Rev. Larry D. Pearson

At Rose City Evangelical Free Church we believe the most important thing to do is to receive Jesus Christ as personal savior. We are a group of people for whom God has done the great work of salvation. "What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same any more, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT).

How does one become a Christian? Well it begins with a loving, caring holy and rightous God. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16 NLT). God also says, "My purpose is to give life in all its fulness" (John 10:10b NLT). Wow! I think that is really neat God love you and he loves me. He wants us to experience life to its fullest. But so many I see don't enjoy that full and complete life.

The reason is that we are all sinners. "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23 NLT). For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23 NLT). That is a terrible perdictament. A loving, holy, creator God and his creation, men and women are separated by sin. The one for whom we were created to have fellowship now is out of fellowship with us because of sin.

But there is a solution to this predicament. God sent Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin and to welcome us back into relationship with God. "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:8 NLT). "For there is only one God and one mediator who can recocile God and people" (1 Timothy 2:5 NLT). Jesus came and solved our problem.

That solution does not just apply to us automatically. We have to receive the free gift he offers to us for ourselves. "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12 NLT). So have you ever received God's free gift of eternal life? You can. Just pray and tell God that you are a sinner and repent of being a sinner and committing sins. Ask him to forgive you and put your trust in what Jesus did for you on the cross. Invite him to come into your life and take up residence and make you a new person. He will if you ask Him.