God who created all things wants to have a personal relationship with each human being. He’s a personal, loving God, and the greatest evidence of this is that He sent his Son, Jesus, to show us how much He loves us. Jesus taught that for us to fully experience God’s love, we need to be born again.
Born again? Yes! All the pain, grief, and suffering in the world is our fault. We humans have always chosen to do things our way, rather than God’s way. But since God is the source of all life, health, joy and freedom, when we rebel against Him, we’re choosing misery. This rebellion, this choosing to do things our way, instead of God’s way, is what the Bible calls sin. Every human has made that choice. Once you choose your way, instead of God’s way, only God can help you turn back, and give you new life. This is why Jesus sacrificed his life on a cross – because of our sin, our choosing to live our way, instead of God’s way.
Why Jesus? Being fully God and fully human, he lived a life in perfect harmony with God’s way, and thus could take the punishment we deserve. It is all ultimately mysterious, but one thing is clear: Jesus died a death he didn’t deserve, so that you could start over again with God. This is what the Bible teaches. Jesus summed it up like this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
How do you begin that relationship? It’s very simple. You need to repent of your sins, or tell God you’re sorry for turning away from Him, and that you want new life through a relationship with Jesus. Ask God to fill you with His life-giving Holy Spirit. (He’s always listening and waiting for you, by the way.) Once you turn to Jesus and believe in Him, you are a part of God’s family. Completely and wholly accepted. Forgiven and set free from your past. Dearly loved by the Creator of the universe.
If you have accepted Christ into your heart, we would request that you contact our pastor or an elder of Northside, so they may pray with you and begin a discipleship program that will help you grow in Christ.
