The questions in the side bar to the left of this article are important and demand an answer. People have been seeking the answers to these questions throughout the history of the human race. Seeing people spend their lives on meaningless events and ventures, only to experience emptiness at the end of life, should command our attention.
This cry in the darkness, because of a world that is distorted and full of empty answers, is a cry that has the attention of God. He has heard your cry and reaches into humanity to find you and provide for you an answer.
Are you hurting? Are you empty? Do you feel that you have missed the mark somewhere in life? Do you seek fulfillment? God invites you to seek these answers in Him.
The Bible explains in Genesis 3 that sin entered the world soon after the creation. Sin is not what you are but what causes you to choose to be opposite of God's standards and laws (Holiness). The Bible states in Isaiah 53:6 - "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." This explains to us that by nature, we choose to live and act-out our lives opposite of God. This same verse tells us that God provided a response to our sin. This response is: Jesus.
Romans 5:12 states "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned". This truth explains that in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world through the actions of Adam. Not that we carry his personal guilt, but, we carry the tendency to chose opposite of God - "sin", "missing the mark".
As explained in Romans 5:12, God knows the need for His creation to be restored. The death that is spoken of is eternal death. This death (Romans 5:12) is a physical death and eternal separation from God. God desires that we be brought back into a relationship with Him rather than suffering eternal separation from Him. He demonstrated this by sending Jesus to take the guilt of our sin upon Himself and restore us into a right relationship with God. John 3:16-18 explains in the words of Jesus "For 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." This passage from the Bible explains three truths:
1) God loves us
2) God provided a way for our forgiveness and restoration
3) God awaits our response.
How can a person right himself with a holy God that demands holiness of those he created? The Apostle Paul recorded the answer in the book of Romans. Chapter 10 verses 9-11, and 13 gives us the answer to the question of how to be united with God: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Can forgiveness of a holy God and restoration to a right relationship with God be that simple? Yes and no. Yes because the Bible explains that God made it so. No, because the simplicity of making a decision cannot compare with the high price of holy blood shed on a cruel crucifixion cross. Jesus said unless we believe as a child, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. A child accepts and trusts relying on the safety of the one in whom the trust is given.
Can you know forgiveness? Can you find a right relationship with God? Will Jesus accept you as one of His? The answer can only be yes. The book of "1 John" explains this truth in chapter 1: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
The Bible also explains that we must receive Christ as our Savior and Lord. If we receive Jesus, He responds by cleansing us and making us whole. The book of John explains in chapter 1 and verses 12-13 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."
The Holy Spirit of the Living God draws all people to God. People then must decide how they will respond: accept Jesus and become a child of the living God, or, reject Jesus and remain in a state of meaningless life that ends with eternal separation from God. Though becoming a child of God includes entrance into God’s heaven, the eternal separation will be spent in a place created for Satan and his angels: Revelation 20:12-15 states "12. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Remember the verse from John 3:16? "For 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." God has a plan for you and your life. That plan is for you to be reconciled to God. That plan is for you to have abundant life now and in eternity. Because God has provided a way to join Him in Heaven, anyone who enters the fires of hell will do so as a result of his or her rejection of Christ as Lord. What will you do? How will you respond to this truth?
DO you believe that God loved the world and sent His son Jesus as a sacrifice?
DO you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day?
DO you seek to have a relationship with God now and forever?
DO you want to settle this issue now and forever?
If so, believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, receive the forgiveness of Jesus. If you wish to find forgiveness with God and be united with Him as a child of God, pray to Jesus confessing your sin to Him, asking Him to forgive you, confessing Him as the son of God, and receiving Him as savior and Lord:
Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
I confess that I am guilty of sin against you. I confess I believe that you are the son of the living God, that you died on the cross as the only payment for my sin, that you rose on the third day and that I believe in you now. I ask that you would forgive me of my sin. I ask that you would cleanse me of my sin. I ask that you would save me and make me a child of your kingdom. I believe with the faith as of a child, and I will follow you and your ways forever. I pray this in the name of Jesus, the son of the living God, Amen.
If you prayed this prayer and believed in your heart, God heard you. God forgave you. God cleansed you. God made you born of the Holy Spirit. If you prayed this prayer and truly believe, we would like to hear from you and help you find a local church that will help disciple you in your new life with the Lord. Uniting with a local church is paramount for you. Being baptized into the family of God is necessary as Jesus was baptized and taught baptism. As a new believer the Holy Spirit will begin a new work in you by leading you toward Godly things. This pastor would be honored to assist you in this new spiritual journey.
Contact the pastor at the following link and share your decision along with your name, phone number, and full street address: Pastor Ernie Nelson
If you need further assistance in coming to a conclusion about life, eternity, God, and you, contact the pastor at the above mentioned link. The pastor would love to help you come to a believing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to help you find a local church that will minister to your spiritual needs.