Conviction
When I was 7 years old, I began having a recurring nightmare. In my dream, there was a terrible problem. It was massive and complex and dark, and I knew it desperately needed to be fixed, but it was way beyond me. So in the middle of the night, I was up, pacing the hallway in my home. Clearly, this was not a scary dream—the kind where you pull the covers up over your head. It was a very disturbing dream.
The Sin Problem
Thankfully, my Mom knew how to interpret the dream for me. She explained that God was showing me that my disobedience of Him had separated me from God. Or another way of saying that is that my sin had separated me from God.
The Solution: God sent His Only Son, Jesus, Who Lived a Perfect Life
Now that I understood the problem, my Mom explained the Good News… that God had provided a solution—only God could provide a solution. God sent His only son, Jesus, to live among us. By the way… Jesus is God. There is only one, true, eternal God, but He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (that’s Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. 3 in 1. So 2000 years ago, a virgin, named Mary, gave birth to Jesus, It was a true miracle.
Jesus, the Perfect Sacrifice
Jesus lived a perfect life. He completely obeyed all of God’s commands. He was the first person ever to do this because he was a man, but he was also God. Jesus performed many miracles. He spoke and immediately calmed a raging storm at sea. He walked on the water. He healed the sick. To the blind, he gave them sight. To the lame, the ability to walk. He even raised the dead to life. So by this time, many of his followers understood that Jesus was not just a man. He was also God. They expected him to overthrow the Roman Empire and establish his kingdom on earth. But Jesus did something very different that turned out to be much bigger and better. He gave his life to pay the penalty for all the sin in the world… yours, mine, everyone’s—past, present and future. You see, because he had lived a perfect life, he was the perfect sacrifice. For three days he was in the tomb, but on the third day, he rose from the dead. He didn’t just disappear. For 40 days, he was with us again. He was seen by over 500 people. On the last day, he gave his final instructions to his followers, and then they watched as he ascended into the sky and then disappeared. Jesus went to be with God, the Father again, in Heaven, and that’s where he is today.
How to Receive This Free Gift
So remember, every single one of us has this problem—our sin separates from God. But God has provided the solution. Think about that... Each one of us can have a relationship with God. We can pray to Him. He actually puts His Holy Spirit inside of us. He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. He begins a process of making us more and more like His son, Jesus. And when we die... we will go to be with Him, forever, in Heaven. This is called salvation, and it's a free gift available to everyone. But there are two things you must do to receive it. First, you must believe this Good News I’ve just shared with you. And second, you must turn from your sinful ways to follow Jesus, making him Lord of your life, submitting to his authority for the rest of your life.
Response
You’ve just heard the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What is your response?
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