As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is ‘Good News’ from a distant land (Proverbs 25:25).
The Heavenly, Most-High God has Good News for you! His Good News begins with three truths:
1) God loves you immensely!
2) God has forgiveness for your sins.
3) God has an entrance for you into His Heavenly, Eternal Kingdom.
These three truths are the pathway to becoming 1) Born-Again, 2) to having peace with God, and 3) to being saved from an eternity of misery and death!
In order to truly understand these three truths, we must begin to know what God tells us in His Word, the Bible. God’s Word is where we learn about these three truths.
Let me explain how you can know the certainty of God’s Good News.
1st Truth – God’s great love for you.
God is love! God’s LOVE endures and bears all things. God has shown His love for you, and all of us, in so many ways. The most extravagant expression of His love was sending of His Son Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the world [His Hebrew name is Yahushua Messiah].
God loves you, not because of what you have done or not done. He loves you regardless of your past! He accepts you as you are and loves you because you are precious to Him!
God demonstrated His deep love for you (as the Bible says) by sending His beloved Son to die on the cross as the payment for the sins that you and I have committed against Him! Notice what He tells us in the Bible:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son [Jesus], that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
In this was manifested the love OF God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son [Jesus] into the world, that we might live through Him. (1 John 4:9)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son [Jesus] to be the propitiation (the atonement) for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
God is faithful, by whom you were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. (1Corinthians 1:9)
As these verses teach, God loves you and wants you to know His love for you.
Because of His immense love for you, He wants to adopt you into His family. He wants to be close to you and have a personal relationship with you. This is why He sent His Son into the world.
It is very simple to begin a personal relationship with God. All you have to do is begin to talk to Him with a sincere desire to know Him! If you will begin to talk with God, then you will automatically begin to want to know Him better. Which brings us to the 2nd truth:
2nd Truth – God has forgiveness for your sins.
Those who are genuine Thirsty Souls have a deep sense of need for God. Though we may not understand it, Thirsty Souls know that ‘something’ is missing within themselves, something they do not understand. They sense a burden, deep inside. This burden is the weight of sin.
Everyone is a sinner. We have all done things that violated our conscience and violated God’s standards by doing things such as: lied, cheated, stolen, fornicated, lusted, blasphemed, hated. God has told us His standards by giving us The Ten Commandments. Because we all have violated God’s Commands, we are deserving of death because the righteous and just payment for sin is death!
However, God has made The Way for us to be forgiven. We all need God’s forgiveness for our sins because we have ALL failed in one way or another! All of us have violated God’s Holy Laws. Deep inside our spirit, we somehow know we are in need of forgiveness for our sins – God’s forgiveness.
But the question is, “How do I receive God’s forgiveness for my sins?”
The answer begins over two thousand years ago, when Jesus was crucified on a cross. He lived a sinless life, but He was crucified on the cross, and was buried. Then three days later, He was resurrected from the dead, and then ascended alive into Heaven. He fulfilled all that was written about Him in the Scriptures, written centuries before (see 1Corinthians 15:3-8).
God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, on a mission to ‘make the payment‘ — to fulfill the requirements necessary to clear the guilt and punishment we deserve, that is due to each one of us because of our sins, as God’s Word declares:
The soul that sins, it shall die…. (Ezekiel 18:20a).
The wages (payment) of sin is death…. (Romans 6:23a)
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (eternal death). (Revelations 20:15)
Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the Law: for sin is the transgression of the Law. (1John 3:4)
Jesus took the heavy load of our sins on Himself. It was the punishment that we deserved! He took upon Himself our pain. He was punished and crushed because of our guilt. Even though He had done NO wrong to anyone! He had never sinned! Yet He endured the cross and shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
God’s Word teaches us about the forgiveness of our sins. These Scriptures teach us:
Surely He [Jesus] has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed. For He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken. Yet it pleased the LORD to crush Him; to grieve Him; that He should put forth His soul as a guilt-offering…. (Isaiah 53:4-5,8b,10a)
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1John 1:7)
In Him [Jesus Christ], we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. (Ephesians 1:7)
It is Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection that made it possible for us, throughout all generations, to be near to God and have the forgiveness of our sins! It is only by the pure and sinless blood of Jesus Christ that we are cleansed from our sins!
God offered to make the payment for our sins! He offered the forgiveness of our sins! He made this loving offer by the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, by His Son’s death, burial, and resurrection.
God revealed His tremendous love for us when He sent His beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins:
… Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures (1Corinthians 15:3,4).
God offers us freely the mercy and grace [the enablement] to love Him and begin a new life! It is through God’s Son that we receive the full and complete forgiveness of our sins – the things we have all done against God, by violating His Word, whether knowingly or unknowingly! But when we personally receive and accept God’s Son, then we are qualified to enter into God’s Family.
Many have heard that Jesus died for the sins of the world by His blood that He shed. But we need to know: “How are my sins forgiven?”
3rd Truth – God has an entrance for you into His Kingdom.
Through Messiah, Jesus the Christ, we can know The Way to enter into God’s Eternal Kingdom and have Eternal LIFE. Sincerely talking to God is the beginning of our relationship with Him. Jesus is The Way to enter more fully into understanding God’s blessings.
If we want God’s forgiveness;
if we want peace with God;
if we want to enter into God’s Eternal Kingdom and Family; if we want to avoid the misery of eternal separation from God,
then we must come to Jesus personally.
We must approach God personally, in prayer, and tell Him out loud that we need Him, and we want to invite Him into our life.
Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me. (John 14:6)
… the Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
These verses tell us that Jesus is ‘The Way’!! He is the only Way to the heavenly, Almighy Father God and His Eternal Kingdom of LIFE.
Notice this statement by Jesus:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)
This verse teaches that Jesus is at the door of our heart, knocking. If we want Him to come into our life and share His goodness with us, then we must believe He is with us now by the Holy Spirit. Even though we cannot see Him, we must open the door of our heart by inviting Him into our life. Messiah does not force Himself on anyone. We must invite Him into our life.
Jesus Christ is the only Way to Almighty God! He is the One we must open up our heart to and invite Him into our life.
Some of us may think that we are unworthy to invite Jesus into our life. But because of God’s great love, we need to understand that no sin is ‘too bad’ or ‘too numerous’ to be forgiven. The perfect, precious, sinless blood of Jesus Christ can forgive them all!
So we must personally come to Jesus by talking to Him, as He has told us:
Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and Learn of Me; for I am Meek and Lowly in Heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)
When we sincerely and honestly come to Jesus in prayer, coming at any time, day or night, looking to Him for answers, praying in His Name, then we can begin to know God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. By accepting and receiving Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we are rescued from an eternity of misery (see Psalms 9:17). This is how we are Born From Above, Born of God, or Born-Again.
When we sincerely humble ourselves by asking God’s help, asking for His forgiveness for sinning against Him — asking in the name of His Son, we can begin to know His loving forgiveness! This is The Doorway for Entrance into God’s Heavenly Kingdom.
You must be Born Again.
There is no solution within ourselves! We must turn away from ourselves and come to the LORD God and to Messiah. We must tell Him we need Him and we want to be right with Him. When we do this, we will want to ask His forgiveness of our sins [the things we have done that violate His Laws, His Ten Commandments], and ask His help to know His forgiveness.
Though we cannot SEE God, we know He is with us by His Holy Spirit that is urging us to talk to God and humble ourselves before Him.
When we do this personally and sincerely, we will be changed, becoming a new person. This is what Jesus was talking about in John 3:1-8, when He said, “You must be born again (born from above)!”
Now is the Time
Let us also understand that God says in the Bible that sinners do not qualify for Eternal Life, nor will they be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven. Sinners fall into Eternal misery at the time of their physical death (Matthew 18:3; John 3:5; Romans 6:23; Revelation 22:14-15).
Everyone will spend ‘forever’ somewhere!! But to enter the blessing of Eternal LIFE, to enter into the realm of God’s holy Kingdom, we must say to ourselves: “I must go to God, to have my sins forgiven.”
“I must also do it quickly while I am still alive in this flesh, for I do not know what may happen tomorrow, or even tonight! For this reason, God tells me that the Time and the Day of my Salvation is NOW – today!” (2Corinthians 6:2).
To have my sins forgiven, I would cry out to God, telling Him the truth that none of us like to admit — that I need Him to save me, to rescue me, because I have offended Him, I have sinned against His Laws. I would tell Him that I need His forgiveness that was offered me when Jesus died on the cross.
What has God said about the Payment for my sins? The following Scriptures reveal God’s provision to ‘make the Payment’ for my sins [please read these slowly]:
Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree (the cross), that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed. (1Peter 2:24)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission [“letting go; forgiveness”] of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:23-25)
Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:9-10)
And from Jesus Christ, who is the Faithful Witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the earth. Unto Him [Jesus] that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, (Revelation 1:5)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
If we look very carefully at the above verses, we see that we become cleansed from sin, and justified, or made righteous, only by Jesus’ blood that He shed for us when He died. When we sincerely open our heart to this truth, when we invite Yahushua in, the result will be that our sins are forgiven, and we are reconciled to God, and we are changed forever.
Notice that this is made possible, because God loves us so much! He loves us to such a great degree that He gave His beloved Son to die in our place — on our behalf — so that we could live with Him, and belong to Him, and not die in Eternal misery!!
Jesus rose from the dead, is alive now, waiting for you to come to Him, call to Him!
Whosoever Calls
So let us understand: when we are cleansed and forgiven of our sin, and made right with God, it is because we have COME unto Jesus.
Notice the following Scripture passages:
Jesus said, … I am The Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
…whosoever shall Call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21; see also Romans 10:13)
Jesus Christ is The Way to the Heavenly, Almighty God. Christ is the Gate or Door — the Entrance — into the Kingdom of Heaven (John 10:7). We enter The Way through Christ.
In the above verses, we see that anyone who sincerely calls upon, cries out to God, calling on Him in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, shall be saved! When we do this, we are inviting Him into our life. It is that simple!
Here is an example in Scripture, of what we can do:
And the publican (a despised tax collector), standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:13-14)
We see in the above verses that the despised publican knew he was a sinner, but he was justified [made right with God] when he honestly humbled himself.
He did two things: 1) admitted he was a sinner, and 2) cried out for God’s mercy.
If I do as the despised publican did, if I humble myself, admitting to God that I am a sinner, and cry out for His mercy, God will hear my prayer.
Receive His Forgiveness
If my prayer — my request for His mercy and forgiveness — is sincere and honest, then God will make His forgiveness personal for me. My sins will then be forgiven, and I too can become justified, made righteous in God’s sight! And even though I can not see God, then He will send His Holy Spirit to confirm my prayer.
It is by Jesus’s blood that we are justified, made righteous, and forgiven of our sins — but it is only when I humble myself, admit my guilt as a sinner, and cry out for His forgiveness and mercy, then His justification and forgiveness are applied to me personally.
Therefore it is time to pray. And how do I pray? I first humble myself by bowing or getting on my knees, and then I cry out to God. It is important that we use our voice to speak out loud to God.
I would tell Him out loud:
“I come to You, Jesus. I confess that I am a sinner. I have violated Your Commandments. Thank You for dying in my place, and for spilling your Blood for me. Please forgive me of my sins.” I would then tell Him, “I receive your forgiveness for my sins, in Your name, Jesus Christ. Please come into my life and fill me with Your Holy Spirit.”
After I have cried out to God in true sincerity, and have truly sought His forgiveness, then Messiah forgives my sins, and Messiah becomes ‘birthed‘ within my inner being by His Holy Spirit. And I now have a profound sense of the burden, the weight of sin and guilt, being lifted from me. My spirit is free and clean. The guilt is gone, for His blood has cleansed me; and He now lives within me by His Holy Spirit (see John 3:3,7; Colossians 1:27; 1John 1:7; 1John 3:5).
This is the beginning step in knowing God’s Good News!
God’s Forgiveness
Let us look at one more Scripture about forgiveness:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness! (1John 1:9)
This verse teaches the simplicity of God’s offer of forgiveness. When I sincerely tell God [confess to Him out loud], that I am a sinner, then God will forgive me.
God, as a loving Father, offers this free gift only to those who are true and honest, to those who know they need forgiveness! If we are not sincere, we will receive nothing.
Only God can give us freedom from sin! There’s nothing we can do to earn His forgiveness. Our own efforts will never obtain the personal restoration that comes from God’s forgiveness. Every single person needs to come to the Holy, Living God for forgiveness and cleansing of their sins.
When we honestly, sincerely humble ourselves and go to God personally, in the name of His Son, asking for His forgiveness, we will then begin to understand God’s great love for us. IF we are sincere, He will then give us a new heart, with a deep desire to love God. IF we have invited Him into our life, we now belong to Him.
Ask Father To Show You The Way
Talk to the Heavenly Father and ask Him today, out loud, to help you understand His Ways, to understand being Born of God. It is important to speak out loud to God, with a true and sincere heart, and to tell others what you prayed!
If you have not yet asked God for His forgiveness, here is a suggested prayer. Talk to Him today!
Suggested prayer:
Call On God With Sincerity
The LORD is near unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. (Psalms 145:18)
As this verse says, if you call upon the LORD God, calling upon Him in truth — in the sincerity of your heart — then He will draw near to you, by His Holy Spirit!
If you are humble, as a little child, talking to the LORD God from your heart, He will hear your prayer. Draw near to God today! Call upon Him in the name of His Son. Wait patiently on Him!
If you are sincere, He will make His truth known to you. Most importantly, find a Bible and begin reading it. Read the Gospel of John and the letters of John. Read the Psalms and the Proverbs. Tell others about your prayer and your decision to come to God. Patiently begin trusting God and learning His Word.
To understand better what it means to know The Way to Eternal Life visit the links below. Perhaps one of the articles listed below will help you understand better. Review the information over and over until you begin to grasp the great riches of God’s infinite, extravagant love for you!
Drink deeply of what you understand of Father’s Ways, asking Him to help you understand His truth! Your Eternal destiny is determined by your response to God, His Word, and His Son, Jesus Christ!!
Re-read this article.
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Related Articles:
- How Do I Receive God’s Forgiveness for My Sins?– According to the Bible, forgiveness of sins does not come from keeping the commandments, nor by being good, nor by becoming religious, nor by our good deeds, no matter how many or how good they might be! The Bible reveals the simple solution to how we are forgiven of our sins!
- The Good News– There is both Good News and Bad News, but the Good News cancels the Bad News, for all who believe.
- After Forgiveness:The Next Step– After receiving forgiveness of our sins, and after being Born-Again — What is our Next Step? Father has shown us our destination, our goal, and has shown us in Scripture what steps to take to arrive at our goal. Taking these three steps seen in Scripture will enable us to know who Messiah is, and will show us how we may truly believe Him, walk with Him, abide [‘remain’] in Him, and ultimately enter in with Him.
- What It Means To Be Saved – a brief look at seven simple steps for understanding God’s free offer of salvation through Messiah
- The Message of Salvation – excellent insights for a better understanding of what it means to be saved
- Videos: The Bridge and The Four Spiritual Laws and This Is The Gospel – The Best News You’ll Ever Hear – Good News – all are short videos that give a greater understanding of forgiveness and salvation, and the great sacrifice that Yahushua made on our behalf
- The Fountain of the Water of Life – a brief description of the search for, and the source of, the only answer for satisfying Thirsty Souls
- She Turned Around and Saw Him– insight on repentance
- Changing From Glory to Glory
- The Pathway of Purity – insights for cleaning up our lives
- Light Arises in the Darkness for the Upright
- 9 Truths About the Bible
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Cold Waters to a Thirsty Soul
Cold Waters to a Thirsty Soul 
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