nOTHING!

Would you like to know how to go to Heaven where God lives and everything is perfect?

God created us. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them.” Genesis 1:27

He made us and everything, and He makes the rules.

God loves us. Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world.” That means all of the people in the world, including you!

God is holy. In Psalm 18:30 we read, “As for God, his way is perfect:” Because God is holy, there is one thing that He cannot allow into heaven, and that is sin.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23

All have sinned. Does “all” include me? Yes, and it also includes you. What is sin? Sin is anything we think, say, do, or don’t do that we should do, that breaks God’s law.

Have you ever told a lie? God said, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Exodus 20:16

He also said, “Thou shalt not steal.” Exodus 20:15

Have you ever stolen? These are just two of the Ten Commandments. In the New Testament we find that breaking even one of His laws is really bad news.

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. Think about a helium balloon. If it has only one hole in it, it will still lose all of its air. Will your balloon go up or down?

How are you doing compared to God’s law? Based on these verses where will you be going? Up or down?

Pretty convicting, and we haven’t even touched on the wicked thoughts of our heart. Jesus said in Matthew, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28.

In Romans 6:23a we read, “For the wages of sin is death;” Wages is something we earn. Because we have sinned, we have earned death. This death is first of all spiritual: We are separated from God. But if this problem is not remedied before we die physically, the death becomes eternal in a place called Hell, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Thankfully there is also Good News! “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23b

“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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16-17.

So we see here that God loves us so much, He was willing to send His own Son, Jesus Christ, and Jesus was willing to take our punishment by shedding his blood on the cross to pay for our sin. “[W]ithout shedding of blood is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22b That means there is no forgiveness of sins without blood being shed by someone without any sin. That Someone is Jesus Christ.

Jesus was without sin. “[He] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, and He died for us and rose again proving that He has power over sin and death. “… Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

When Jesus shed His blood for us and died on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sin.

If you had a speeding ticket, you would have to pay. But what if you had been driving 70 mph through a street that was holding a blind children’s convention and there were TEN warning signs telling you that the speed limit was only 5 mph. The fine is not simply $100, but $10,000,000. Can

you just ask the judge to “Let it slide”? (God is a Holy Judge. The fine for breaking His TEN Commandments and all sin must be paid.)

Then, while you are standing before the judge, what if Someone else comes up and pays the $10,000,000 fine? That means the Judge can rightly let you go free. That is essentially what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross–only much more. His blood was good enough to satisfy the penalty for all of our sins. Because of what Jesus has done, there is a way for your sin to be forgiven.

Do you like birthdays? If it was your birthday, and I held out a present for you, what would you have to do to make it yours? You would have to reach out and receive it, wouldn’t you?

[T]he gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23b. And in the book of John we read, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:” John 1:12 Reach out and receive Jesus, the perfect gift, now. To do that you must,

Admit you are a sinner.

Believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again.

Choose to receive Jesus as your own Master and Savior and become God’s child.

If you have done this, you are now a child of God and have a new birthday. Put your name in the blanks of this verse.

But ________ who received Him, to ________ gave He power to become a child of God, even to ________ who believes on His name.

Still not sure how to trust Christ, or you think you want to try to make it on your own good works? Watch this cute video, and then come back and read below.

Here are some handy verses for children of God to remember. “… for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Hebrews 13:5b-6.

We can take a portion of each verse and remember each word on our fingers. Just put your name in the blanks and hold on to these promises.

Jesus will never leave ________ .

The Lord is ________ ‘s helper.

Now that you are a child of God, He wants you to grow spiritually. We can think about what He wants us to do with the acronym GROW. The apostle Peter tells us, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18a.

Go to a Bible-believing church. Ask the pastor if we can trust the Bible as being completely true. If he or she says, “no,” or says that we need another book to go along with it to understand it, stay away away from that church. Find a pastor who believes God’s Word, the Bible.

Read your Bible and Pray. The Bible is God’s Word. When we read it, it is Him talking with us. Prayer is a conversation with God that is two-way. Talk to Him while you read His Word and learn to know His Holy Spirit talking to you in your heart or spirit. The apostle Paul writes, “The [Holy] Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” Romans 8:16.

Obey God and His Word. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22.

Witness. Tell other people about what God has done for you! God wants you to help them learn how to become a child of God too!

If you do not have a Bible or you have questions, please contact us at 980-70-JESUS That is 980-705-3787. Or email us at helpers@only1jesus.us .

By God’s grace we do not have to sin, but often we refuse His grace and fail. To keep our spirit clean, we follow the instruction in the following verse.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.

Now that Jesus’ Holy Spirit lives in you, you will be more sensitive to wrongs that you do. If you sin, go to Him in prayer and confess each sin as soon as He convicts you that you have done wrong.