Friend, we hope that you have been blessed by these 3 words today.  This reading is about to show you the true love Jesus has for you.  Take a deep breath, because this message will take quite some time to read (about 15 minutes), but by the end you will know the love of Jesus and you will be able to know 100% whether or not you are going to heaven.  It will be difficult to read at times, but what is the price of the guaranteed assurance of true eternal peace? No matter how frustrating/confusing it gets, keep reading.

 

​Friend, you are loved beyond what you could ever imagine, and you need to know this right now.  The magnitude of the true and fulfilling love that God has for you is beyond what anyone or anything in this life could ever provide.  The very word love is often envisioned from a position of self-gain, and has changed over time to mean different things, but the true meaning of love in its purest form is and always has been selflessness (John 15:13).  Think of someone you love the most, and you will find that it is because of sacrificial love (either from them or for them).  Sacrificial love makes you want to do the things that they want; not because you have to, but because you want to show love to them (John 14:15).​

 

I recall trying to find love in what the world offered.  If I’m honest, I tried to find my entire identity in this.  Through people, relationships, social status, alcohol, sex, money, and countless other ventures, I would go from one high to the next, only to be disappointed and empty, full of shame and guilt for all the selfish things I had done to try and find peace.  And the more I did to try and fill the growing emptiness, the emptier I became.  Then, one day, life changed forever. ​

 

Time and time again I had heard of people talk about Jesus and about being “born again” or having my “sins forgiven” and, quite honestly, I liked my sin too much to give it up (John 3:19) even though I knew I needed something more.  I wanted things my way or I wanted God to conform to my sins “if He loved me,” so I thought.  What I didn’t realize is that Christ had already given His life for my sins (Romans 5:8-9) and was waiting for me to come home (Luke 15:11-32).  I had thought that I needed to become holy first or just be a “good person,” but I had it all wrong (here is a helpful 5 minute video from a great ministry called Living Waters that will help explain how being a "good person" does not get us into heaven: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSUKIhjevo). 

 

​Thank you for continuing to read, I know it’s a lot of words, but it is necessary to show the truth and magnitude of the love that the Lord has for you and me (John 8:31-32).  The fall of humankind (Genesis 3) opened the gateway of sin into this world that God was protecting us from and that is why we have so much horrific pain in this life now.  God did not “do this” to us, we did it to ourselves because of our free will and our rebellious nature.  Why would God give us the option to begin with?  Plain and simple, love.  True love has boundaries, and true love is voluntary, even when it is hard (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).  God did not make you and I to be robotic emotionless beings, He gave us free will.  Out of true love He gave us the ability to choose Him or not to.  Imagine if a man proposed to who he hoped would be his future wife, and after he “asks the question,” she looks blankly at him and says nothing, or “I’ll think about it;” or, “sure, but only if you become what I think you should be,” or even “no.”  It would have been devastating, yes, but any self-respecting man would not “force her to love him.”  That is how the Lord is with us, friend.  He wants and loves us all (2 Peter 3:8-10), offering us a life beyond what we could ever fathom, but we do have to say yes to this and leave our old life behind (Matthew 10:38), just like every major decision in this life.  One must “count the cost” and make the decision. If one is offered a job, the company has rules and conditions of employment.  If one enters a marriage, there is work and moral changes that occur to honor the integrity of the marriage.  It’s the same with Jesus, my friend.  If you want peace, eternal life in heaven, total forgiveness of sins, and a new beginning, you must say yes to Jesus (John 3:3; Luke 9:23) and then enter into a personal relationship with Him.  This relationship is the equivalent of a “marriage” relationship (Revelation 19:6-9, John 3:29).  You see the consistent message here, friend; there is a new beginning that you can have, should you choose to accept it.  There is a way to wipe away every bad thing that you have ever done and begin entirely new.  There is a way that you can be absolutely sure that you will go to heaven.  This does not mean that we are never going to sin again, but it does mean that we will be unified with the Lord and want to do the things that He wants us to do, because we love and recognize what He did for us, and because, plain and simple, it is a better life for us also. 

 

​You may be asking, “Why is Jesus the ONLY way?”  A common question with a simple, yet complex answer (John 14:6).  First, if we think of God as anything but a perfect God that truly loves and wants us, we believed a lie somewhere during the course of this life (I believed that for a long time).  God is the hero; Satan is the lying enemy that deceived Adam and Eve into sin (2 Corinthians 11:14), and now generation after generation is plagued by the terminal sickness of sin. (Genesis 3, Romans 5:12-21).  Despite a worldwide flood (Genesis 6-7), the gift of the rainbow to remind humanity that God would never flood the earth again (Genesis 9:12-17), God’s 10 Commandments (Exodus 20), spiritual purification/sacrificial rituals to cleanse us from our sins and be closer to God, humanity still continued to choose sin and rebellion, rather than God.  Even despite this, He still did not give up on us.  This, my friend, is where God made the most selfless decision of love in the history of the universe; and this is why Jesus is the only way.  God, looking down with a grieved and loving heart, yet again, knowing how many were going to heaven, and the horrific reality of how many were going to hell, made a choice.  Since He clearly warned us of the curse of sin and death (and God cannot lie), Satan was and is able to hold us enslaved, destined to hell, due to our sin (John 8:34-36) while he rules earth (John 14:30, Revelation 12:12) until he is destroyed.  God, once again, could have abandoned us, but He loved us and chose not to.  This meant that there was only one way to defeat sin and death once and for all; a ransom (a sacrifice) had to be paid that would neutralize death, account for all the sin of humanity, and neutralize the rebellion to the one rule made by a perfect God in the Garden of Eden.  The only perfect sacrifice for sin was sinless God Himself (John 1:1-5, 2 Corinthians 5:21).  (Read the entire Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the complete account of Christ’s life, death and resurrection).  Jesus came, dwelt on earth, remained sinless despite Satan’s temptations (Matthew 4:1-11), voluntarily took the beating that we deserved, and sacrificed His perfect life for us (1 Peter 1:19, Exodus 12:5-13).  After taking our sins and the sins of humanity upon Himself, He rose from the dead after 3 days (Luke 24), setting us free and conquering death (John 1:29-32, Luke 9:22, 1 Corinthians 15:55).  My friend, there is no greater love recorded in the history of the word.​

 

Since God is the perfect Father, any good father also has rules and justice, He also chose to create another eternal place called hell for Satan and those that reject God (Matthew 25:31-46).  Sin and hell are not fun to discuss, but once again my friend, we have to discuss the sickness and future of not dealing with our sin nature if we are going to understand the magnitude of the gift of “The Cure.”  If I went to a doctor with concerns of some symptoms and he simply said, “Well you sure have a lot of things working well, so just don’t worry about those little things,” it may feel good an positive at the time, but if I were to return a year later, to a different doctor, and this one performed extensive tests to find out that I am terminal with an advanced cancer that could have been stopped in its early stages, how angry will I be about the first doctor for “sugar coating” and ultimately lying to me?  Misrepresenting the imminent and eternal danger is not something Jesus did either, as He discussed hell over 50 times and started His ministry with the very word “repent” (Mattthew 3:2).  Many Christians and churches have unfortunately conformed to the world (Romans 12:2, 2 Timothy 4:3) by allowing a sin-embracing diluted representation of Jesus, but the reality is that Christianity is the most inclusive exclusive faith out there.  What does this mean?  Anyone from any sin background, can come to Jesus to be cleansed from their sins and receive eternal life (the inclusive part), but all must be ready to leave their old ways behind and follow Jesus (John 12:25).  Yes, friend, this part is not fun to discuss, but what on earth did Jesus die for if we do not discuss sin and hell?  If we believe that more people are going to heaven than hell, we are gravely mistaken (Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 19:25-26).  Jesus even warned prideful religious leaders that they were bound for hell with their loveless empty religion, their exclusion of others, and their rejection of Jesus (Matthew 23, Luke 18:9-14, John 8:31-47). This is why we have to discuss the terminal nature of sin and why we need the everlasting cure to it.  A time is coming very soon when we will no longer have to concern ourselves with the devil (Revelation 20:10), death, and all the hardships of this life, but this is our reality until Jesus returns.  I hope this helps with understanding the why behind hell, sin.  If you felt a feeling of fear and discomfort there, embrace that fear (Proverbs 9:10-12) and allow it to do what it did for me, make the most important decision of your life, choose to follow Jesus.

 

So how do we receive the gift of Jesus and be granted eternal life?  By His own words, we must be “Born again.”  A new beginning, friend.  Right here and right now you are being offered an opportunity to “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15).  This is what He offers us friend.  We could never “earn our way” or “be good enough.”  Jesus did all the work opening the road to heaven and conquering hell/death (Matthew 7:13, John 14:6, John 19: 28-30, Revelation 1:18), and now He requires that we leave our old life behind and follow Him for a better one and the promise of Heaven (Revelation 21:3-4).   Receive His priceless sacrificial gift with a contrite heart and begin your new life, my friend.  There is no sin in this life that is worth trading for the eternity in Heaven, and do not think for one second that your sins are too many for Him to forgive.  It merely means that when you understand the depth of His forgiveness, your love for Him will be that much more (Luke 7:47).  Let go, my friend and receive this today.  If you wish to pass from death to life, please follow the next instructions, with a contrite heart.

 

1.  Become Born Again (prayer of salvation):  Think of this as your “wedding vows,” if you will.  When Jesus died, He “proposed” to all of humanity.  This is why we have to accept or reject it.  Your heart must be genuine, or else the prayer is just words.  As we know, many marriages end in divorce when the going gets tough, so remember that you are entering into a relationship with Jesus now.  This is the most exciting and important prayer of your entire life, my friend.  At the end of this prayer, you can be assured, just like only one of the two men crucified beside Jesus, that you are saved and headed to heaven (Luke 23:42-43).  Then, it is up to you to honor your commitment with Jesus and not betray His love. (Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23).  We cannot and will not be perfect, but the grace and forgiveness that Jesus offered on the cross also cleanses us from future sins. Note that this not a license to sin (Romans 6:1-2) but rather receiving access to the ongoing grace that Jesus provides for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

 

Please pray this, out loud if you can (Romans 10:9-10): “Jesus, I confess with my mouth that You are Lord.  I believe in my heart that You died for my sins and God arose You from the dead, defeating death.  Please forgive me of my sins and grant me eternal life in Your kingdom, forever and ever, Amen.”

 

2.  Baptism:  Despite the endless contentions and divisions regarding the topic, Jesus, who was sinless, was baptized as an adult before He was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 3:13-17-4:1-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:29-34).  Jesus regarded John the Baptist with the highest compliment a human being could receive (Matthew 11:11), and even included baptism in His Great Commission, thus reinforcing the importance of it (Matthew 28:18-20).  Baptism in itself is not “salvation,” but it signifies the death of your old self and resurrection into life because of what Jesus did.  It is the physical representation of what happened in your soul when you accepted Jesus and repented of your sins, which is important, as many of us entered into sin by way of the physical (drugs, sex, etc.).  For many, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at this time (Acts 2:38).  You will not see one reference of childhood baptism in the Bible, so if you were baptized and it was not “your own free will,” you should get baptized.  Sometimes people will point out that the “man on the cross was not baptized.”  The man on the cross was never intended to be the bar by which the Christian walk should be measured.  Rather, he is the most extreme example of the last-minute grace and mercy of our loving God, reminding us that we are saved by grace and not works (Luke 13:30, Matthew 20:1-16 Ephesians 2:8-9).  Try not to overthink it, as religious divisions have done a good job of making this simple act of obedience very confusing, instead of holy and purifying.

 

3:  Bear Fruit:  Read your Bible, pray often, and bring this news to others.  Friend, you have been saved.  God Himself has given His very own life for your and my sins.  He has paid our fine and we have been set free from sin and from hell.  If someone handed you $1,000,000 and said “please tell people I did this and I’ll do it for them too,” it sure would be an easy answer. Jesus did something that all the money in the world could not do (Acts 8:18-20), and He reassures us that our decision to follow Him, although hard sometimes, will give us true peace and comfort like no other (Matthew 11:28-30).  He wants us to become familiar with the Bible, and let it govern our lives (John 14:15), and since His Holy Spirit now lives inside of us, we will want to serve, help, and reach others until either Jesus comes back to get us, or we pass away (1 Thessalonians 4:17, Revelation 14:13, Mark 12:28-31).  Be strong and remember, bearing fruit is a reflection that our heart has permanently changed (again, we will not be perfect, but we try our hardest).  Satan, persecution, and the noise of this world will try and make us fall away (recall Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23), so Lord may we please keep our eyes fixed on You (Hebrews 12:2).  Find a good Bible reading curriculum (we recommend that you start reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John repeatedly for your first 6 months, to give a clear understanding of who Jesus is, and how we are to live, then move on to an entire Bible reading curriculum.  Starting to read on page one and trying to read the Bible like any other book will often intimidate people by the time they reach Leviticus and Numbers, since the Bible is not in order chronologically, so thus a reading plan helps navigate the Holy Bible).  Remember to pray often.  Keep thinking “marriage.”  Reading your Bible, attending a cover-to-cover Bible-believing church (see our “recommended churches” tab), small groups, etc. are all acts of quality time that get you closer to Jesus.  Prayer is the relational equivalent of communication.  The more you communicate, the closer you are going to be.  Do not be self-conscious about how you pray, just pray (Matthew 6:5-15).  Lastly, love one another by showing them the love of Christ in action and by word.  How could we keep this news inside when we have a world dying all around us?  Let’s keep busy and fruitful, my friend, Jesus is coming soon (Matthew 24:36-51 Revelation 22:12-13).

 

Thank you so very much for your time. If you have additional questions, need to schedule a baptism, or need help finding a church outside of the local ones listed, please email SoulHunterorg@gmail.com.

 

​