Do you long for peace in your life?  Would it surprise you to know that before you were born, God made a way for you to know Him and love Him?  It is true.  The Bible shares God’s story of love.  It is a story that began before creation and has no end.  It is a story of God and His loving pursuit of those who will believe. 

God sent Jesus, His Son, to the world.  While here, Jesus lived, died, and rose again.  At the heart of God’s story, we find a loving Father and an obedient Son.  We also find the only way to have real peace in our lives.  This peace is available today.  If you long to know God and have His peace in your life, read and respond to the three Key Truths listed below.      

Key Truth 1: You are Sinful and Separated from God.

Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.”  No person is without sin.  Sin separates you from God.  God is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin.  Thus, sin creates a barrier between you and God.  This barrier is created by sin and cannot be overcome by human effort.  Because God is holy, sin must be punished.    

Key Truth 2: Jesus took your Punishment by Dying in your Place. 

Romans 5:6-8 states, “You see, at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  While you were powerless to do anything about the sin barrier in your life, God made a way for you and provided a perfect provision for your sin.  The provision came in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  You see, a little over two thousand years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth.  While here, Jesus lived a perfect sinless life.  As Jesus walked on this earth He did amazing things.  He healed people.  He loved people.  He taught people; and, most importantly, He made a way to save people.  Jesus died a cruel death on the cross.  While on the cross, Jesus took upon Himself God’s wrath towards sin.  This means Jesus bore every wrong thought, every wrong motive, and every wrong action in your life.  Jesus took the punishment for your sin and became the perfect sacrifice.  2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  When Jesus died on the cross, He became your substitute.  Instead of you dying, Jesus died in your place.  Thus, Jesus paid the price for your sin and provided a way for you to know God and love God. 

Key Truth 3: You can Surrender and Accept God’s Gift of Peace. 

Once Jesus died, He was placed in a tomb.  Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead.  In His resurrected body, Jesus declared to the world that sin and death had been conquered and that peace with God was available to anyone who believes.      

Romans 10:9 states, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  The Bible states that if you confess Jesus as your Lord and trust the fact that He died in your place and rose again, you will be saved.  To be saved means to enter into an eternal relationship with God the Father based on the actions of Jesus the Son.  This relationship begins the moment you trust Jesus and changes everything about your life--the way you think, the way you act, and even the way you live.                    

How will you respond?  Today, you can respond to the loving actions of God the Father and Jesus His Son.  Right now you have the opportunity to surrender to your need for a Savior.  This happens as you talk to God.  Start by confessing your sins.   Tell Jesus everything you have ever done that you regret and wish you could take back.  Allow your heart to feel the weight of the sin in your life.  Once you have confessed your sins, ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins.  Thank Jesus for dying in your place and paying your sin penalty.  Finally, close your talk with God by asking Jesus to change your life.  Express your desire to be saved and to live your life for Him.        

Sweet friend, if you honestly talked to God, you can know that God saved you and made you His child.  John 1:12 states, “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”  Today, you can rejoice because of the truth taught in Scripture.  When you surrender to God’s plan for peace in your life by placing your trust in Jesus, you become God’s child.  Once you are God’s child, you are safe and secure in Him.

Please take the next step!  As soon as possible, tell a friend, minister, Bible study teacher, or relative that you have trusted Jesus as Lord and placed your faith in His death, burial, and resurrection.  Then quickly get involved in a church that teaches you how to grow in your relationship with Jesus by focusing on the principles taught in the Bible.  May God bless you as you begin the greatest journey of life!!!