...Tell Me More
People have been preaching
the "Jesus loves you" message for so long that it's become a cliche.
But the fact is that there really was a man named Jesus who lived in Israel
about 2000 years ago. He really was born in a barn. He really did hang on a
cross and die. He really did rise from the dead.
Jesus, the Son of God, creator of the Universe, loves you and me and every other human who's ever lived SO MUCH that he actually left his eternal glory in heaven to come here, our stinky little Earth, to live a life as a stinky little human, so that he could prove his love to us, EVEN THOUGH we are pretty stinky sometimes. (Yeah, deep down we all know it. We're NOT perfect. But Jesus loves us ANYWAY!)
Since he was God and human at the same time, Jesus was able to live a perfect life without ever disobeying God, which no one else in history has been able to do, and even though he had never sinned, he paid the penalty for all of the sins of everyone who has ever lived. That penalty is death and separation from God (a.k.a. Hell). The cool thing is that since he was God he was able to die, go to Hell, and come back. (Now that is pretty cool.) He came back from the dead and said to the world, "Oh by the way, that whole thing about going to Hell for your sins; I took care of that for you. You don't have to go to Hell if you'll just trust and believe that I went in your place." Tell me that's not love.
So what do you do now? It's easy. Tell Jesus that you know you're not perfect. Tell him that you believe that he lived, died, and rose again to pay for your sins. If you really mean it, then at that moment, Jesus will be able to say that you're bill is paid. God will take all those little things you did that you know you shouldn't have done and he will drop them in the shredder - done, paid in full. You can rest assured that when you leave this stinky little Earth, you'll spend eternity at the biggest party you can imagine (a.k.a. Heaven).
Next, you'll need to find someone to talk to who can help you learn more about what it means to follow Jesus. I recommend that you go to a Christian book store. I know what you're thinking. "A bookstore? I thought the next step would be a church." Well, the folks at the book store can help you find a church that fits your style. Just picking a church out of the phone book can be pretty scary. There are some real wackos out there and I'd hate for you to end up in a church that will only confuse you and make Christianity harder to understand. Click here to find a good Christian book store near you.