Mark 16:9 NLT – After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.
Some people I have spoken to over the years have said they are not worthy to be saved because of how they have lived their lives. They have said even God would accept me.
In the above verse we see that the first person Jesus appeared to after His resurrection was Mary. She had lived a questionable life and even had seven demons.
If anyone felt unworthy of Jesus’ love it would be Mary. But Jesus met her where she was at and cast out her seven demons. She was a changed person.
Mary became a follower of Jesus and she was one of the people who went to anoint His body with spices after His death. She went with Mary the mother of Jesus and Salome.
I love that the first person Jesus appeared to after His resurrection was Mary. A demon possessed outcast who was transformed by His love and His healing. Her life would never be the same.
If you feel unworthy of God’s love today, I want to say that God has a special love for those who have gone astray. The Bible is filled with people who started off on the wrong path, but found God’s love and healing in Jesus.
If this is you, why not turn to Him today? He is a prayer away and waiting for you with His arms out stretched towards you.
Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am sorry for the way I have lived my life. I ask for a new fresh start today. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sin. I give my life to You today. I want to follow You as my Lord and Saviour. Please bring healing to my heart and soul. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit to strengthen me. Cast out anything that is not of You. I ask in Your name, Amen.
John 1:12 NLT – But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
The Bible tells us we become children of God when we believe in who Jesus is and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. We become His children and a part of His eternal family. This means we join every person who has accepted Jesus in the last 2000 years!
When we accept Jesus we become part of the communion of saints that the Apostle’s Creed talks about. We are brothers and sisters with those alive today and those who have already gone to heaven.
God’s eternal family is big, very big. But the good news is there is room for more. The Bible tells us that God is being patient so every last person can make it in. He does not want any one to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
If you would like to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you can pray the prayer below.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Saviour. In Your Name. Amen
Would you like to find salvation and peace with God? If we are thinking about God and His plan for our salvation, it is important to look at His book – the Bible.
When the Bible talks about salvation it touches on two main areas.
Being rescued from the penalties of sin.
Being brought in to right relationship with God.
In the Bible we see that when Jesus came and died on the cross. He came to pay the price for our sin. He took the punishment that was rightfully ours.
Jesus’ death opened the way for us to be forgiven of our sin and to be brought back into a right relationship with God. In a future tense it means that those those who put their faith and trust in Jesus will spend eternity with God.
The Bible tells us that salvation is found in Jesus Christ and He is the way to the Father in heaven.
Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
John 14:6 says, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
Each of us must respond personally to God’s plan for our salvation. God played His part by giving His Son to die on the cross for us to pay the price for our sin. Our part is to receive what Jesus has done for us. God requires us to do three things to find salvation.
They can be described as the A, B, C of salvation –
A – Admit and Ask
We need to admit to God that we have sinned and fallen short of His standards and to ask for His forgiveness.
The Bible says…
Romans 3:23-24 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
1 John 1:9-10 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
When we admit to God that we have sinned and not fully followed Him or His ways, it is like a huge weight is lifted from our shoulders. We can know that we are right with God and our sins are forgiven.
B – Believe and Become
We need to believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sin.
The Bible says…
John 3:16 – 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 1:12 – Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
When we believe in Jesus and what He has done for us, we become God’s children and have the promise of eternal life with Him. We can know in this life that our eternal destiny is sorted out by God. God promises us this in the Bible.
C – Call and Confess.
We need to call on Jesus to save us and we need to confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
The Bible says…
Romans 10:13 – Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Romans 10:9-10 – That 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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
The final step in the ABC of salvation is to call and confess. We call out to Jesus to save us and we confess Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. This means we are trusting Jesus to save us from our sin (our Saviour) and we are asking Him to be our King and ruler of our life (our Lord).
Prayer to find salvation
Responding to God is as simple as praying a short prayer that expresses our thanks for what He has done, confessing your sin and asking Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. You can pray this prayer right now.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that Jesus came and died on the cross for my sin. Right now I ask for Your forgiveness for all of the wrong things I have done in my life. Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, that You died on the cross for my sin and that God raised you from the dead. Right now I surrender my life to You and I ask you to be my Lord and Saviour. Please guide me and lead me in all I do. Help me to live for Your Kingdom by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
What’s something you believe everyone should know.
Everyone should know the four things on the image above.
It was prophesied for centuries that a Saviour would come. History tells us that Jesus came and was born in a manger and grew to be a man.
The Bible tells us that Jesus died on the cross. He died to pay the price for our sin. He died so we can have a relationship with God for all eternity.
The Bible also tells us that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and He appeared to over 500 witnesses.
A great promise of the Bible is that one day Jesus is coming back for His people. He is coming back to take us to the place He has prepared for us.
These are four things I have spent more than half my life telling people about Jesus.
Jesus left the glories of heaven to come and save us. He could not stand the thought of us missing out of eternity, so He came for you and me.
If you would like to find peace with God and come in to a personal relationship with Him, you can visit the page below to find out more.
