spiritual discovery

• Back to Spiritual Discovery Home Imagine you plan a vacation. But this isn't just any vacation. You've been saving and dreaming for years, and finally you're going to take that once-in-a-lifetime, ultimate, dream vacation. You won't cut corners —this will be the perfect getaway. For weeks you sift through reams of travel magazines and surf the net for hours, in search of your dream. You pick the location, set the date, make reservations, purchase your airline tickets. Everything fell in to place. In fact, you were able to save hundreds of dollars, purchasing your air tickets from a friend. What a deal! You don't normally go that route, but this was too good to pass up. You count the days, envisioning laying on that luscious beach. You imagine the warm sand and ocean breeze. As the months go by, the excitement is almost unbearable! Finally, the day arrives. You're packed, passport and tickets in-hand. You approach the airline counter and hand your ticket to the attendant. There's a problem. You are told your ticket is invalid. It turns out your friend's ticket had certain restrictions. There is no negotiation. No exceptions. You are holding a bogus ticket. The vacation is off. You can't board the plane. Sadly, some people, hoping to enter heaven someday, are holding bogus tickets. Many of us go through our lives thinking, or at least hoping, our eternity is wrapped up. Imagine the shock when we turn-in an invalid ticket at heaven's gates! How could this happen? The truth is many people don't know what a Christian really is. Some people think they are Christians, but they are not. It is critical you know if you are really a Christian — a biblically-defined Christian. So, what is a Christian? First, let's define what is not a Christian. Growing up in a Christian home does not make you a Christian. Belonging to a church or a religion doesn't mean you're a Christian. And if you are a good person, even a relatively good person who tries to lead a moral life — That doesn't make you a Christian either. The most popular misconception is thinking we can earn heaven by doing good things. The bible says no matter how hard we try, no matter how good we are, we all miss the mark. That's because we are measured against God's standard of perfection. We can't be good enough Imagine a moral continuum, a line from the ceiling to the floor. At the top is God. About a third down, is Mother Theresa and Billy Graham. You and I are about two-thirds down. Near the bottom are the seedy, underbelly of the world: ax murders, Charles Manson, people like that. Now, look at that continuum. Notice how none of us measure up to God? We're all in the same boat! That's a problem. The bible says because we fall short of God's standard, we deserve to be physically and spiritually separated from Him for eternity. That means we all deserve to spend eternity in a place called hell. That's a problem. Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23 Fortunately, God loves us and has a plan for our life John 3:16 and John 10:10. We were created to live in relationship with God, here on earth, and with Him through eternity. Because God loved you so much, so much He couldn't stand the thought of not seeing you in heaven, He sent His son Jesus to earth to die in your place. Essentially, when Jesus died on the cross, He died as your substitute. Jesus took your sins, your imperfection, upon Himself. Jesus' death was God's plan for you to get to heaven. Romans 5:8 1Corinthians 15:3 John 14:6 When Jesus died for you, he did that as a free gift to you. In other words, you cannot earn what Jesus did. You cannot earn heaven. Think of it this way: You didn't earn, didn't pay for, the Christmas presents you received last year. Those gifts were free. This is an important concept. Some people think they must somehow supplement or add-to what Jesus did for us. It's easy to believe that we still need to earn moral merit badges. Remember: you can't be good enough. Trying to earn heaven through continual good deeds is like running on a religious treadmill all your life. It's futile. And if you think a spiritual scorekeeper is tracking the good things you do, ask yourself, How many good things do you need to do? How much is enough? It's worth mentioning that good deeds are important in a Christian's life. But not in the context of admission to heaven. The bible talks about a three part moral equation — Believe, Receive, Become. The first step in the process is believing the things we've talked about. Believing that you are a sinner in need of a savior [Jesus] and that Jesus died for your sins. The next step is Receive. So far, you might be thinking, "Great! We're all going to heaven!" That's not true. The bible says we must receive Jesus in to our lives. Receiving means personally appropriating what Jesus did for you. It is a personal transaction where you talk to God through prayer, admit your need for Jesus, admit and ask forgiveness for your sin and ask Jesus to come in to your life as your leader and friend. John 1:12 Ephesians 2:8 John 3:1-8 That prayer might sound like this: "Father, I know now that Jesus died for my sins. I have sinned and I ask your forgiveness. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Help me to turn my back on that sin and begin a new life. Right now, I want you to come in to my life to be my leader and friend. Help me to be the person you want you to be. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen." The third part of that equation is Become. After a person does business with God, talking to God as in the words above, the bible says you will become a new person. Not only will your sins be forgiven — past, present and future — you can claim an eternity in heaven! Many aspects of your life will begin to change: worship, relationships, work, prayer, church, friends... You will begin to see God working in your life. 1John 5:11 Hebrews 13:5 Some people who think they are Christians skip the second step, Receiving Jesus in their life... Believing is the easy part. You need to take the next step. There needs to be a defining moment in your life when you took that step. Can you identify a time when you made that decision to receive Jesus? If not, you may not be a true Christian. You might be holding a bogus ticket. If you now realize your eternity is insecure, I encourage you to take time now to talk to God — Ask Jesus in to your life right now. If you took that step long ago, but have since strayed from God, take time right now to rededicate your life to Jesus. The bible says Jesus knocks at the door of our lives. He patiently knocks and waits for us to respond. Will you open the door? Revelation 3:20 More Questions? • Back to Spiritual Discovery Home

Agree you are a sinner, in need of a savior. Believe who Jesus is — That He is God-made-man. And that He came to earth and lived the perfect life you couldn't live. He died for you, taking your sins upon His shoulders. He died as your substitute. This was a free gift to you — No matter how hard you try, you cannot earn heaven. Our good deeds can't get us in to heaven. The bible says because of our sin, we deserve death— an eternity in hell. But, by receiving God's free gift of Jesus' death on the cross, we can enter in to a life-changing relationship with Him and have a secure eternity in heaven. We don't deserve this. We can't earn it. This was a personal, free gift to you. You have a choice of ignoring it or receiving it. Believing is the first step. Most people stop there. It's not enough to have the head knowledge, that's a good start, but the bible says you now need to receive that free gift. When you are given a gift, what is your reaction? Usually we extend our hands, receive the gift and say "thank you". That is how you need to respond to God. Once you have the intellectual part down, you need to go the next step: you need to personalize Jesus' death. You need to appropriate that free gift. You do that by acknowledging the gift Jesus is handing you. Think of it this way: In the bible Revelation 3:20 Jesus is standing at the door of your life patiently knocking. He's not going to enter forcibly. You have a free will to either open the door, or ignore Him. Many people spend their lives hiding behind that door, peeking through the curtains, pretending they're not home. Receiving Jesus' gift, is opening the door of your life to Him. How do you do this receive step? You do it by talking to Him, through prayer. You need to: • Ask forgiveness for and acknowledge your sins. • Be sorry for your sins. • Have a willingness to turn away from your sin. • Turn toward faith — make a choice. • Commit yourself to Jesus — surrender to Him. Praying to God, you might say something like this: "Father, I realize now I am a sinner in need of a savior. I have sinned and I have ignored you — please forgive me. Right now I receive what Jesus did for me and open the door of my life to Him. Help me to be the person you want me to be. Thank you Father. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen." If you took the receive step, above, congratulations! You are now a Christian. Tell someone about your decision! The bible says your life will now begin to change. Some people see dramatic overnight changes,some people experience gradual changes. Either way, you will begin to sense God's presence— you will feel closer to Him. Worship and prayer will take on new meaning. New friends may enter your life. If you watch closely, you'll see God orchestrating spiritual appointments in your life. It's important that you take some next steps — get in to a small group, start reading the bible, and find a church. Be selective. Look for a bible-teaching church and start attending regularly. Don't mix up these steps. Remember, it's Believe, Receive, then Become. Some people think they need to become a better person before receiving Jesus in to their life.This is a common hangup. People mistakenly believe God won't accept them until they clean up their life first. Become is the final step. Leave that to God. Remember, after you make the decision to receive Jesus, He will begin to change you. You could spend a lifetime waiting for just the right circumstances. Don't wait. God will accept you now, just the way you are. Do it now. Remember, your past is forgiven. The debt is paid entirely by Jesus.