Knowing Jesus, A New Life...

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

You can be free right now in Jesus Christ! God sent His only son into the world to save the world (John 3:17). We have all came into this world as sinners. In the beginning, the fall of man back in the garden of Eden, started our decline into decay and corruption (Genesis 3). Before Jesus Christ came into the world to offer us a way out of sin, the "Law" (The Ten Commandments, Jewish laws & customs of the Old Testament) was the only atonement for sin. God offered a way for men and women to make themselves clean before Him. This was accomplished through animal sacrifices, offered to God through temple worship by the high priests. Blood had to be spilled, along with the burning sacrifices of animals to pay the penalty for each and every sin people committed. Even a bad thought was a sin. Could you imagine how many times these sacrifices would have to be made? People would be constantly asking for forgiveness! God knew that we could never be good enough to equal His perfection and holiness, ever. We could either keep on with animal sacrifices, constantly asking for "forgiveness", or a one-time sacrifice would have to be made for the sins of the entire world; past, present and future. Well, this one-time sacrifice was made, in the form of God's only son, Jesus Christ. God sent His only son into the world to save the world by dying on a cross. The blood of Jesus was shed on that cross (instead of animal sacrifices), and by doing so, His blood paid the final price for the sins of the world.

Now, instead of going through the requirements of the law to forgive sin, we can simply accept Christ's death on the cross as the payment for our sin, once and for all. Jesus came into the world as a man, but He, being God in human form, was in existence from the beginning of the world (2 Timothy 1:9). Jesus understands our human condition, and without making excuses for our willful rejection of Him in our daily lives, we must accept that He knows us completely. He knows our desires, motives, strengths and weaknesses. He knows our hearts, what we conceal inside, what we do in the darkness of night. He knows ALL THINGS. So, why hide from Him? Come out of the darkness, into a freedom of fellowship in the light.

You can know Jesus by accepting Him as your personal savior and Lord. You must repent and come to the understanding that you need Jesus, and without Him you have no hope for eternity. You will have to surrender your life to Him, take His yoke upon you (accept His direction for your life) and learn of His love and forgiveness (reading the bible and prayer). This is not something you can do in your own strength, you will have to trust Him to make these changes in you. He will transform you and shape you into the person He wants you to be. You must ask Him to be the Lord of your life. This is something between you and Him. It is a personal relationship.

Get alone with Jesus and confess to Him that you are a sinner, ask Him to forgive you of everything you've ever done. Give Him your life, your dreams, your desires. Let Him be first place in everything! Don't try to be tough, or act big. He sees through all of that. Lay it all at His feet, come to Him as a child. You may be wounded, broken, suicidal, at the end of your road. Give it all to Him, He LOVES YOU unconditionally! Don't let the enemy (satan) take away your only hope of an eternal life of freedom and contentment. If you die without Jesus, the bible says you WILL spend eternity apart from God, in the lake of burning fire forever. It does not matter what you have done up to this point, it can all be forgiven, your heart can be cleansed and you can be restored. But you must make the decision, no one else can.

If you think you should wait on accepting Jesus, remember this, you have no guarantee of tomorrow. Your life is but a vapor, here today, gone tomorrow (James 4:14). "For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)" -1 Thessalonians 5:9

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts!