The Good News
In the beginning, God created everything, and everything that he made was very good. Into his creation, God placed one man and one woman, to enjoy a relationship with him. Physically perfect and innocent of any evil, they lived together in a garden God planted Himself.
They knew God, but still they disobeyed him. The Bible calls this ‘sin’. That sin was passed on to all of us, and because of our sinfulness, we have all come under God’s anger, and the penalty for sin, which is death. God’s creation is no longer ‘very good’, it is broken.
Because we are born sinful, we all sin. We all fall short of God’s standards, and live under his anger, separated from him. Even people we think are ‘good’, aren’t good enough for God. He is perfect. No amount of ‘doing good’ can balance out our sin; we always fall short.
The penalty for sin is death, but in his mercy God chose to pay the penalty himself. God showed his love by sending Jesus, while we were still sinners, to die for us. Jesus died so that once and for all, our penalty could be paid, and God’s anger could be lifted from us.
Creation is still broken, but God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth. We can join him there if we have received the free gift of Jesus; when we acknowledge Jesus Christ is God, turn from our sin, and accept him as the one who died for us, and gave us life.
Turning from sin is called repentance; we each need to repent of our sin and experience God’s forgiveness. This moment is marked by water baptism, a spiritual act that associates us with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as we go in, under and out of the water.
If you want to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God, turn away from your life of sin, and accept Jesus as the one who died for you, then respond today by praying to God with words like these:
Dear God, who created all things,
Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me.
I admit I have lived my own way, but today I turn away from that way of life and surrender to you. I acknowledge Jesus as my God. Please forgive my sins and come into my life. Thank you, Jesus, that you died for me and rose to give me a new life.
Please fill me with your Holy Spirit.
Thank you, God,
Amen.
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