Who Loves Ya Baby?
Life when we stop to think about it is full of enormous questions. The answers to these questions are found in the message and person of Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that before we loved God, he first loved us (1 John 4:19). That means before we even knew it, we mattered a great deal to God. In fact, God loves us so much that he took drastic measures to make sure we knew of his awesome plan and purpose for our lives.

I’ll Take the Bad News First
The bad news is that we are separated from God by something called sin. It’s not easy to think of ourselves as sinners. Most of us try pretty hard to do the right thing. But if you’ve every lied, stolen, cheated or done anything immoral, well you sinned . . . and that makes you a sinner. This isn’t to make you feel bad; in fact everyone is a sinner. The Bible says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 6.23). So we all stand on common ground as sinners.

And You Thought Casing a Double Hurt
Unfortunately, it gets worse. Sin has a deadly penalty. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is eternal torment in a place called hell (Romans 3:23). In hell, a person experiences total separation from anything and everything good. . . love, comfort, friendship, laughter, camaraderie, rest, fun, and God.

Divine Accounting 101
In God’s economy, sin always leads to death. Before Jesus was born God allowed his people, the Jews, to kill an animal as a sacrifice for their sins. Basically, if there was no blood, there was no forgiveness. That’s how serious sin is!

Here’s the Good News
God created you to know him in a personal way and for you to discover his purpose for your life. When we don’t know God in a personal way, we experience a void in our lives. Many people try to fill this void, but in the end, only God can satisfy that need. Yet God is very much aware that we are unable to reach him on our own. Our sin is like an anchor that weighs us down and away from God.

The Bridge to Life
So God, out of an outrageous love for us, sent Jesus to earth. Jesus was 100% God and 100% human. He never sinned, but he faced all the same difficulties, pressures, and challenges that we all face. He willingly went to the cross to sacrifice his perfect life for our sin. With one hand Jesus took hold of God and with the other he took hold of sinful humanity. Nails were driven through his wrists and Jesus became our bridge to God. After dying, Jesus was raised from the dead. He conquered death as a penalty to sin!

So What’s the Bottom Line?
This means that those who choose to put their trust in Jesus Christ are promised forgiveness of sins, a personal relationship with God, and life with God after they die.

What do I Gotta Do?
Realizing that we are separated from God, that he has made a way for us to know him personally through Jesus, and that he offers eternal life, what must we do? Each of us must individually consider and individually choose to do the following.

1) Realize God’s love for you and his desire to have a personal relationship with you.
2) Admit you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness. You must acknowledge your need for God and accept responsibility for your life.
3) Recognize that Jesus died for you on the cross. He paid the price for your sins and has made a way for you to know God personally.
4) Repent of your sins. Repent means to change direction. You must be willing to have changes take place in your life and be willing to turn away from those things that displease God and turn toward him who loves you. Don’t worry, you don’t do this alone, God helps you.
5) Ask Jesus to be the leader of your life. Come to him as you are. Don’t try to clean up your life before you come to God, Just come to him and he’ll do the cleaning.

What’s a Christian?
Becoming a Christian is more than merely believing certain things about God and people. It’s more than trying to live by certain standards. A Christian is a person who has personally received Jesus into his heart and life as Savior and Leader. It’s having a personal relationship with God.

Wanna Go for It?
Would you like to receive Jesus into your heart and life right now? If so you can pray a prayer like this:

Dear Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I’m a sinner, and I’m sorry for my sin. I thank you for dying on the cross for me, I turn from my sin and I turn toward you right now. Forgive me for all of it. Fill me with your power. Help me to love you and hate sin from this time forward. Thank you for your forgiveness and reconciliation. I gladly accept it now. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer in sincerity and honesty, Jesus answered your prayer and is now in your heart and life. Your past is behind you and God’s wonderful purpose for your life is there to be discovered.

To help you in your new relationship with God, contact one of us at PanicRev Ministries and we can help you grow in Him. Email us here.