Jesus Saves

How foolish would it would be to put it off doing something required to get a million dollars? Let's say the million dollars was a sure thing, but you won't know when it will be awarded to you, and if you are not ready, you lose!

OK...now that I have your attention, Heaven is worth more than a million dollars and lasts forever longer than the money ever would! Heaven is a sure thing and there is something you must do to get into Heaven. To enter into the gates of Heaven and have His power on this earth you need to accept Him as your Lord and Savior. If you died unexpectedly or Jesus returns before you accept Him, you lose. You can tell if you really have made that step—you will find that from the day you turn away from sin, and trust in Jesus' work on the cross, your life will change completely. You'll find yourself wanting to pray, wanting to read the bible, wanting to go to Church, wanting to talk about Jesus. Wanting to talk about Jesus is the surest sign that you have turned away from sin, and are trusting Him to save you. Just like a bride-to-be is always talking about the groom, so we'll find ourselves always talking about Jesus.

You don't have to wait till your life is all together before you get right with God. You do not have to clean up your act first! Jesus loves you right where you are. He's the only one who can affect real change in your life, because real change only comes from the inside out. Our attempts at making ourselves better are made with our own self control. Without the Lord's power the changes may not last, and the bottom line is that we cannot get into heaven by ourself—we need Jesus!

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you are too evil for God to forgive. The Bible says, "When we repent, He is faithful and just to forgive, and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness." If you are truly repentant, there is nothing that cannot be forgiven. Jesus loves YOU, no matter what your past. Don't think that if you become a Christian, that you won't have fun anymore. Hollywood, TV, books etc., have, in general, painted Christianity to be something for a bunch of losers—dried up prunes of people who have lost their zest for life. Not true. God will change your mind about what you "think" is fun. True Christians have real joy in their lives and know what real fun is. Be glad that the days of "partying down" and having fun without remembering what happened to you, because you passed out, are over. What kind of fun is that?

Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the most important decision you can make in your life! All you need to do is pray and believe a simple prayer like the one below. (Note: there is not an official "sinner's prayer" that you must find and pray.)

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I need You in my life. I believe You are the Son of God and that You died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me for my sins and cleanse my heart. Renew my spirit so that I can hear Your voice. I accept You as my Savior! I love you Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen!

If you sincerely pray the above prayer you can rest assured that you are now a child of God! As a new Christian the devil will probably try to come against you. The Good News is you have the power of Jesus Christ within you to defeat the tricks of Satan! Seek the Lord and He will give you strength!

Share with someone about the step you have taken! This will help you to strengthen your faith! Feel free to email me at jcastlv@ yahoo.com and let me know! I will be glad to lift you up in my prayers and help you along any way I can!

Next, get a Bible. Until you own one, you can read our online Bible. Once you have access to a Bible, suggested reading for starters is the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Read some every day, and learn about Jesus.

It is important to find a good, Bible-believing church where you can worship God and find support with other Christians. Hook up with a Christian friend who will participate in Bible studies with you. Pray to the Lord daily and stay in constant communion with Him. Remember, salvation is a free gift that the Lord has given you. Make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life by seeking His will and serving Him.

Don't let the cares of this world or Church stuff have the priority over a personal relationship with Jesus. The number one goal is to have a close and sincere relationship with the Lord. When your salvation is involved, you are relying on God's Word—and God doesn't lie. He has said that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. You don't base your salvation on the way you feel. You base it on the pure, unadulterated Word of Almighty God. God's Word is the only evidence you have that you are saved, but that is all the evidence you need! Several days or weeks from now, you may not feel very saved. You may begin to wonder if you were ever really saved to start with. You will have doubts—Satan will see to that! But when those thoughts and feelings come, just go back to the Word of God. You will see that it still says the same thing. God never changes and His Word never changes. It is still just as true today as when it was first spoken. People may try to convince you that it didn't work. Temptations may come to convince you that it didn't work. Doubts will come to your mind. But all those things do not alter the fact that God's Word is true!