If you have not trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I hope that you will make that decision today. We have no guarantees of tomorrow, or for that matter, even the next minute. In James 4:14, he writes, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (KJV).
God created the world in perfect peace. God loves us, and He wants us to experience His love and peace. But He created us with free will, and the first humans chose to believe the enemy’s lies instead of the word of God. From then on, sin and death entered the world, disrupting the perfect peace and separating us from God. But God had a plan of redemption from the beginning. However, He first had to let us discover that we needed a Savior. The Law (His commandments) provided a means to show our fallen and sinful nature. The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV). In other words, no matter how big or small, all sin separates us from God. Yet, in God’s perfect timing, He sent a Savior, His Son, perfect and without sin, to take the punishment that we deserved. Romans 6:23 details, “For the wages of sin is death…” (KJV). Jesus endured that death, carrying the weight of all our sin, and satisfied our debt. He died in our place. That is how very much God loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him. Romans 5:8 affirms that “…God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (KJV).
But He doesn’t force us to accept His free gift of salvation. He wants us to choose to love Him and to want to spend eternity with Him. Maybe today, you are tired. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 KJV). Maybe, right now, you are sad and heartbroken. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3 KJV). Maybe you are struggling through a difficult situation. Isaiah 43:2 assures, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (KJV). No, accepting Christ is not going to make all the troubles go away while we are here on this earth. We live in a fallen world with an enemy that is constantly trying to distract us from God and His purpose for us. But in a relationship with Christ, we are never alone… and we have the assurance that we will spend eternity with our Savior, where there will be no more tears, pain, or suffering. Maybe things have never been better, but you have just never trusted in Jesus as your Savior and entered into that relationship with Him. Wherever you are in your life right now, don’t wait. Romans 10:9 explains, “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” (KJV). Only by the grace of God through belief in Christ as our Savior can we be declared righteous and have peace with God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,” (Ephesians 2:8 KJV). If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior and you believe He died for your sins and was resurrected so that you could spend eternity with Him, stop right now and go to Him in prayer:
Father, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and was raised to life on the third day. I trust in Jesus as my Savior, and from this moment on, I want to follow Him and make Him Lord of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, guide my steps, and help me to live my life pleasing to You. Thank you, Father, for Your love, grace, and mercy. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, you are now a child of God and a joint heir with Christ. Congratulations and welcome to the family of God.
However, if you find that right now, you are not ready to make that commitment because maybe you still have questions or just don’t truly believe. Then, Friend, I encourage you to read and study the Word of God. When Paul and Silas preached the good news of Jesus to the Bereans, it says. “…they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed…” (Acts 17:11-12 KJV). So, take your questions and uncertainties to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. Discover the character of God and all the fulfilled prophecies as God paves the way for His plan of salvation. Read about Jesus, His death, and resurrection. Take a look as Paul delivers indisputable evidence of Christ’s resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 as he details, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (KJV). And note all those who suffered persecution because they refused to back down and deny what they knew was the truth: that Jesus Christ was the Messiah through whom they had been justified before God and granted eternal life. But the essence of the matter is that none of us knows how much time we have left. So, whatever your situation, if you are not certain you are going to Heaven, take the steps to know Jesus as your personal Savior and secure your eternal destination. Through the full story of Scripture, we know God’s plan goes full circle back into a kingdom in perfect peace. But only by faith in Christ will we be able to enter that kingdom. In the meantime, while we are still here, waiting on the Lord’s return, we can all attest to the fact that life in this world can be hard. But we don’t have to walk it alone. Let’s walk it with Jesus.