6 Reasons Why You Need Jesus Christ
1. You need Jesus Christ because we live in an evil world and without the help, guidance, and protection of Jesus Christ, you will inevitably find yourself the victim of wickedness, violence, and spoil: The city…she is wholly oppression in the midst of her…she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. — Jeremiah 6:6-7 2. You need Jesus Christ because without a Christ-filled heart and a Christ-centered life, your sinful nature will reliably land you in the midst of sin and its corresponding destruction: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. — Jeremiah 17:9 3. You need Jesus because without Jesus Christ, you are unable to please God: For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. — Romans 8:5-10 4. You need Jesus Christ because without the life-changing experience of salvation through Jesus Christ, you simply cannot consistently live righteous…even if you want to: For the flesh…and the Spirit…these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. — Galatians 5:17 5. You need Jesus Christ because you HAVE sinned. There have been multiple times when you have done things that your conscience told you was wrong…and you did those things anyway. And, eternal death (hell) is the penalty for ANY sin that has not been repented of, forgiven, and covered by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ: To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. — James 4:17All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. — 1 John 5:17 6. You need Jesus Christ because your sinful nature continues to move you down a path of destruction…but Jesus has paid the sacrificial price so that you have access to the help you need in order to be reconciled unto God the Father…and to turn your life around for good: Thou has destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help. — Hosea 13:9
To Be Born Again Is To…
To be born again is to enter into a new existence, to have a new mind, a new heart, new views, new principles, new tastes, new affections, new likes, new dislikes, new fears, new joys, new sorrows, new love to things once hated, new hatred to things once loved, new thoughts of God, ourselves, the world, the life to come, and salvation. — J.C. Ryle
What Is Sin? How Do I Know If I Am A Sinner?
What exactly is sin? Well, Jesus gives us the answer in Mark 7:21-23… For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Now, we all mostly know what these things mean but let’s look at each one a bit more clearly and comprehensively: Evil thoughts — The THINKING of sinful, base, depraved, vicious, corrupt, vile, destructive, mean, malicious, harmful, hurtful, injurious, foul, perverted, deviant, immoral, dishonorable, unscrupulous, belittling, negative, unhealthy, or any other kind of bad, wrong, or inappropriate thoughts. Adulteries — Married individuals engaging in…or imagining and fantasizing about…sexual activity with anyone other than their spouse. Fornications — Unmarried individuals engaging in sexual activity. Murders — The killing of a human being; maliciously and unjustly tarnishing or destroying another person’s reputation for no valid reason. Thefts — The taking or stealing of another’s property without permission or legal right; “borrowing” something from another with no intention of returning it; dishonestly taking credit for something when the credit rightfully belongs to someone else; to take advantage of another by exploitation. Covetousness — Strongly desiring to possess what belongs to someone else. Wickedness — Evil, malevolent, malicious, venomous, morally-wrong, intentions, attitudes, and/or actions that hurt or harm others; wishing to hurt or harm others. Deceit — To mislead by false appearance or statement; to hide the truth by concealing, misrepresenting, or distorting the truth; to cheat, defraud, or trick others through deviousness, wiliness, deception, lying, pretense, or any other form of treachery. Lasciviousness — Any form of lustful, wanton, or lewd behavior…or any manner of dressing…that is designed to arouse sexual desire, or to indicate sexual interest, or to express lust and lewdness; the feeling or revealing of overt, offensive sexual desire. An evil eye — Having malicious, hurtful, wounding, cruel, or unkind intent towards anyone; devious plotting for personal gain at the expense of others; selfishness or greediness that prefers letting another person suffer over helping them; a mindset of darkness or gloominess; one who takes pleasure in corruption or depravity; one who searches for fault or failure in others and rejoices when they find it. Blasphemy — Cursing or reviling God; speaking irreverently and sacrilegiously about anything that pertains to God; profane talk that desecrates sacred things; swearing, cursing, or taking the Lord’s name in vain; lifting one’s self up as God. Pride — An inordinately high opinion of one’s own self; feeling that one’s self is more important and more valuable than others; an arrogant person assuming superiority over others in some respect; a vain person seeking vainglory. Foolishness — Operating or interacting without good sense or judgment; speaking or acting in a manner of silliness, imprudence, irresponsibility, indiscretion, recklessness, rashness, or thoughtlessness that negatively affects, impacts, distresses, offends, obstructs, diverts, or derails anyone. Well, this spells out plain enough what sin is, does it not? Now, let’s look again at the last part of Mark 7:23… All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Notice how Jesus specifically states that ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE EVIL! Why are they evil? Well, it is because in one way or another, committing any of these sins has the possibility or propensity to hurt or harm people. Also, notice how Jesus states that all the above listed sins defile a person. That is, these sins tear down, pollute, and DESTROY a person. That is why these things are “sins”…because of the harm they produce in people’s lives…whether in self, others, or both. Moreover, the reason God commands us to abstain from sinning is NOT because He is trying to block us from enjoying some part of life. Rather, He tells us to abstain from sin so that we can avoid being tore down, polluted, and ultimately destroyed in any part of our life! Of course, the devil works hard at trying to convince people that God’s ways and commandments are designed to keep them from having fun and to block them from enjoying certain parts of life…but the devil is a liar whose sole purpose is to deceive humankind so that he can steal and destroy the good out of their lives. One verse that sums up the underlying essence of every sin described above is 1 John 3:10… In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. In simple, easy-to-understand terms, any person who is not doing good…who is not doing right…who is not loving…or who harbors, supports, condones, or accepts those who are not doing good, right, or loving…is a sinner. If something is not right…if something is not good…if something is not based in love…then it is NOT of God! This is a guiding-principle that all of us can use to discern between right and wrong, is it not? In Romans 1:29-31, the Bible lists out an even more expansive list of sins that will be judged by God: Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: The Bible tells us expressly and specifically that anyone who commits any of the sins listed in these verse will NOT escape the penalty and judgement of God. Going farther, here is a still more expansive list that the Bible gives us in Galatians 5:19-21… Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Every person who commits any of these sins…and who does not get forgiveness of those sins through Jesus Christ the Righteous…will NOT go to Heaven…which means they
I Want To Go To Heaven. How Must I Live In Order To Go To Heaven?
The first step to going to Heaven is to receive the gift of Salvation…which is received by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and by repenting of one’s past and present sins. For more on receiving the gift of Salvation, see these articles: Next, after receiving the gift of Salvation by believing and repenting, one should seek to grow and develop in their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That is, one should first pray that the Lord sanctify them…sanctification being the work where the Lord changes one’s interests, desires, activities, agenda, and direction…the transformation from “forgiven and saved sinner” to “saint of God”. After sanctification, one should then pray to receive the Holy Ghost. After receiving the Holy Ghost, one should pray to receive the Gifts of the Spirit that God has for them. For more on this spiritual development process, see this article: Up to this point, I have been speaking about the “spiritual” aspect of going to Heaven. But, there is another aspect. In addition to the “spiritual” aspect of going to Heaven, there is also the “natural” aspect of going to Heaven. What is the “natural” aspect? It is the way a saved Christian LIVES their life and CONDUCTS their self. In short, the proper Christian way to live and conduct one’s self is to no longer live a life of sinfulness and to instead live a life of righteousness that is pleasing before God. That makes sense…but at the same time, that is a bit ambiguous…so let’s clarify these two items: 1. What do we stop doing so that we are no longer sinning? And… 2. What do we do to live righteous and pleasing before God? Well, the answers to these two questions are spread across the entire Bible…repeated many times in many different ways…so that EVERYBODY can completely and clearly understand EXACTLY what it is that God wants and expects from them. Obviously, this is one of the reasons why regular Bible reading is so important. But for here and now…to get us started and moving forward rightly…let’s simplify to a couple of places where the Bible summarizes God’s behavioral rules for us. In terms of what we should NOT do, Galatians 5:19-21 tells us the following: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. In terms of what we SHOULD do, Psalm 15:1-5 tells us the following: LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. So, there you go…if you want to go to Heaven, you now have two lists that describe how to LIVE and CONDUCT yourself…you now have a specific list of things to NOT do…and a specific list of things to do. Abide by these scriptures in the “natural” aspect of your life…and seek a deeper relationship with God in the “spiritual” aspect of your life…and you WILL INFALLIBLY make Heaven your eternal home.
What Does It Mean To Be Saved? And, How Does A Person Get Saved?
EVERY one of the 66 books in the Bible in one way or another points the way to Salvation. But, the book of Romans does a particularly good job of walking a person down the path of God’s Salvation Plan and explaining everything in a direct and plain way. Many have called this the “Roman’s Road To Salvation”. In particular, various verses spread across the book of Romans explain why we need to be saved, how God made a way for us to be saved, how we can be saved personally, what happens when we get saved, what we need to do in order to stay saved, how we need to live our life as a saved person, and what the consequences are if we do not accept God’s Salvation Plan. The tenets of God’s Salvation plan start in the very first chapter of Romans… “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” — Romans 1:16 Too many people are more concerned about what other people think about them than what God thinks of them. Too many people are blocking the power and blessings of God out of their life because they are more concerned about fitting in with and being accepted by the people around them … than they are of rising up to the higher (and happier) level that God wants them to be on. So, the preceding verse lets us know that if we want the power of God to change our life for the better … if we want to be saved … if we want peace and joy within ourselves … if we want God’s blessings in this life … and eternal life in Heaven after this life, then we must BELIEVE that God wants us to be saved through the sacrifice of His only begotten son Jesus Christ. Moreover, this verse lets us know that the FIRST step to Salvation is to get past being ashamed of and embarrassed about being a spiritually-minded person … and to step into being a person who honors and follows the plan of God no matter what other people think. Bluntly, a person must get past being embarrassed about being affiliated with Christ … a person must get past being ashamed of Christ and His gospel if they want to be saved and receive all the blessings that come with being in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Next on the Romans Road to Salvation, we come to this… “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” — Romans 1:17 This verse lets us know that faith is a key element of salvation. Elsewhere, the Bible tells us that God is a spirit which means we do not see Him physically, but we can definitely experience Him and His presence in our life. As an analogy, faith is like wind. We normally cannot see wind but we can definitely feel it, experience it, and see its physical effects. And in fact, if we drop down a few verses, the Bible makes this exact point… “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” — Romans 1:20 This verse is telling us that our invisible God produces physical effects that can be so clearly seen and understood that there is no excuse for us not believing in Him. Next on the Roman Road to Salvation, we come to this verse… “There is none righteous, no, not one.” — Romans 3:10 This verse states what we all know is true deep down inside of ourselves: we have all sinned. Not a single one of us is completely innocent and pure. Now, we may not be a drunken vagabond, drug-dealer, serial-killer, or whatever it is that we classify as a vile person … but we ALL HAVE done things that we knew were wrong … and we ALL HAVE thought thoughts that we knew were wrong thoughts. And so, we are NOT inherently, natively sin-free. We are in fact inherently sinful … we ALL HAVE sinned … that is why we need salvation … that is why we need redemption … and that is what the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was all about: redeeming us out of our sins and reconciling us to God the Father by His sinless life and supreme sacrifice. This is precisely what subsequent verses tell us: “The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” — Romans 3:22-26 From these verses, we find that: As we continue on the Romans Road to Salvation, we come to a verse that expands our understanding of faith… “But to him that … believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” — Romans 4:5 When we believe on Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer … the only one who can justify us … that is an act of faith … and that act of faith is credited to us as righteousness. Next, the Romans Road to Salvation expands upon the two-part work of Jesus Christ as it pertains to us… “Who was delivered for our offense, and was raised again for our
Which Type of Christian Are You?
Have a look at the following “types” of Christians and see which one fits you. Christian-Affiliate – This is a person who classifies and categorizes their self as a “Christian” but does not actively live the life of a Christian as defined by the Bible. That is, they affiliate their self with the “religion” of Christianity … but they live a life that is indistinguishable from that of a person who makes no attempt to serve or please the Lord and who lives only for self-pleasure. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. Licensed Christian – This is a person who professes to be saved (see description of “Saved Christian” below) but there is no change whatsoever in their life. This is a person who joins a church group and then feels “licensed” to do whatever sinning they want … because after all, they are a member of the church. This is a person who loves to use God’s mercy and grace as a license to excuse and cover up their sinful living. This is a person who really has no interest in living a clean, Godly life … they just need some way to get people off their back when the subject of doing right or being saved comes up … and telling others they are already saved is how they do that. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. This person is a hypocrite whose judgment is soon-coming as stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:12, “That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Not-Responsible Christian – This is a person who does not want to have to overcome or stand against sin on their own. So, if God does not block the sin from coming to them, then they just go along with it … placing all responsibility for their right-living upon God and taking no personal responsibility their self for living right and being right before God. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. Self-Made Christian – This is a person who lives a warped concoction … where they “call” their self a Christian … but in reality, they merely pursue a self-satisfying religion of their own making and choosing. This is a person who does not really care what God has to say in the Bible. They just want to do things in their own way that suits and satisfies them … and they can always find a way to explain, excuse, or justify why it is appropriate for them to ignore God’s truth and to instead live their own made-up “truth”. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. Fence-Riding Christian – This is the kind of person who likes to fit in with sinners … who likes to be around sinners … and when they are around sinners … they dress like them, act like them, and talk like them. But then, when they are around Christian people, they switch over and will look, act, and talk the part of a Christian. This kind of person is a hypocrite and a blight on the name of Christ. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. Week-Long Christian – This is the person who asks the Lord to forgive them of their sins … but within a day or two they are getting pressure from their friends … and sinful interests strongly beckon them … and within a week, they are right back to fully living the sinful life they were living before … they forget about God … they backslide away from Christ … and now, they are no longer saved. (Matthew 13) Years later, they still have not ever got back around to praying again. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. Down-And-Out Christian – This is a person who gets saved (see description of “Saved Christian” below) … and who does really good for a while … until a serious problem or situation shows up in their life … at which point, they get discouraged, disenchanted with God, or even offended at God … and they backslide away from Christ … they turn back to living a life of sin … and they are no longer saved. (Matthew 13) The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. Side-Railed Christian – This is a person who gets saved (see description of “Saved Christian” below) … and does really well for a long while … they prove faithful even through hardships and problems … but eventually, they lose their love for the Lord … they lose their interest in the Lord … and they become more interested in pleasure, success, prominence, and renown … until soon enough, all of their time is devoted to self-gain and they have little time for God. Eventually, they reach the stage where they have completely backslid and they are no longer saved. (Matthew 13) The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent
How Much Of A Christian Do We Have To Be In Order To Go To Heaven?
We each have the personal responsibility of learning what pleases God…and then living accordingly. So, in the interest of learning what pleases God, this article brings out some concepts that we can each consider within ourselves. And, if we find any areas within our self that can stand some improvement…well, hopefully we will each be man enough or woman enough to make those improvements within our self. With that, consider these two core questions… Romans 10:9-10 There are many in the realm of Christianity who have over-simplified these verses to the point that all a person has to do is say they believe in Jesus … that all a person has to do is confess that he or she is a “believer” … and with no other changes or improvements, that is enough to get them into Heaven. But, that simply is not true. It is not true because a sinner cannot step into true recognition of Christ’s Lordship and Divinity and remain the same old sinner. It is not true because a sinner cannot grasp the full work of Christ…and the atonement He made for sin’s penalty…without realizing he or she needs to make some serious improvements before God. In other words, a shallow “confession” followed by the occasional shallow “profession” is NOT enough for a person to be saved. It’s not true because as John 7:38 says: “He that believeth on me … out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” When a person TRULY believes, there IS going to be a difference in their life … changes and improvements ARE going to happen as that person seeks to move into pleasing the Lord … there IS going to be a difference as the things of God begin to flow out of him or her. Now, we will get to some scriptures in just a moment…but let’s consider this scenario first… During the years when we were raising our children … did we approve of … and support our children in being far less than their capabilities? Did we approve of their talent and potential just being squandered and wasted while they lived lazy, shiftless, worthless lives? Were we okay with and supportive of our children flunking their classes in school? Were we okay with and supportive of our children being lazy mooches who refused to work or develop themselves? Were we okay with and supportive of our children hanging out with sinful people? As long as our children weren’t dealing drugs … or murdering people … or engaging in newsworthy criminal activity … was it okay with us for our children to be low-caliber, low-quality, and low-value? Well, IF we were the kind of parents that we were supposed to be, the obvious answer is that none of these things were okay with us … and we certainly did not support them. So, here is a question: come Judgment Day, will God approve of us having been far less than we could have been? If it wasn’t acceptable to us for our children to be far less than they could be … can we expect God to be okay with us being far less than we could be? Do we honestly think that when it comes our time to stand before God and give account of our lives and our deeds … that He will be okay with an admission that we could have been more in Him … and done more for Him … but that it just wasn’t important enough to us to actually be more and do more? That takes us back to the first question… How much of a Christian do we have to be in order to go to Heaven? The story of the thief being saved on the cross is a popular story with some people. It is a story that appeals to some people because it is a story about a guy who did not live right or do right … but it was “okay” … because in the end, he was saved. And, there are some people who are essentially trying to pull off the same “strategy” with God … they are living their life according to their own rules and laws … and God’s rules and laws are secondary to their own … but they fully intend to repent and surrender to God’s rules and laws just before they die. But, following such a strategy is extremely dangerous … and the probability of success is extremely low. Let’s have a look at these familiar scriptures… Matthew 19:16-22 Notice the phrase in verse 16 … “what good thing shall I do“: The young man in these scriptures would have really liked it if any of these items would have been sufficient to get him into Heaven … but they were not enough. With the young man … as with us … God calls for total surrender and submission. Having said that, here is the point I really want to get to: this young man WAS a good moral man … based on how he lived, we would NOT call this young man a “sinner”. And yet, as far as the Bible records, he did NOT make it into Heaven … because he was not willing to fully surrender unto the Lord … he was not willing to fully follow after the Lord … he was not willing to place the Lord as first and foremost in his life. These scriptures let us know that being a good moral person is NOT enough to get us into Heaven. Let’s consider some more familiar scriptures… Matthew 25:1-12 As you look at these scriptures, notice that: Again, we find that it is not enough to be a good moral person who goes to church on Sunday morning. These scriptures let us know that we have to be MORE than that. Not only MUST we be good people … we also must be men and women who are filled with
The Salvation Plan
There Is An Almighty God Who Loves And Cares For YOU! Here is what the Bible says… John Chapter 3, Verses 16 through 21:(16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Romans Chapter 5, Verse 8:But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Do You Ever Feel These Feelings? Do you ever feel something “tugging” at your heart? Do you ever feel a lonely feeling when there is no reason for you to feel lonely? Do you ever feel a depressed feeling even when you ought to be feeling happy? Do you ever feel a lack of fulfillment or completeness even after obtaining and accomplishing what society says you should obtain and accomplish? On a logical level, you know there is no reason you should feel these kinds of feelings but yet you do. Well, here is what is going on: Revelations Chapter 3, Verse 20:Behold, I [Jesus] stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Here is another one… Do you ever feel like there is no hope for you? Like there is no way out of the mess your life is in? Colossians Chapter 1, Verses 13 and 14:(13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Going farther, have so many bad things happened to you, that you feel there is no reason to go on? Here is what the Bible says… Psalms Chapter 146, Verses 5 through 9:(5) Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: (6) Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: (7) Which executeth judgement for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: (8) The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: (9) The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. Luke Chapter 4, Verses 18 and 19:The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [Jesus], because he [God] hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he [God] hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Here is still another one for you to consider… Do you feel like you have done so many wrong and bad things in your life that there is no forgiveness or hope for you? Well, hear what God says to you… Hebrews Chapter 7, Verse 25:Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Isaiah Chapter 1, Verse 18:(18) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. One last one for you… Do you feel like you do not deserve any peace or happiness? Romans Chapter 6, Verse 23:…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ephesians Chapter 1, Verse 7:In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; The point here is this: those longing, yearning, unfulfilled, or empty feelings you are feeling are in reality God’s Spirit pulling at your heart-strings because He lovingly wants you to move into a right relationship with Him. And, no matter what your past has been, God wants to be in a relationship with you through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Now, let’s move to another important topic… What Is Sin? Well, the Bible answers this question for us… 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Verses 9 through 10:(9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Romans Chapter 1 Verses 29 through 31:(29) Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, (30) Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, (31) Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Galatians Chapter 5 Verses 19 through 21:(19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. (20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I