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God doesn't leave us guessing in this life. He gave us an instruction manual for how to live through His written Word, The Bible. Interestingly, in that instruction manual, we learn we cannot do life without Him. We cannot, on our own, live rightly before God. That's why God sent His one and only begotten Son to suffer the penalty for our rebellion and sin to pay the price of a just God and become the only way to the Father for us. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

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Scripture tells us how to be saved. To the jailer's question to Paul, ​“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved...." (Acts 16:30-31)

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God's Word tells us, first, what justice looks like. And then God shows us mercy. He gives us the law, and then He offers us grace. When we realize that we have sinned against a Holy God deserving of His wrath, and confess our sin to Christ to ask for His forgiveness through what Jesus did for us on the cross and rising again, we experience His forgiveness, freedom from sin and death, and enter a new life with Him.

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

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For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

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"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity...."

(Isaiah 59)​

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God sees it all. He sits above and outside His creation of time and space and matter that is so small to Him that it only took Him six days to create, and Nations He can hold in His hand and blow away like dust. (Isaiah 40:15) Yet He cares to have a relationship with us. Our sin makes us an enemy of God. God came as a human being to make a way for us. The gospel (good news) is summed up in these verses:

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"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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." (John 3:16-18)

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The gospel is so simple a child can accept Christ into their heart, yet so complex that theologians wrestle with the depths and magnitude of it. In the end, we accept what Jesus did for us through faith and trust Him. 

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"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

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Our new life begins with a simple prayer of the heart in humility before an all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful God to whom we have offended and who offers us forgiveness to come into fellowship with Him.

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Jesus said, "That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8)

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​"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

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Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” 

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Jesus said, "Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6: 38-40)

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"And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14)

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"As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him. So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8)

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"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (John 4:12-16)

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God wants us to do life with Him where we "overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony" and we do not love our lives so much that we shrink from death. (Revelation 12)

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"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself,

taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2) 

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​"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5)

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Please take a moment to pray these promises back to God. Ask Him to make your life align with His plans and purposes for you. Confess any sin and ask Him to help you overcome it. Surrender your will to His. God's plans are much better for your life than you could dream up for yourself.

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“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him—" (1 Corinthians 2:9) 

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"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!” (Matthew 7, also Luke 6)

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In Scripture, "blessed" means so much more than happy or having money, it means fulfilled, full, purposeful, having great reward in our spirit and God's provision. To those looking to a chemical or drug or a person to take them out of depression, look who God says is happy and fulfilled, look who God says is blessed in this conversation between a mere man and the God you can know personally in your life today.

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"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man

whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him,

in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle

from my groaning all day long.

For day and night

Your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was drained

as in the summer heat.

Selah

Then I acknowledged my sin to You

and did not hide my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”

and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah

Therefore let all the godly pray to You

while You may be found.

Surely when great waters rise,

they will not come near.

You are my hiding place.

You protect me from trouble;

You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Selah

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;

I will give you counsel and watch over you.

Do not be like the horse or mule,

which have no understanding;

they must be controlled with bit and bridle

to make them come to you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones;

shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

(Psalm 32)​​​

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Once you accept the forgiveness of Christ in your life, you are a new creation. Like an infant newly conceived, you need time and nutrients to grow in your Christian walk. You grow through the milk and meat of the Word of God, exercising your faith by living out what God says, and spending time in prayer to God where you talk with Him from your heart and you listen for His answers. Scripture (God's Word) is like eating a meal every day. Prayer is like the air we breathe, in and out, our requests to God and His requests of us. And do not forsake assembling together with other believers to have fellowship and encourage one another in the faith, especially as the end draws near. (Hebrews 10:25) Church is like gathering around the dinner table with family, breaking open the bread of the Word of God together, and drinking in the goodness of the Lord's presence as the body of Christ.  

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"Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you. For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.

For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.

But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. In love, hold them in highest regard because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

Brothers, pray for us as well.

(1 Thessalonians 5)

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