From the moment you were conceived in your mother’s womb, the journey we know as life begins. My question to you is, “What is your first recollection of who God is?”
I remember that day as clearly as if it were yesterday. Although I went to Sunday School as a child, that was not where my first vivid memory stands out. It actually came from my friends in the neighborhood. We all went to church on Sunday, although we went to different denominations. One day, one of my friends I played with told me I was going to hell because I wasn’t confessing my sins. I don’t know how many sins a little five-year-old could have, but I wasn’t taking any chances, so I confessed anything I could think of under my covers at night.
I have to say one thing about the experience: it got my attention.
The thing is, they didn’t mention anything about Jesus. So you can imagine my relief when I realized who He is and what He did for me. It wasn’t until many years later that I heard the gospel preached clearly.
Romans 3:23-24 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that comes by Jesus Christ.”
Romans 10:9-10: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
I prayed a simple prayer of repenting of my sin and asked that Jesus would forgive me. I declared Him as my Lord and Savior, and my life would never be the same.
There is only one qualification to receiving Jesus as your Savior: you have to be a sinner. You would be surprised by the number of people who don’t realize this about themselves.
I ran into this when I used to minister in nursing homes. I would give a church service. I found that when I would spend time with them one-to-one and I would ask them, “Do you think you are going to heaven?” and for the most part, their answer was yes. I would ask, “Why do you think that?” and so many people would answer, “Because I’m a good person.” These are people who had attended church all their lives, yet they didn’t understand the gospel.
They did not know that no one comes to the Father except through the Son and that we all fall short of the glory of God. These precious people were coming to a place where they would breathe their last and stand before the judgment seat of God with the wrong answer. But God, in His mercy, brought me and others into that nursing home so that they would understand their need for a Savior.
The gospel is the good news that God became a man in Jesus Christ. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died in our place. Three days later, He rose from the dead, proving He is the Son of God and offering salvation to everyone who repents and believes the gospel.
The gift of salvation is free.
When you pray a simple prayer from a heart that is open to receive, that gift of eternal life is imparted to you. The Lord Jesus is knocking on your heart, and salvation is just a prayer away.
Pray:
Lord Jesus, forgive my sins. I know You died for my sins, and on the third day You rose from the dead. Please come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Please give me eternal life. Amen.