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1. Why We Need God
Everyone does things that God tells us are wrong. This is known
as sin. It’s our sin that separates us from God. However,
God doesn’t expect you to be perfect. He just wants you to
accept His forgiveness, so He can be your friend.
The way God forgives us is through Jesus. John 3:16 says, “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.” Jesus died on a cross and was buried for three days.
But then something awesome happened. He rose from the grave and came back to life! He is now in heaven and wants you to accept Him because He loves you so much.
2. What Won’t Get You to God
Sometimes we think if we’re just good enough, if we could
just quit “messing up,” or if we could clean up our
lives first, then we’d give God someone of worth. That’s
where we trip up. We’re worth everything to God—just
as we are. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.”
3. Telling Jesus You Need Him
Before accepting Jesus, you need to first believe that you need
Him. Have you ever done or said or even thought something that
you knew was wrong? Maybe you lied to your parents, said something
mean to your brother or sister, talked about somebody behind their
back, or had a bad attitude. This is all sin, and every person
in the world has sinned. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
4. What It Means To Repent
Jesus not only wants you to accept Him, but He also wants you
to be sorry for your sins. He wants you to repent. To repent means
to change or to turn from your old ways. Jesus wants you to act
in new ways that are good and pleasing to God. (Luke 13:3) But
He doesn’t leave you to go it alone. Jesus is with you every
step of the way—to help you turn away from all the junk and
live the awesome life He planned for you!
In order to turn from your ways, you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the one who is constantly changing you. Essentially, when you believe, you’re just giving up—telling Jesus you don’t have all the answers and can’t do anything good on your own. Giving your life to God is a decision you make once, but a commitment you can renew every day—just to remind you who it is you’re living for.
5. Inviting Jesus into Your Heart
If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your life, all you
have to do is ask Him through prayer. Prayer is just talking to
and listening to God. He cares more about your heart than the
words you use to express how you feel. But here’s one way
to let Jesus know you want Him in your life:
Dear Jesus,
I know that I have sinned. I do not want to be apart from God
because of my sin. I need You to save me so that I can live forever
with God. I know that nothing I could ever do or say would help
me be good enough to go to heaven. So I am trusting in You, Jesus
Christ, as my Savior. You are the only way I can go to heaven
and the only way I can really ever know God. I believe that You
died and rose from the grave for me because You love me so much.
Thank You, Jesus, for forgiving my sin and coming into my heart.
I give You my whole life. Please help me to know You more every
day. Help me live like You want me to live.
Amen.
6. Congratulations!
You are now a child of God! (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) Whether you
feel like it or not, you are forgiven. God has made you brand
new, and He has great things planned for you.
Let us know about your decision to accept Jesus. Write to us
at teenfeedback@intouch.org.
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Copyright © 1997-2008 by St. Matthews UMC. All rights reserved.
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