Do you enjoy peace of soul day by day and a joy in your heart that makes you want to sing?
Do you have the joyful anticipation of being in heaven?
Do you have a friend that is with you every moment who you can talk to at any time and who understands life's struggles?
Do you have a father who never makes a mistake, and always in love does what is best for you?
Do you wonder what life is all about?
Do you feel empty inside, with a void nothing can truly fill?
Do you question if you'll go to heaven after you die?
Do you feel lonely or unloved?
If you're not enjoying these blessings and have these questions, God has something JUST FOR YOU!!
This something has already been paid for-- so it's free to you.
God's gift is the gift of a lifetime - and must be taken in a lifetime. It's too late to change your mind after death. (Heb. 9:27) God's gift is Eternal Life with Him, it's actually becoming a member of His family. (Rom. 6:23)
Too good to be true? How is this possible?
First we must understand the character of God. God is Holy and God is Love. (1Pet 1:16, 1John 4:16)
God is Holy. His perfect, sinless nature cannot tolerate evil. All wrongdoing must be punished. Nothing escapes His all-seeing eye, and nothing will be glossed over at the last judgement. God has told us in the Bible what things are right and wrong. The Old Testament Law tells us we must not steal, lie, use the Lord's name in vain, commit adultery, murder.... We must love our neighbor as much as we love ourself, and to be perfect we would have to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. God says pride is an awful thing, and anything not done in dependence upon Him is sin. Even an evil thought is sin in God's eyes. Now you're starting to get an understanding of just how holy God is. Sin so deplorable to God that He must judge it with eternal torment. (Hab. 1:13, 1Pet. 4:5, Exodus 20, Luke 10:27, Prov. 8:13, Rom. 14:23, Prov 24:9, Luke 16:28)
God is Love. When God declares mankind's ruin, He also prepares mankind's remedy. A loving God does not send people to hell-- people must choose to go there by rejecting God. He offers a free gift purchased with the death of His only Son, and that gift is escape from the punishment that is rightfully ours to bear eternally. With an infinite sacrifice of substitution, God gave His Son to die and take the sinner's place to provide a way to His heaven. The holy God of heaven punished His dear Son for His own creature's sin. How amazing is that! (2Cor. 5:21)
God's Son came to earth as a man, born of a virgin. He is no ordinary man. He is the Son of God. John 1:1 tells us He is God. He is the perfect expression of God the Father, and yet He was and is a true man. We cannot understand it, but we believe it because God says it, and we have come to understand that God's Word is true, living, powerful, and stands the test of time. It can never fail. You can rest your soul upon it for eternity. The Holy Scriptures send a beacon of light to a dark world, and thousands have had their lives changed in a moment through faith in its truth. No other book can or ever will stand up to this Divine Masterpiece, true even to the very letter. (Mat. 1:23, Heb. 1:3, 1Tim. 2:5, Heb. 4:12, John 10:35, Matt. 5:18)
Calvary is the place where God's gift of eternal life was purchased. Calvary is where Jesus Christ God's Son was crucified. It divides time, history. It divides eternal life and eternal death. It is where you must go to find true rest and deliverance from the power of sin in your life. You must find Christ there before you can be found with Christ above. (Luke 23:33)
Calvary is where a Holy God's anger and righteous indignation was poured out upon the Saviour of the world. Calvary is where Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" The wages for our sin was death. And the price Christ paid was His own life. Calvary is where a Loving God's provision of mercy to a fallen race was completed. Finished. Paid in full. God declared it when He raised His Son from the dead and placed Him at His right hand. (Gal. 3:13, Matt. 27:46, Rom. 6:23, John 10:15, John 19:30, Heb. 1:3)
And now God offers you the gift. Will you receive His Word? Christ has been victorious over death, and now offers the fruit of this victory to you and me. You must accept it by faith. Faith is not blind. It rests upon Words that have proved themselves over and over again through the centuries. It rests upon the knowledge God gives that He is speaking directly to ME, and I must respond. I must respond now.
God's gift of salvation is for anyone: none are excluded. "Come to Me," the Savior says, "all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He is looking for your simple faith in His Word, that He took the judgement that you rightfully deserved, and paid the sin-debt in full. He is looking for your acknowledgement that He is worthy to be your Lord, for He cared for you enough to be willing to die in your place. Those who receive Him receive Eternal Life!