Spiritual Help

I know I'm not right with God, and I want to be saved.
Jesus says, in the Bible (Revelation, chapter 3, verse 20), "Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my knock and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Jesus has been knocking at your heart's door, and you have heard His voice calling you to let him come in.

Here is a simple prayer that you could pray if you are honest and truthful before God. It will help you ask Christ to come into your life with his salvation and forgiveness of your sins.

You can say these words in your heart or aloud:

Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner, and I ask you to please forgive me for my sins.
I believe you died on the cross for my sins.
I now invite you to come into my life; I open my heart's door to you.
I want to trust you as my Savior and follow you as my Lord.
Please save me, Lord!
Amen.

Did you pray the prayer?
Did it express the sincere desire of your heart?

Jesus says, "I will come in." So, if you sincerely asked Jesus to come into your heart, where is He right now? Could it be that He is in your heart?

If He is in your heart, then what does that make you? It makes you a new person whose sins are forgiven and who has God's salvation.

I think I know Jesus as my Savior, but how can I know for sure?
May I share what I have learned from God's Word that has changed my life and given me the assurance that I am truly saved? This will only take a few minutes, but they could be the most important minutes of your life!

1. All Are Sinners
God says we all are sinners. One of the first facts I had to accept before becoming a Christian was that I had sinned. Do you have any trouble admitting you have sinned?

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23 NIV

2. Let's look at the results of sin.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6: 23 NIV

Wages are what I have coming in exchange for what I have done. God's Word says the wages of sin is death - and eternal death - but God loves us so much He wants to give us His special gift: JESUS!

3. Let's study God's solution to the sin problem.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Personalize this verse. Can you think of it as saying:

For God so loved me ___________ (use your own name here) that He gave His one and only Son, that when ___________ believes in Him, ___________ shall not perish, but ___________ would have eternal life.

4. Only Through Jesus
Jesus, Himself says it's only through Him that we may have the right to enter Heaven.

Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6

Jesus claims to be the only way for us to come to God which means that there is no other way. No other religion or philosophy can make it possible for us to be at peace with God and we must come through Jesus.

5. Repent
How do we begin to come to Jesus? He gives us a strong command in the book of Acts.

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven."
Acts 2:38a

Repentance is:

Recognizing our failures, regretting our sin, and resolving to obey God's direction!

One definition of repentance is: "Being sorry enough not to do it again."

6. Believe and Receive
We also need to believe and receive. Believe that Jesus' death was for your sins, and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. This is a process of transferring trust from 'self' and 'works' to 'Jesus.'

Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12

7. Jesus is Waiting
When we have decided to receive Jesus, we do this through prayer, inviting Jesus to come in and take control of our lives. In Revelation, Jesus tells us that He is waiting:

"Here I am; I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in."
Rev. 3:20

Here we have Jesus knocking at the door of human hearts. Because you and I have shared Jesus and His gift these last few minutes and have come to this point, I believe Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart and would like to come in and live through you.

Is there any good reason why you cannot receive Jesus right now?
May I share a prayer with you similar to how many people prayed when receiving Jesus?

8. The Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner, and I ask you to please forgive me for my sins.
I believe you died on the cross for my sins.
I now invite you to come into my life; I open my heart’s door to you.
I want to trust you as my Savior and follow you as my Lord.
Please save me, Lord!
Amen

Did you pray this prayer?
Did it express the sincere desire of your heart?

Jesus says, "I will come in." So if you sincerely asked Jesus to come into your heart, where is He right now?

Could it be that He is in Your heart?

If He is in your heart, then what does that make you?

It makes you a new person whose sins are forgiven and who has God's salvation!

9. Assurance
God promises that we have eternal life when we have Jesus in our hearts.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5: 11-13

In this passage, God does not use 'HOPE' or 'THINK' or 'GUESS.' He says you may 'KNOW'!

10. Thank You Prayer

Now that you have received Jesus Christ into your life, I believe you will want to say thank you to Him for hearing you and saving you from sin. Here is a sample prayer you may repeat or wish to pray in your own words.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming into my heart.
Thank you for taking my place on the cross
and paying my debt. Thank you for saving me.
Thank you for giving me eternal life.
Please keep me following you all of my life.
In Jesus name, Amen.

I'm not ready to decide, but I would like to understand God's plan of Salvation.

Here are some verses from the Bible that explain God's plan of salvation.

1. Salvation Needed
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23

Recognize that you are a SINNER. The Bible says, "for we are born in sin," and even our best efforts are "as filthy rags" in the sight of God. Only sinners need God's salvation. According to the Bible verse above, are you a sinner?

2. Salvation Provided
Recognize that the Lord Jesus Christ died for YOUR sins. God who knew all your sins laid them on his Son Jesus, and the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross paid your debt of sin. The Bible says:

He bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds, you have been healed."
1 Peter 2:24

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Isaiah 1:18.

...the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 1:7

3. Salvation Offered
Recognize that salvation is a GIFT from God. Romans 6:23 says, "...but the GIFT of God is eternal LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord." The apostle Paul exclaimed, "Thanks be to God for his indescribable GIFT." 2 Corinthians 9:15. That gift is the Lord Jesus Christ.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8

4. Salvation Accepted
"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."1 John 5:12

Step Four: On one occasion, Jesus said to a woman who was weeping at his feet, "Your FAITH has saved you; go in peace." Luke 7:50. On another occasion, he said, "Have FAITH in God." Hebrews 11:6 says, "...and without FAITH it is impossible to please God."

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.
John 3:36.