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May.18.06: Light for the Day - "What Will You Do with JESUS?"

-- Romans 10:9-15, 17
9  If you Confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," 
    and Believe in your heart that God Raised Him from the dead, 
    you Will Be Saved.
10 For with the heart one Believes unto Righteousness, 
     and with the mouth Confession is made unto Salvation.

11 As the Scripture says,  "Anyone who Trusts in Him will 
     never be put to shame." ( Isaiah 28:16)
12 For there is No Difference between Jew and Gentile -- 
     the Same Lord is Lord of all and Richly Blesses all who 
     Call on Him, 
13 For, "Everyone who Calls on the Name of the Lord 
     Will Be Saved."  (Joel 2:32,  Acts 2:21)

14 How, then, can they Call on the One they have not 
     Believed in?  And how can they Believe in the One of 
     whom they have not Heard? And how can they Hear 
     without someone Preaching to them?
15 And how can they Preach unless they are Sent? 
     As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those 
    who Bring Good News!"  (Isaiah 52:7)

17 Consequently, Faith comes from Hearing the Message, 
     and the Message is Heard through the Word of Christ.

-- John 1:12-13 
12 Yet to all who Received Him, who Believed in His Name, 
     He Gave Power to Become Children of God.
13 Children who were born, not of blood or of the will of 
     the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

-- Matthew 10:32-33   (Luke 12:8-9)
32 Whoever Acknowledges Me before men, 
      I will also Acknowledge him before My Father in Heaven.
33 But whoever Disowns Me before men, 
      I will Disown him before My Father in Heaven.

-- Mark 8:36-38    (Matthew 16:26)
36 What good is it for a man to Gain the whole world, 
      yet Forfeit his soul?
37 Or what can a man give in Exchange for his soul?
38 If anyone is Ashamed of Me and My Words in this 
     adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will 
     be Ashamed of him when He Comes in His Father’s Glory 
     with the Holy Angels.

-- 1 Corinthians 1:18 
    For the Message of the Cross is foolishness to those who 
    are perishing,  but to us who are being Saved it is 
    the Power of God.

----------------------------
What Did Jesus Do?

But why did Jesus leave heaven's glory and come down to 
live amid earth's filth and corruption?   He Came For One 
Reason: To Save Us From Our Sins.  He came to cleanse the 
blot of sin and guilt that stains out souls and to reconcile us 
with our Creator.  He came to do for us what we could never 
do for ourselves: take away our sins and implant His life 
within us by His Holy Spirit.

Jesus did this, the Bible says, through His death on the cross 
and His resurrection from the dead.  He was innocent of any 
crime, but the authorities -- fearful of losing their position --
arrested and crucified Him.  But they weren't the only ones 
who really executed Jesus.  Who is responsible for His death? 
I Am ... You Are .. We All Are.  Why?  Because He voluntarily 
went to the cross for one reason: to become the final and 
complete sacrifice for our sins.  If we had never sinned, He 
never would have needed to die.  But we have sinned, and He 
came to remove our guilt. Jesus' death on the cross is a 
profound mystery we will never fully understand this side of
eternity.  Its central truth, however, is clear:  By His Death And
Resurrection Jesus Made Our Salvation Possible.

-----------------------
What Will You Do with JESUS?

By His death and resurrection, Jesus became our Sacrifice ... 
our Substitute ... our Redeemer ... our Conqueror. He did for 
us what we could never do for ourselves -- and He did it out 
of love.  Think of it:  He Loves You So Much That He Was 
Willing To Give His Life For You!  Now He offers you salvation 
as a free gift -- free because He has already paid for it.  He 
wants to forgive your past and set your feet on a new path -- 
His path.  "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." (John 3:16).

What must you do? 

First, Repent of Your Sins. The word "Repent" means to turn 
from your sins. It means to change -- to change your mind, 
your way of living, your attitude -- with God's help. To repent
 means more than just being sorry for your sins or having 
regrets over the past.  It means to honestly face your need 
of forgiveness, and deliberately turn from your sins.

Second, Believe In Christ And What He Did For You.  
The word "Believe" in the Bible means much more than 
believing that certain facts are true. It means to Trust -- 
to put your complete confidence in Christ and what He has 
done for you and to cast yourself totally on Him for your 
salvation. You cannot trust your parents' religion or your 
church membership or anything else. You must come to 
Christ for yourself and trust Him alone for your salvation.

The Bible says, "To all who received Him, to those who 
believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children 
of God." (John 1:12).   Just as a gift must be received before  
it truly becomes yours, so we must Receive Christ into our 
hearts and lives by faith. A small child has absolute trust in 
his or her father, and we must have absolute faith and trust
in Christ.  I once asked a brilliant scientist how he came to 
believe in Jesus, and he replied,  "I came as a little child, 
I had to come by faith."   So must you.

Third, Commit Yourself To Follow Christ.  Becoming a Christian
takes only a single step;  being a Christian means walking 
with Christ the rest of your life. Accepting Christ isn't the end 
but the beginning -- the beginning of a whole new life on 
God's path.  Don't let anything keep you from that commitment.

If you have never given your life to Christ or if you are unsure, 
I invite you to turn to Him now: By a simple prayer of faith, 
you can give your life to Him today.  Perhaps the following 
prayer will help you make your commitment:

       "O God, I know I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sins, 
       and I want to turn from them. I trust Christ alone as my 
       Savior, and I confess Him as my Lord. From this moment 
       on, I want to serve Him and follow Him in the fellowship 
       of His church. In Christ's name I pray. Amen."

If you sincerely prayed that prayer, God heard you -- 
and you are now His child forever.

-- Billy Graham - "The Journey"

-------------------------------------

-- 1 John 4:10 
   This is Love: not that we loved God, but that He Loved us 
    and Sent His Son as an Atoning Sacrifice for our sins.

-- Romans 5:8 
   But God Demonstrates His own Love for us in this: 
   While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

-- 1 John 5:11-12 
11 And this is the Testimony: 
     God has Given us Eternal Life, and This Life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has Life; 
     he who does not have the Son of God does not have Life.

-- Acts 10:43 
   All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who Believes 
   in Him Receives Forgiveness of sins through His Name.

-- 1 Peter 3:18 
   For Christ died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the
   unrighteous, to Bring you to God. He was put to death in 
   the body but Made Alive by the Spirit.

-- 2 Corinthians 5:21 
   God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, 
   So that in Him we might become the Righteousness of God.

-- Matthew 9:13 
   But go and learn what this means: 
   ‘I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice.’  (Hosea 6:6)
   For I have not come to Call the righteous, but sinners.

(-- Hosea 6:6  "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, 
   And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.")

-- Matthew 26:28 
   For this is My blood, which seals the New Covenant 
   between God and His people. 
   It is poured out for many for the Forgiveness of sins.

-- Romans 6:23 
   For the wages of sin is death, but the Free Gift of God is 
   Eternal Life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

-- Acts 13:38-39 
38 Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through 
     Jesus the Forgiveness of sins is Proclaimed to you.
39 Through Him everyone who Believes is Justified from 
   everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses.

------------------------------
-- Isaiah 53:4-6
4 Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows 
   that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were 
   a punishment from God for His own sins!
5 But He was wounded and crushed for our sins. 
   He was beaten that we might have Peace. 
   He was whipped, and we were Healed!
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray. We have left God’s 
   paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on Him the 
   guilt and sins of us all.

-- Isaiah 33:22 
   For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, 
   the LORD is our King; it is He who will Save us.

-----------------------------
-- Colossians 2:2-8
2 My purpose is that they may be Encouraged in heart and 
   United in love, so that they may have the Full Riches of 
   Complete Understanding, in order that they may know 
   the Mystery of God, namely, Christ,
3 in Whom are hidden all the Treasures of Wisdom 
   and Knowledge.
4 I tell you this so that no one may Deceive you by 
   Fine-Sounding Arguments.
5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with 
   you in spirit and delight to see how Orderly you are and
   how Firm your Faith in Christ is.
6 So then, just as you Received Christ Jesus as Lord, 
   Continue to Live in Him,
7 Rooted and Built Up in Him, Strengthened in the Faith as 
   you were Taught, and Overflowing with Thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one Takes you Captive through Hollow and
   Deceptive Philosophy, which Depends on human Tradition 
   and the Basic Principles of this world rather than on Christ.

-- 1 John 4:2-3
2 This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: 
    If a prophet Acknowledges that Jesus Christ became
    a human being, that person has the Spirit of God.
3 If a prophet does not acknowledge Jesus, that person is 
   not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist. 
   You have heard that he is going to come into the world, 
   and he is already here.

-- 1 Corinthians 15:17
   And if Christ has not been Raised, then your Faith is useless,
   and you are Still Under Condemnation for your sins.

-- John 20:29 
   Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, 
    you have believed; 
   Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have Believed."

-- Galatian 3:26-28
26 So you are all Children of God through Faith in Christ Jesus.
27 And all who have been United with Christ in Baptism 
     have been made Like Him.
28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, 
     male or female. For you are all Christians --
     you are One in Christ Jesus.

-- 2 Corinthians 6:18 
    "I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons 
    and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 
    (2 Sam 7:14; 1 Chr 17:13; Is 43:6; Hos 1:10)

-- 2 Corinthians 5:17
   Therefore, those are in Christ become New persons. 
   They are Not the Same anymore, for the Old Life is gone. 
   A New Life has Begun!

-- Hebrews 4:16 
   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.

-- 2 Corinthians 13:14 
   May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
   And the Love of God, 
   And the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.