But God, through His grace provided us a Savior: Jesus, who is the only available solution. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). “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)
Jesus came to earth to reconcile us to God. Through his death Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. To receive the benefit of what Jesus did on the cross and receive the gift of salvation, we need to believe. Belief is more than having a mental understanding that Jesus died on the cross for our sin. Saving faith means recognizing we are sinful and need someone to rescue us. That Savior is Jesus. It is also making a commitment to follow Jesus’ way of life as part of His family forever. “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). Instead of being estranged from God due to sin, we can be adopted into His loving family of followers forever! To be a child of God is to live life God’s way, which is explained in the Bible. We have the ultimate example of it in Jesus.
Do you agree with these truths from the Bible? Would you like to follow Jesus? If your answer is “yes,” then let God know through a simple prayer like this:
Lord Jesus, I know I am held back from making room for you because of sin. I am a sinner, and I know this sin stops me from living the way you intended me to live my life. I recognize this sin holds me back from relating to You and keeps me out of Heaven. I know I need a Savior and I believe You, Jesus, paid the penalty for my sin. So right now I ask You to forgive my sin, and I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
If you just prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Your sins are forgiven and you are now free to follow God’s way of life. You have secured the greatest victory possible – a relationship with God! This is the life you were created to live (look up Psalm 139). If you made a decision to follow Jesus today, we’d love to know and celebrate with you! Please email connect@neighborhoodchurch.com or call us at 714-952-3001 (our office). We have some materials to send you that will help you thrive in your relationship with God!
How do we grow in this relationship with God? The next step is to begin reading the Bible and praying. Some good places to start reading are the Bible books of James and Mark. To start, read a few verses and ask yourself what these verses say about who God is and how He wants you to live. Some days you may have answers, some days you won’t, but keep reading. The more consistent you become, the more you will grow in your relationship with God and discover the great joy of a close, personal relationship with Him. One easy way to start this season is with one of our favorite daily devotions for Christmastime!
It’s also important to attend church regularly. If you live in our area, we would love for you to come to one of our branches at either our Cypress campus or Los Alamitos campus. Wherever you attend church, get involved in a small group Bible study soon. Here, we call them Life Groups.
We are so happy that you want to investigate Jesus and wrestle with what it means to know God is near! We are praying for you!
- Pastor Mike McKay