Life is full of uncertainties and everyone must face hazards and challenges. Jesus left Heaven and came to Earth so that you might have a full and purposeful life. This does not mean a life that is free of difficulties and pain. He doesn't promise safety; He promises victory. You can get safety by hiding in a cave. You get victory on a battlefield. When you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you have a fresh start, a clean record. You have his constant presence. You have peace in the midst of storms. Your life has direction and meaning. You also have His assurance of eternal life. You can know that you will go to Heaven when you die. In Christ you have Total Life, now and forever.

        To experience Total Life, you must acknowledge two things: (1) You have been separated from God by an attitude of selfishness and rebellion which the Bible calls sin. (2) Only through Christ can your sins be forgiven, can you know that you have eternal life and that you will go to Heaven when you die.

        By nature and by choice, you are a sinner. The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23.

       You are not a sinner because you commit sins such as pride, prejudice, lying, sexual immorality, stealing and substance abuse. When you do these things, you are giving evidence of your sin problem. You do wrong things because by nature you are a sinner. Before sin is an action, it is an attitude that says, "Me first!"

       This attitude causes you to be in conflict with other people, and it keeps God from having His way in your life. It has separated you from God now, and it can separate you from Him forever. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death," Romans 6:23a.

       God loves you, and He has taken the initiative to deal with your sin problem. Jesus is God, but He became Man. The Bible says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," John 1:1 & 14a.

       He was without sin, but He died to pay the penalty for all of your sins.

       "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly...But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," Romans 5:6 & 8.

       He was raised from the dead.

       "...whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it," Acts 2:22-24.

       He wants to live in you and give you His free gift of eternal life.

       "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life," John 3:16.

       "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name," John 1:12.

       He is the only way to know God and to have a personal relationship with Him.

       "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," John 14:6.

       "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him," John 3:36.

       Right now, the Holy Spirit is drawing you to Jesus.

       "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day," John 6:44.

       Convicted of your sin, convinced of God's love, accepting Jesus' death and resurrection, you can turn from every idol, ritual, attitude of stubborn rebellion or attempt to make yourself right with God and trust Him as your personal Lord and Savior.

       "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast," Ephesians 2:8-9.

       When you do this, He will work a miracle in your life. He will send His Spirit to live in you. You will be born into God's family and become a new creation in him.

       "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new," 2 Corinthians 5:17.

       Acknowledge that Jesus is Lord (God, King, Master, Chief, Supreme Ruler, Creator). Submit to Him and invite Him to live in and through you. Pray this prayer:

"Jesus, I confess that I have gone my own way. I have pleased myself and rejected You. I believe that You love me. I believe that You died for me on the cross. I don't understand it all, but I believe You were raised from the dead. Come into my heart. Take control of my life. I turn from everything else and trust you only as my Lord and Savior. In Your name I pray. Amen."

       If you earnestly prayed that prayer, you were turning toward God from sin (repenting), taking Him at His word (exercising faith), and submitting to Jesus as Lord. If you did this, you now have eternal life.

       "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life," 1 John 5:13a.

       This is Total Life, now and forever.

       Now, openly confess Him as your Lord and Savior. See Matthew 10:32-33 in the New Testament. As soon as possible, unite with a church where you can make friends with other people who are committed to Christ. Study the Bible. Spend time in prayer every day. Cultivate a life that will honor God.

       To tell us that you prayed the suggested prayer and are trusting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, and to receive a free copy of Your Commitment To Christ, A Guide For Total Living, click here.