What Do You Say?

God deeply desires to have a real, personal, dynamic relationship with you. (Yes...YOU!)

Some people have a problem with the Bible’s claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven – almost as if God doesn’t have the right to establish the way for us to reach Him. But He decided what the pathway needs to be, and He offered His Son’s death as proof of His resolve to rescue us. If there was any other way for us to reach Him, why would He have had Jesus pay such a horribly high price? That’s why rejecting Jesus is so serious.

God has made it perfectly clear – your eternal destination depends solely on whether or not you accept who Jesus is and what He did for you.

How to Begin

So how do you begin a personal relationship with God? The Bible says to:

A man once mentioned to a pastor that he didn’t really understand why he needed Jesus – since he didn’t consider himself to be a ‘sinner’. He had always tried to live a good life – he’d given to charity and never committed any crimes.

The Pastor responded, “Do you happen to know what the greatest commandment is?”

The man replied, “Sure, ‘And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.'”
(Mark 12:30)

The Pastor responded, “Well, have you always obeyed this command?”

It dawned on the man that he hadn’t – he finally understood what sin was.

Confess – tell God that He is right.

Agree with Him that you are incapable of living the kind of sinless life necessary to gain eternal life with Him in heaven. There’s only one way to prevent heaven’s perfection from being contaminated by sin (our wrong thoughts, words, and actions), and only God Himself is capable of truly purifying us. “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”  (1 John 1:9)

Believe – that Jesus is who He said He was – the Son of God.

Rely on the fact that He went to the cross to take your punishment, and then was raised from the dead and is alive today. Believe to the point you allow Him to begin transforming your life. Stop believing that your good works will be ‘good enough’. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.”  (Ephesians 2:8)

Tell Jesus – you want Him to be the Lord (in charge) of your life.

Surrender to His authority – tell Him you want to follow Him and learn more about Him, so that you will know how He wants you to live. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)

You can pray a simple prayer like this:

Dear God, I need Your forgiveness. I confess that I am not good enough to get into heaven on my own; I have done many things wrong in my life, and I want to change how I've been living. I cannot get through the ‘wall’ that separates us! I believe You are real, that You sent Jesus to take my punishment and make a way for me, and that You raised Him from the dead – just as the Bible tells me. I accept your gift of salvation right now, and accept your call to follow your ways instead of my own. Help me to live for You. Thank You! Amen.

If you prayed the above prayer, we’d like to hear from you! We’d love to help you get connected with others who have made the same decision, and who will help you grow in your new life – walking in freedom with Jesus Christ!

Click Contact Us – and let us know!

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