your life matters
The real reason many may feel lost is bigger than the surface issues we all face. Like a massive elephant in the room, the larger issue looming before us is the problem of sin. God set in motion His plan to rescue us from this problem from the very beginning. The Bible says that He planned this before the world was even created! That means that before we messed up, before sin and the fall of mankind, God had already set His redemption plan into motion! His rescue plan was never an afterthought. You have always been on God's heart and mind.
Differing from the mindset many may have about God, He doesn’t want to punish us. He sent Jesus to save us, not to punish us (read John 3:16-21). God created us to have a free will, meaning we are in charge of our lives, and we are in complete control of our choices. The Bible says that before us are life and death, but God pleads with us to choose life! Our choices have led to sin. This isn't the fault of God, but ours alone and bear consequence. How can we blame a judge for the criminal's crime? While we have full ownership of the choices we've made, God's love, if we will allow it, will enable us to rise above our sin and shortcomings!
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true love
You’ve probably heard the expression “Love is the greatest force on earth”? This is a true statement. Real love can overcome every obstacle. At times evil may appear to prevail and win a battle, but it will never win the war. This love we're talking about is not man’s fickle love, but God's unwavering love. In the Bible God tells us how much He loves us.
1 John 4:9 | NLT
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
God didn't just give lip service, but has proven to you His love. Even to the casual observer there can be no doubt about God's love. God is the very definition of love. Everything He says and everything He does is because of His love. The love mankind exhibit’s is conditional. It’s rooted in “what you can do for me”. Probably the closest example of unconditional love we can find outside of God is that of a parent. The love of a parent following God's design is something truly remarkable to see.
When you witness the patience, personal sacrifice and unwavering selflessness of a parents love for their children you can’t help but be moved. There is no greater motivator than love! What wouldn’t you do for the ones you love? If someone you love is in danger, what would you be willing to do to save them? What lengths would you go to ensure their safety. What wouldn't you be willing to sacrifice for them?
The Bible says that because of God’s great love, He did something extraordinary! In what is rightly one of the Bible's most popular scriptures it tells us how God SO loves us!
John 3:16 | NKJV
“For God SO loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
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God so loved
Why did God do this? Why was God willing to lay it all on the line and send His only son Jesus to die for all humanity? After all, we turned our backs upon God. We even as humanity tortured and hung on the cross Jesus who came to save us! We bit the hand that was trying to feed us. But God knew this would happen, and still chose to come. We’ve said continuously in our pride that we don't need Him. But it’s more evident than ever by the state of this world that we do need God.
God didn't want to be separated from those He loves? This separation wasn’t God’s choice, it wasn’t His decision, but ours. We made the choice to lie, cheat, steal, kill, commit sexual sins, to worship idols and creation instead of the Creator. These are sins we've done of our own free will, of our choosing. Evil always comes with a price, however. Romans 3:23 says that the wages of sin (which we've all chosen to commit) is death! We've done this to ourselves! In spite of our hopeless situation caused by our own hand, God's love overcame all obstacles to rescue us!
â€â€John‬ â€3:17-19‬ | â€NLT‬‬
“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.”
Our decision to sin caused a series of a chain of events. You’ve heard of the theory of cause and effect? Sin isn’t the innocent act we would like to reason it to be.
There are things as laws. Gravity is a law. A plane may defy gravity for a brief time, but eventually when it runs out of fuel and gravity will take hold. A criminal may remain at large for some time after a crime, but justice is eventually served. We all know crimes must be punished. We would be crying injustice and protesting in the streets if law enforcement set free a known rapist or murderer.
We will all stand before God after this life and be held to account for our actions. We’ve all done things and have said things that we are ashamed of. We’ve all sinned. If we "love the darkness more than the light" and refuse God's salvation and forgiveness through Jesus, then we will stand before God in our unrighteousness and will be judged on OUR choices and actions.
But God’s great love has made a way of escape from the penalty of our sin. He sent Jesus. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, you and I. He came to die in our place, to pay the penalty for our sin. Do you understand the magnitude of this? God of all, humbled himself and came down from heaven, taking on the form of man in order to live as a man. The creator of the universe, the creator of mankind, became what He created to save you!
why is Jesus is the only way?
You may now understand the meaning when Jesus said in John 14:6
"I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
This was and still is an extraordinary statement! Making this statement sets Jesus against every other religious and secular idea. This is because of WHO Jesus is and what He ALONE has done. There are many ways people seek to make their own way in life, even religious avenues to seek God's approval and acceptance, but Jesus states that these are a dead end. He is the ONLY way. The Bible says that there is no other name in which we can be saved. There are no other options, other paths, religions, or persons, only Jesus.
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Jesus said in Matthew 7:13
"Enter by the narrow gate; for broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go by it."
Some choose to go it alone based on their own efforts. But in the end, because of their choice, they will stand before God alone and be held to account for every decision and every sin. Unfortunately, this is always a losing situation. The Bible says that "our" righteousness is as dung. It's not about trying to "be" a good person. That's not the point. The point is that we've already sinned. Trying to redeem ourselves through our own efforts of good works and self-righteousness still falls far short. A murderer, though they may try to absolve themselves of their sin is still guilty of murder.
Every person who chooses to stand before God in their own righteousness instead of Jesus', will be held accountable for their sin and be cast into Hell. A place of torment intended for the Devil and demons for their sin. This is not God's choice but ours. Sadly too many choose to hold onto their sin and their love for darkness rather than accept God's help through Jesus. Their pride will lead them to their destruction the same as it did the devil.
Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 7:14
"Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, there are few who find it".
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Today you've come to a fork in the road. Before you are two paths. One path is wide. It's the DIY (do it yourself) option. Many in the world choose the wide path, to go with the crowd because it's easy to go with the flow. They are foolish and short-sighted and in the end, it leads to their destruction. The other path, though much narrower, and may be more difficult to travel. In the end, it leads to forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. You've probably heard the expression "Nothing good in life comes easy". This is true, Jesus forged a path for you through the impossible that wasn't there previously. It may often go counter-culture to the world, but its reward far exceeds anything this world of empty promises has to offer.
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The narrow path cost Jesus everything, but He did this for you, because of His great love!
So what are you going to do? Will you accept Jesus' love and sacrifice for you, or will you reject it? Will you risk going it alone when you stand before God, or will you choose to stand before Him forgiven through Christ's sacrifice?
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Our hope is that you choose Jesus, that you'll choose life because your life matters!
Romans 10:9-10 says that
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
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change my future
If you don't want to stand before God on your own empty righteousness, pray now to God and choose to make Jesus the Lord and Saviour of your life. Today you can change your future!
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When you do, the Bible says in 1 John 5:1 that God becomes your Heavenly Father and in 1 John 5:11 says that you will have eternal life with Him. When Jesus was talking to a religious leader in John 3 He likened trading your unrighteousness for Christ's righteousness to being "Born again". The life you once followed to destruction was put behind you. You put the old life down and in its place you picked up your new life in Christ!
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Pray something like the prayer below from your heart. It's not about simply reciting a prayer, but making a vocal decision as Romans 10:9-10 says to receive Jesus' forgiveness and live your life in a way that honours Jesus' sacrifice for you.
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PRAYER-
"Dear God, I know I’m a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be punished. I believe Christ died for me and rose from the grave. I know He did this for me so my sin could be forgiven. I trust Jesus alone as my Savior and will live my life to please you. Thank you for the forgiveness and everlasting life I now have. In Jesus’ name, amen."
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The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ is a new creation, that the old has passed away and the new has come!
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