Hey, God loves you!

How do I know that?  Because the Bible tells me so.  It say's in John 3:16 "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."

God loves every single person in the world, including you.  And he wants to have a relationship with every person.  He's promised to give us peace, he's promised to be present with us at all times, and he's told us that absolutely nothing can separate us from his love. 

If you're like most people there have been times in your life when you've felt really alone.  You know, that feeling that grabs your gut and makes you really think about stuff - but then the feeling goes away and you go on living your life the same way; sometimes filled with guilt, sometimes very happy, sometimes totally sad but often feeling like there should be more to life than what you're holding onto!

Well here's the good news.  Because God loves you and wants to have a relationship for you he sent Jesus Christ, his Son, to be born of a virgin over 2000 years ago.   We know all about the historical Christ from the writings of early Roman and Jewish historians.  But we know even more from the writings of those who knew him closely and intimately - those who lived with him and served with him and were first hand witnesses to his life, death and resurrection - the writers of the New Testament in the Bible.  We can read about a man who claimed to be the Son of God and then did innumerable miracles (also spoken of in the historical Jewish texts) to prove the validity of his claim.  He called himself the lamb of God and John, a contemporary prophet, said that Jesus was "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!".   You see, before Christ came, people made animal sacrifices to have their sins forgiven - a lamb would be taken to the temple and killed as a symbol of the seriousness of their request.  Jesus ended this practice and made our hearts His temple when he became the sacrifice, for all men for all time, as the Lamb of God.

The men who killed Jesus did so as an act of political hatred.  But he allowed himself to die in order to take our punishment on himself.  In fact, just days before he was grabbed in the night and taken away to die he told his disciples that he would be tortured, killed and raised to life again three days later. 

All you need to do is believe that Jesus is God's son born of a virgin.  That he lived a perfect life (which would allow him to be our sinless sacrifice).  That he willingly laid his life down for your sins.  That he rose from death three days later - proving that he is able to keep his promise to raise us one day.  And that you want him to forgive your sins and come reside with you - take residence in your heart.   Talk to God and ask him to be the king of your life, heart and mind - ask him to take away all the sin and guilt and shame that exists in your life because you believe that Jesus died as a punishment for those things.  Express your belief in his Son and the things he did for you.  And don't forget to thank him for making a way for you to have eternal life through his son Jesus Christ.

Simple, isn't it!  There's a lot more to learn in the bible ( I'd be glad to send you a bible if you don't have one just e-mail me and let me know your address - asking for a Bible so I'm sure to send you what you want).   If you've just decided to ask Jesus to forgive you and be part of your life (to be your "Saviour" from this world and the destructive things in it) then let me know!  I'd be happy to pray for you - or with you if you want to call and talk about it.  And if you have any questions please write or call so I or someone else can answer them for you.  My addresses and phone numbers are below :-)

God bless you!

E-mail: campgifford@aol.com     Phone: 509-233-2511