About Salvation...

The following post is my most important belief. I do not share it with others nearly as often as I should. And I should share it. It's good news...

The prompting for this post came from an opportunity I missed to share this good news. Read about it HERE. I don't want to miss an opportunity like that ever again.

I am writing this post to help me articulate better my beliefs for myself and for others. If this post blesses you in that it helps you to share your faith or that it helps you to HAVE faith, be a blessing to someone else and pass it along.

I have good news. It is too good not to share. It is unbelievably simple and yet so many find it so hard to accept.

This good news is preceded by some bad news. Because I'm the kind of person that likes a happy ending...I'll start with the bad news first.

THE BAD NEWS...

I'm not perfect. I never was, and I never will be. There are high, ethical, and moral standards that I can never hope to achieve - even with all my effort. I miss the mark more often than I care to admit. In my short lifetime (or so I would like to believe), I have lied, hated, gossiped, and been unkind...just to name a few inadequacies because there are many more.

The bottom line...I am a sinner. You are a sinner. Whether in thought, word, or deed, we all have fallen short of perfection. Everyone I know is a sinner because they have, at some point in their life, missed the mark too.

What mark you say? The mark that God has set.

The Bible says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23.

You must realize that there is nothing you can do to earn the favor of God. His standards are too high for us to reach...no matter how hard we work or how hard we try.

MORE BAD NEWS...

I am going to die. We all die. The clock is constantly ticking and we all die. We can live on this earth separated from God...BUT...the problem is that if we die imperfect, we will have to be separated from God forever.

"The wages of sin is death" - Romans 6:23

Basically, my sin, my mistakes, and my messups make it impossible for me to be with God. If I die in my sin, I will never be able to experience life with Him. God is perfect and He just cannot be around sin.

So enough with all of this bad news...

THE GOOD NEWS...

God knew that no one could be perfect. Even the best of us mess up every now and then. So, knowing that we were in a pickle that we couldn't get out of, He decided to provide us a way out.

"God demonstrated his love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8

Jesus Christ is God's Son. God sent Him to live here among men on earth, live a perfect life, and die with no sin. Then when Christ came back to life three days later, this proved that sin and death had been conquered and that He was God's Son and could carry out God's plan.

What was the plan?...for a perfect Jesus to be a substitute for me since I'd messed up so bad already.

God loved me and didn't want to be separated from me for eternity so He made a way for me to come to Him if I so desired.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?...

You can be saved from the penalty of your sin by believing in Christ and His sacrifice for your sins.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life" - John 3:16

Like I said so simple...

And for many...I know...so far fetched...

Many times I don't share because I'm afraid people will 1) have questions I can't answer, 2) outright reject salvation or 3) outright reject me...

But here's the thing,

It's good news that Someone thought enough of me to give me a chance at having priveleges I couldn't earn...

It's good news that Someone loved me enough to pay a high price for my freedom...

It's good news that Someone wants me to know Him and came after me when I wasn't thinking about Him...

It's good news that this Someone is the all-powerful, Creator of the Universe, and He cares about little 'ol me.

WHY WOULDN'T I SHARE THIS OTHERS?...

Even if you are a little skeptical...isn't it worth a look-see?

If nothing else...if what I believe to be true IS true...the price is too high not to check it out...

I'm not an intellectual scholar or a theological genius. I'm just a gal who simply believes in this good news and wants to share it with the world. The more I learn, the more it all makes sense...but...it starts with believing.

"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". = Romans 10:9

I wish I would have shared this good news to the cab driver that drove me home that day. I wish with all my heart that I had not let him leave me at my front door step, only to return to his self-proclaimed existence of no-life, no friends, and no hope. I could have given him good news and I didn't.

This post was practice. So the next time someone crosses my path who is need of good news...I'll be ready...This post is for me to read as often as I need a refresher...AND...

if this is your first time reading the story of good news...

THIS POST IS FOR YOU!