Tell me, have you ever thought about Jesus? Who is he? Take a guess.
a)
A great man?
b) A prophet?
c) The only begotten Son of God, the Messiah?
d) All of the above?
The answer is D, all of the above!
Not only is Jesus a great man and a prophet, the Bible says that He is the
Son of God, the Messiah, who died so that you and I could be free from our sin and enjoy
eternal life with Him.
You may be saying...."Well, I'm not sinful!"
Not true! The Bible says that "all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), "there is none
righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10), and that even our
"good works are like filthy rags before God." (Isaiah
64:6)
One day, each of us will stand before God and be judged. "And
as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment"
(Hebrews 9:27) What will He say to you? Will He say,"Well
done my good and faithful servant?" (Matthew
25:21).....or will He say "Depart from me, I never knew you."
(Matthew 7:23)
Sin entered the world when man sinned at the Garden of Eden.
If you remember, God gave Adam all he could ever want -- a beautiful haven
of trees, flowers, fruit and vegetables which grew without hard toil.
A river ran through the lovely garden, watering it. God gave Adam
all the animals, which were kind to him and one another. He made
Adam to rule over this garden and all that was in it. If that wasn't
enough, He gave Adam a suitable helper (Eve) with whom to share it.
All this, he freely gave to man for his enjoyment.
There was one tree in that garden, however, which God commanded the
two "...you must not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,
for when you eat of it, you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:17)
One day, the serpent, which was more crafty than all of the other animals,
approached Eve and tempted her to eat of this tree. He lied to her,
saying "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
evil." (Genesis 3:5) When she saw that the fruit was pleasing to
the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom, Eve took of the fruit
and also gave some to Adam.
Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden once and for all...and likewise
were each of us banned from God's presence because the sinful nature
we inherited from Adam. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned."(Romans 5:12)
You see, God wants to give us good things,
but He gives us a choice.
Will we listen to His voice? Or will we listen to the voice of the one
who wants to ban us from God's presence?
But God is a gentleman. He desires our obedience (because
He cares for us so much and wants us to prosper), but He will not force
it upon us! He wants us to love Him above all else. He wants us to want
to know Him, not to feel forced to do so.
However, one of His promises to us is that those who seek Him will find
Him! "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for
me with all your heart"(Jeremiah 29:13).
"Well, ok", you might say...."I am seeking God...so does that
mean that He hears me and will give me eternal life?
No.
Since the day that Adam and Eve were banished, the only way that God
would hear us is if there was a blood sacrifice made on our behalf.
Long ago, in the days of old, each month, the high priest would find
a perfect animal, (one without blemish, often a lamb), and slay
it on the altar in order that that the sins of the people would be atoned.
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it
to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is
the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul"(Leviticus 17:11).
Several of the prophets in the Old Testament spoke of One who would
come to make final atonement for our sins. He would be the perfect and
final sacrifice. They told of where He would be born, what He would
do, how He would come, when he would come, and even how he would die.
(Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14;
Isaiah 53;
Daniel 9:23-27;
Psalm 22).
Who is this One of whom they spoke??
It is clearly Jesus the Messiah
He came to do what no man could do for himself.
"So what must I do?" you ask?
All we need to do is receive the gift of salvation which was given
almost 2000 years ago. There is no salvation in any one church or religion
but only in Jesus. "Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Today, dear friend, is the day of salvation. This is the most important
decision you will ever make....and the most exciting one. "If
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."(Romans
10:9,10).
If you feel your heart tugging, this is your day. Pray this prayer to
the Lord -- we will stand with you in it!
Jesus, I come to you realizing I am a sinner and that
I deserve eternal death. Please forgive me and help me to turn
from my sins. I believe you came, died and rose again from the
grave and that in you, and you alone, I have victory. I'm
asking you, Lord, that you would write my name in the book of
life. I accept your free gift of eternal life and I believe that
you paid for my sins in full. Thank you for giving your life for
me. Amen.
If you said this prayer -- this is just the beginning! You have your
whole life ahead of you! God has a plan for your life that you
couldn't imagine! Please let us know that you made a commitment to the
Lord. We would love to encourage you in it!
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and
we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken
us away. Continue Reading.
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good
and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will
make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Continue Reading.
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Continue
Reading.
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from
of old, from everlasting. Continue Reading.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a
sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call
his name Immanuel. Continue Reading.
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