What if someone "gifted" you...
And put it in a garage that you didn't
even know you had! All paid for! Licensed and filled with gas! Clean,
shiny and new!
I am about to share a similar gift; a better one that may be unknown to you, or seemingly hidden, but available to any who ask. A valuable gift! More costly than a gifted new car could be, or even a paid off home or business mortgage!
Does that sound
like good news?
The word, "gospel,"
means, "good news." The Gospel is God's plan, or directions for getting to heaven! And it highlights the fact that God's heaven is presented as a very precious and
costly, but absolutely free gift.
To understand
this good news we must know more about God and what He
says about each of us and His precious gift of eternal life.
Have you ever
thought about heaven? Consider...
-If God were to ask you today, “Why should I let you into My
Heaven?” What would you say?
Most people
don't realize that all of the provisions pertaining to Heaven, have already
been paid for! Paid for and delivered!
And, according to the Bible, God is seeking relationship with each of us as our rescuer, our leader, our protector and provider.
In John 10:10...14 Jesus said... I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep..,.. I know My own and My own know Me.
No amount of sacrifice,
convincing pleading, emotional effort, good works, achievement or religious activity
can ever earn God's forgiveness or create a place for any of us in Heaven.
The Bible states, in (Ephesians
2:8,9), “For by
grace are you saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast”
But maybe this is already familiar to you;
Most people are unsure and wonder in hopefulness. But the Bible states we can know for sure.
In.” (1 John
5:13) it says...“These things I have
written unto you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal
life."
If you are unsure, this can be very good news!
The problem of separation
(Isaiah 59:1-3) States,.. "Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you...."
Because of this separation, In our current condition, we are literally drowning
in our sin!
(See more on this topic at the link below)
https://www.seekinghigherbeing.org/2019/12/are-you-drowning.html
This is why none of us can be good enough to earn our way into Heaven. Because every person is a sinner.
Every person but Jesus!
The Bible says,
In (Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God.” And (Romans 6:23) "For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord."
"Sin," is how
each person fails to live up to God’s purpose and plan for their life. It can be
seen when we break or ignore His laws, both written in the Bible and those
written on our conscience.
It includes
things like lying, cheating, evil and immoral thoughts and actions as well as passively
ignoring and avoiding doing the things we know we should.
Because of our inherent SIN, none of us can
save ourselves. We have all earned the separation and punishment
of eternal death.
According
to the Bible, We would have to be perfect to save ourselves. (Matthew 5:48)
states.
“Be therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect”
And no one is but Jesus!
But God in His mercy seeks relationship with us, not punishment.
Ezekiel
33:11 states," Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the
Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather
that the wicked turn from his way and live.
The Bible goes so far as to even say “ . . . God is love” (1 John 4:8). And that, “ . . . I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah
31:3).
But He is also just
and fair therefore sin must have it's consequence.
He says,(Exodus 34:7). “. . . (He) will by no means clear the guilty . . .”
And, “(Ezekiel 18:4). . . the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
So you see, without God's Gospel, we were
separated and lost, without any hope.
But God overcame
the penalty of our sinful human nature as He lived among us and took on human
form. As a sinless Son of God, Jesus kept God's law perfectly and overcame
temptation even to the point of obediently sacrificing Himself.
He took and
paid the penalty that we deserved.
The Bible says.
“In the
beginning (at creation) was the Word (Jesus). . . and the Word (Jesus) was God.
And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . .”
(John 1:1,14).
He came to
earth and lived a sinless life and died on the cross as a sacrifice to pay the
penalty for our sins. Then He rose from the grave to restore us to our place with
Him in Heaven.
(Isaiah 53:6). states “All
we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and
the Lord hath laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity (sin) of us all”
He carried our
sin in His body on the cross and now offers us a new and different life. One
released from the bondage of sin. One empowered by His presence of His Spirit to
overcome past failures. One relationally motivated to honor and follow His lead
in humble obedience.
THIS IS HISTORY'S MOST
COSTLY SACRIFICE
AND HISTORY'S MOST
AVAILABLE FREE GIFT!
Unbelievably costly to Him and amazingly available to us!
We as
believers, receive and live it out through a type of faith called saving
faith! Saving faith is more than confidence in the fact that God exists....
The Bible
says in, (James 2:19), . . "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and
tremble.
Even the
devil believes that God exists. But the devil doesn't have saving faith.
Saving faith
is more than just hoping that God's power will be on your side, and help you with
temporary things.
(Although
we are encouraged in the Bible to bring all of our concerns and requests to
Him in prayer.)
Saving faith is agreeing with God about our sins, even as
He reveals them. It is recognizing our need for forgiveness and trusting in Jesus' sacrifice alone for our forgiveness, restoration, power and eternal life.
(Acts 16:31). “. . . Believe (trust) on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved .
. .”
So, Would
you like to exercise saving faith and transfer your trust from your own actions to what Christ has
done for you on the cross.
Would you like to accept Christ as Savior and Lord.
In the
Bible, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand
at the door, and knock: if any man hears My voice, and opens the door, I
will come in to Him . . . .” (Revelation 3:20)
Lordship means, we seek obedience and
become
willing to turn away from things not pleasing to Him, and turn toward what accomplishes
His will and purposes.
If this is what you want to do, you can go to
God in prayer right now. Right where you
are, and you can receive His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
“For with
the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved” (Romans 10:10,13).
You can
pray with faith like this...
“Lord Jesus, thank You so much for offering Yourself
to me, and thank You for your gift of eternal life!
I understand that I’m a sinner and I do not
deserve a relationship with you because of sin's separation.
I am so grateful that You love me so much!
I am grateful that you endured terrible things
and even died on the cross and rose from the grave to restore our relationship
and purchase a place for me in Heaven.
I now place my trust in You!
I reject and desire to turn away from my sins.
I am yielding control of my life to You.
Become the Lord of my life.
Strengthen me to follow and grow to become who
You made me to be.
Lead and direct me Lord!
And thank You Jesus for hearing my prayer."
Now consider these words from Jesus. “Truly, truly, I say unto you, he that believes on Me has everlasting
life”
(John 6:47).
Welcome to God's
Family!
Now that
you have placed your trust in the Lordship of Jesus Christ! You are now a child of God! Forever!
“But as many as received Him, to them gave
He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name”(John 1:12).
Many like
to remember this event as their spiritual birthday because it is described as
being, "born again, "of God.
The Bible
speaks of those who receive eternal life in these words:
(John 1:13). Those. . “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Just as you prayed to have a relationship with Jesus, we need to continue to pray. Most of us pray, when we are in need and some express defiant prayers as they curse and swear. Praying is natural in all societies throughout history.
But praying as a precious son or daughter that knows that they are deeply loved is not! We need to see his provision and ponder His leading and pour our hearts out to Him often.
We also need to read and meditate on His words recorded in the Bible every day. The Bible is his love letter too us and our instruction book for life.
And like all new-borns, family connections are
very important for health and growth. You probably know someone who is a
believer or perhaps there is a church you can fellowship at in your community.
It is imperative that you connect, grow and serve.
But what
about the Free New Car?
To my knowledge, Jesus didn't say anything about cars or trucks that was
written down, but He did talk about some very important keys...
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven."
And these are the kind of keys I just shared
with you in this writing. So prayerfully share with others that as many as possible will be set free and discover Gods Amazing Love
and enjoy His Amazing Free Gifts.
If you are interested in sharing your faith, you might like the following video. I recently watched it and found the phrase, "Each one to reach one," challenging. It started slow, but builds to be quite encouraging. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It's called, "Reaching from Heaven."
