a
Did you know the God of the Universe wants to have a relationship with you?
God created mankind to be in friendship with Him. He gave Adam and Even the garden of Eden to dwell in and He met them there daily in the cool of the evening.
But when Adam and Eve decided they wanted to be their own gods, this friendship was shattered and a huge chasm was formed between God and man. We became enemies, at war with Him and we had no way within ourselves to restore this friendship, nor did we even want to.
God, the perfect Holy One, didn’t want this separation. He didn’t want to spend eternity without me, without you!
However, our sin cries out to be paid and the payment is death. Eternal separation from God.
But God loved us so much, even in the midst of our rebellion against Him, that He willingly GAVE His Son to take our place, so that we could be friends with Him once again. And not just friends but His one of His children! When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty for your sins and mine. He became our stairway between heaven and earth.
He bridged the gap!
“. . . (Jesus) the ONE who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” John 1.51
The Bible says, there is nothing we can do to restore this friendship with God, it was only by God’s grace (Jesus’ death) that we are saved from spending an eternity separated from Him. (Ephesians 2.8-9)
This was God’s incredible gift to us! But we must BELIEVE He died for us and RECIEVE this wonderful gift. It’s not just enough to know this truth, knowing that He died on a cross for us doesn’t make us a child of God.
The best way to explain the difference between knowing and believing is through a story I heard long ago. There was a man who would walk a tight rope across Niagara Falls (before it became illegal). He was so good at doing this that he even did it blindfolded! He also carried things across on the tightrope. One day as the crowds were gathered around, he asked the question, “How many of you think I can carry a person across on my back?” Every hand in the audience went up. Then he asked a second question, “Can I have a volunteer?” As you can imagine, every hand went down. You see, these people “knew” he could do it but they weren’t willing to stake their life on it. That’s the difference between knowing and believing. Are you settling for just knowing about Jesus or are you willing to stake your life on it’s truth?
Will you receive His gift? It isn’t just enough to carry the gift around, we’ve got to open it up and embrace it ALL.
Have you ever invited Jesus to come into your life, to save you from your sins? Are you trying to get your life cleaned up before you come to Him? You will never be clean. You need to come to your Savior who promises to “wash you as white as snow”. It’s what He died for!
Jesus is our stairway to heaven. He bridged the gap and now we can be in friendship with God! How can you refuse? Eternity is at stake. Will you invite Him into your life to be your Lord and Savior? You can do it right where you are, right now. Here’s a simple prayer you can pray:
Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and my sin has separated me from You, God. Thank you for dying for me and taking my place. I invite you into my life, come in and cleanse me of my sin and make me your child. Thank you for rescuing me! I’m yours. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer, this is just the start of an incredible journey with God! I encourage you to tell someone else about what you did. Will you tell me too? I would love to hear from you. It will be important for you to get connected with other followers of Jesus as you travel this new road.
Spilling His Grace,
Kristi
Grace Spilled Over 