)
The Bible promises
eternal life to all who receive Christ
"The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is
in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the
name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal
life" (1 John 5:11-13).
Thank God often that Christ
is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on
the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life
from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.
An important reminder . . .
Do not depend on feelings
The promise of God's Word, the Bible - not our feelings - is our authority. The
Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His
Word. This train diagram illustrates the relationship among fact (God and His
Word, faith (our trust in God and His Word) and feeling (the result of our faith
and obedience). Read John 14:21)
The Engine =
Fact-----------------------------Rail Car =
Faith--------------------------Caboose = Feeling
The train will run with or
without the caboose. However, it would be useless to attempt to pull the train
by the caboose. In the same way, as Christians we do not depend on feelings or
emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the
promises of His Word.
Now that you have
received Christ
The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of the will, many things
happened, including the following:
Christ came into your life
(Revelation 3:20; Colossians 1:27)
Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14)
You became a child of God (John 1:12)
You received eternal life (John 5:24)
You began the great adventure for which God created you
..........................(John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Can you think of anything
more wonderful that could happen to you than receiving Christ? Would you like to
thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking God, you
demonstrate your faith.
Suggestions for Christian
growth
Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man
shall life by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to
trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the
following:
G ...Go to God in prayer
daily (John 15:7).
R ...Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11); begin with the Gospel of John.
O ...Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).
W ...Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8).
T ...Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).
H ...Holy Spirit - allow Him to control and empower your daily life
and...........................witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8).
Fellowship in a good
church
God's Word instructs us not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves
together" (Hebrews 10:25), Several logs burn brightly together, but put one
aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship
with other Christians. If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be
invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is
honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend
regularly.
