Dear Friend,

   There is only one reason I’d put a letter like this on my website.  I care about you.  I care what happens to you now and I care what happens to you eternally.  That is why I ask you to read this letter.

   Jesus specifically spoke of what will be required of us.  He said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (heaven).”  He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father (enters heaven), but through Me.”  He said, “He who believes (trusts & accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior) in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son (believes in Jesus) shall not see eternal life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

   Jesus didn’t say, all we have to be is a nice person.  If that were true, we wouldn’t need a Savior.  But God says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”.  All of us have failed to live up to God’s law and therefore stand guilty before Him.  Jesus didn’t say, all we have to do is go to church and be religious.  The need to be born again was originally presented to Nicodemos; a sincere, respected religious leader of his day, a man who prayed and kept the commandments.  To such a man Jesus said; “You must be born again.”  and Jesus is saying the same thing to each of us this very day.  Jesus didn’t say, all you have to do is live the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you.).  God does expect us to live by the Golden Rule, but good works can never be the basis of salvation.  The Bible says to a born again Christian, “You have been saved through faith;...not as a result of your works.”  Jesus never said, a loving God would never condemn anyone to hell.  God is perfect love.  He is also perfectly just.  That justice makes it impossible for Him to allow our sinfulness to go unpunished.  “For the wages (consequences) of sin is death, but the free gift from God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  When Christ died on the cross He paid the penalty for our sins.  The Bible says’ “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  What we need to do to be born again is to turn from our sins and wholeheartedly put our faith and trust in Jesus.  If we refuse His offer of forgiveness, then we must suffer the penalty for our sins.

   I’m not talking about a religion or denomination but a personal relationship with the Living God who “so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

   In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door (your heart) and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him.”  He’s offering you that opportunity right now.  Tell Jesus that you realize you need His forgiveness and that you want to turn away from from your sins, and rely on Him for everything.  Tell Him that from this moment on you will trust and obey Him as your Savior who died for you.  Now, thank Him for forgiving you and giving you eternal life.  I have no way of knowing what is going on in your heart right now.  I only know that this message is important enough for me to risk offending you by making it available on my website.  I hope and pray that you will make the commitment if you haven’t already done so.  Fell free to contact me if you need special prayer or help with anything.

IN JESUS’ NAME,

Rickey Dale Crain / rickey.dale.crain@gmail.com