"For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) 

But what is sin? Sin is basically being self centered. It is pushing God out of the center of your life and allowing your ego to take over the part that God had designed for Himself. Some people define sin as adultery, lying, stealing, cheating, and so on. Those are sins. Sin is man shaking his fist in God's face and saying, 'I want to run my life on my own terms.' 
 

"As it it written. There is none righteous, no, not one."  (Romans 3:10)  

Did you know God loves you?  You may never have thought about it or been told so, but he does. God loves you very much and wants you to be with Him for all eternity. That is why he sent his Son to earth to atone for our sins. Jesus Christ was that Son, and 2,000 years ago he was crucified at a place called Calvary. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever beleiveth in Him shall have everlasting life..." (John 3:16) 

Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, He did it for us because he loves us. He did it because it was the will of our Father in heaven for Him to die for our sins. And Jesus did just that. That is why we can have the promise of eternal life with our Father in heaven, a place far more wonderful than any person can imagine. His sacrifice was a gift to us.  

"...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." -- 
(Romans 6:23) 
   
Before you can enter into the kingdom of heaven however, you must be born again. This is the requirement set forth by God. Jesus declared:  

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3) 
  
How can you be 'Born Again?' First you have to repent of your sins against God.  Sins? Who me? Surely not!  Yes, you are a sinner just as I am, along with everybody else. Even though you may not mean to or even know that you do it, you have sinned and you must realize it. Since you have sinned, you must have Jesus Christ in your life; you cannot please God in any other way.  

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) 
 
In the dictionary, salvation is defined as "deliverance from danger or evil; especially deliverance from all that separates people from God. That is a very good answer. But you know salvation, or, "being saved", has a much deeper meaning. You can only become saved when YOU want yourself to be. No person can do it for you, no matter how much they want you to be. It is a very personal thing for each individual. There is no good or special work that you can do to earn it. There are no formulas or magic spells, no ritual dances, no special tonics, or any other such nonsense involved with it. It actually is very simple when you get to the truth of the matter.  

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (Romans 6:23)  
 
To be Born Again, you need to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior. This means you acknowledge who he is and acknowledge that you need him. Ask him to come into your life and into your heart and take control of it. When you give up control and hand it over to the Lord, that is saying that you trust in Him and know that he will do what is best for you.  

"God be merciful to me a sinner." (Luke 18:13) 

"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)  

"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)  
  
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord... for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7)  

 Believe in Christ. Have faith in Him. He is ready to accept you as you are, right now this very minute! 

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him. (Revelation 3:20a.) 

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2)  

Won't you take a moment to change your life forever and repeat this simple prayer of faith: 

    "Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I know I am a sinner, separated from God because of sin. Please forgive my sins. I accept your sacrifice and death in my place as payment for my sins. I repent (turn away) myself from a sinful life and sinful ways. I 
ask you now to come into my heart and be Lord of my life. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. And I thank you for this gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins. Amen." 

If you have taken this step and received Jesus into your heart and life I would like to joyfully welcome you into our family as a brother or sister in Christ. I would also like to suggest that you need to find a bible believing church to attend. Many people shy away from church because they fear all kinds of things. But I urge you to find a church to attend. Watching a service on TV is not quite what I had in mind. A local, bible believing church is a place where you can go to learn about God and His word, to praise the Lord, and also to rejoice in the fellowship of one another.  
Attending services at a local church isn't about conforming to someone's ideals, or following "religious" guidelines. It's an opportunity to learn more about God. If you are not able to locate a solid bible believing church in your area, please email me and I will work with you to find one that you can attend. 

                                                May God bless you and keep you, 
                                                                  -- Larry Marino 
 email:  Larry@Marino.net 
 
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" 1 John 3:1 
 

The Narrow Path