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"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."
-John 3:16 (NKJV)


good news!

Have you ever considered what will happen to you after this life? A lot of people say they really don't know. But let me tell you the best news anyone will ever hear, and how you can know for sure.

This is about what Jesus Christ did. He died for everyone who truly accepts Him as Lord. Isn't that amazing? He did this out of His grace and love to restore our relationship with Him, knowing we can't make ourselves perfect enough to get into Heaven. Nobody's that good, no matter what [Ephesians 2:8-9]. But He, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, died in our place so we don't have to pay the price every one of us deserves—eternal death separated from Him. You might know it as hell. Still, you need to believe He did this, ask His forgiveness and follow Him. Then you can know you'll spend eternity with Him.

There are a few things you should know right up front:

• We're all born sinful, and sin is anything less than God's standard—perfection. Don't believe me? Watch a child sometime who's not getting his way. That selfish behavior isn't taught, it comes with the package. Or consider the basic Ten Commandments. If you've broken one, God says you're guilty of breaking His whole Law [James 2:10]. (Let's not forget lust is equivalent to adultery and hate to murder [Matthew 5:21-28].) And God, being just, has to punish the guilty. So, everybody sins, and we don't even come close to God's standard [Romans 3:23].

• Around 2,000 years ago, God visited Earth in human form as Jesus Christ. Since everybody sins, God provided a way to be forgiven, and it involved a blood sacrifice. Death. That's how serious God is about sin [Romans 6:23]. People used to sacrifice their best animals, but those were only temporary shadows pointing to what Jesus would do. As the only Man who lived a sinless life, He was the perfect sacrifice. He died willingly on a cross so the sins of His people could be forgiven forever [Romans 5:8]. Then He came out of the tomb three days later, proving again He is God, returned (for now) to Heaven and left those who believe in Him with His Holy Spirit.

Knowing all that, you will either believe Jesus died for your sins in your place and follow Him, or ignore Him and go your own way. There are no other options [John 14:6, Romans 10:9, 1 Timothy 2:5].

What must I do to be saved?
• Repent, which means having a change of mind so that you turn away from your sin [Acts 3:19], and turn to Jesus as Lord and Savior, believing He did this for you [Acts 16:31]. Ask His forgiveness for your sins and thank Him for His grace and love and mercy.


Now what?
If you truly receive Jesus as Lord, praise God! Right now it's important to:

• find a Bible believing church to learn and worship with other Christians [Hebrews 10:24-25]
• get baptized in water, expressing your faith in and obedience to Jesus [Acts 2:38]
• study God's story in the Bible [2 Timothy 3:16-17] (try starting with John's Gospel)
• speak to the Lord in prayer [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:6-7]
• tell others who Jesus is and what He's done [Matthew 28:18-20]

The Lord will use these things to enable you to grow in your relationship with Him as Jesus becomes the most important Person in your life through good and bad [John 16:33], and knowing Him the greatest desire of your heart [Mark 12:30, Psalm 37:4].

If you trust Jesus Christ as Lord, God and Savior, let me be one of the first to say "welcome to the family." Visit our know more page for tools to help you grow, and drop us a note in the blog. :-)