Here we go
God is the Ruler of the world because he created the world. He created humans to live in it, and rule the world under God's authority.
“You are worthy, Lord to receive glory and honour and power for you created all things” Rev 4:11
However, we humans choose to reject God and His ways. We want to follow our own desires and run things our way. This rebellious, self-centred attitude is called sin. The result: we make a mess of our own lives and the world.
“There is no one righteous..no one who seeks God” Romans 3:10-12
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
God will call us to account for our actions. His punishment for rebellion is death and judgement. How is this just? You may ask. But God is giving us what we want. We reject Him, and He gives us that. He is the source of life and all good things. Being cut off from God means death and hell.
“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement..”Hebrews 9:27
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
God sent his perfect Son Jesus to come to earth 2000 years ago. Jesus was perfect and did not deserve punishment, yet he was willingly obedient to excruciating death on the cross for our sake, becoming our substitute, so that we can be forgiven.
This is not something we deserve. It is a generous gift.
"Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18
"This righteous is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference.. all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:22-24
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
God raised Jesus back to life after 3 days. Jesus is now the ruler of the world. He conquered death, and gives us new life both now and forever. He will return to judge one day. We can now make a fresh start with God. The moment we believe in Jesus, God comes to live in us by His Spirit.
"In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" 1 Peter 1:3
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
"I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
"But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7
We now have two ways to live.
1: Reject God, continue to live our own way, and get what we want: disconnection from God forever.
2: Submit to Jesus, rely on His death and resurrection, and be forgiven and have eternal life.
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:36
Jesus said "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24
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Perhaps you don't believe anything that's said above. It is good to investigate these things thoroughly and read the claims for yourself. If they are true, the consequences are life and death. Jesus claims to be the only way to God. Get yourself a Bible (free online), Mark's Gospel is a good place to start. Talk to a Christian friend (or me).
If you want to accept Jesus...
1. You could pray something like this:
God, I know that I am not worthy to be accepted by you. I don't deserve your
gift of eternal life. I am guilty of rebelling against you and ignoring you. Thank you for sending Your Son to die for me that I may be forgiven. Thank you that he came back to life to give me new life. Please change me, that I may live with Jesus as my ruler. Amen.
2. Submit to Jesus
Turn away from old rebellious habits (greed, anger, selfishness etc) and start new ones that please God (love, kindness, patience). This 2nd step will go on for the rest of our lives, but God is with us all the way.
He'll keep speaking to you (through your reading of the Bible),
He'll keep listening to you and helping you (as you pray to him),
He'll empower you to change and live his way (by his Spirit who lives within you),
He'll provide brothers and sisters to encourage you along the way (as you meet with other Christians [very important!]).
3. Keep trusting!
You need to keep putting your trust in the right place. It's only because of Jesus (and his death & resurrection) that we can be forgiven and put right with God. You'll need to keep coming back to this good news again and again, because as we live God's new way, we will still fail and do the wrong thing. We all need to keep looking back to the death of Jesus on the cross as the only grounds for our forgiveness and everlasting life.
The above was adapted from twowaystolive.com
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Maybe you're a random stranger online or a friend of mine who's happened to stumble upon my dusty and rusty blog. But I pray that you will not brush this aside, but think through it carefully. Talk to me! Ask God to show Himself to you, and He will, as you read his words in the Bible and talk to him. I would not have shared this if I thought this was 'something to be kept to myself' or just 'something that gives me a sense or meaning/ purpose in life'. It's infinitely more important than that, and God your loving Father can't wait for you to come back to Him!
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