Good News!
        ::::::::::

        There is good news today!  You don't have to be overwhelmed by
     the newspapers' headlines or even your own problems.  God can be
     with you today - and every day. God knows the sense of emptiness
     we all experience.  A great man who had known that emptiness once
     prayed to God, "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and the heart of
     man is restless until it finds its rest in Thee." God sees us
     trying to fill His place in our lives with friends or pleasure or
     success.  But apart from Him there is no lasting satisfaction in
     even the good things of life.  Only the God who made us can meet
     our deepest needs. The root of our problem is separation from
     God.  The Bible tells us that long ago man rebelled against God
     and His design for the world.  And we continue to rebel: "for all
     have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
        (1) With man's rebellion came alienation from God and eventually
     death: "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
     and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned,"
        (2)  Without a Savior we face this life and eternity without God.
     But the Bible has good news:"God so loved the world, that He gave
     His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not
     perish, but have everlasting life."
        (3) Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again for you. He can
     free you from the penalty of sin by bringing you into a life-giving
     relationship with God. To know God you must first come to His Son in
     a personal step of faith. He is waiting for you. Jesus said, "I am the
     way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."
        (4) The Lord is "not willing that any should perish, but that all
     should come to repentance."
        (5) Repenting of your sins means that you are turning from what
     displeases God to follow Christ. Never be afraid that He will reject
     you. Jesus said, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out."
        (6) Come to Christ now - just as you are. The Bible promises, "As
     many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
     even to them that believe on His name."
        (7) Then you can know Jesus' promise, "I will never leave thee,
     nor forsake thee."


     Bible References: (1) Romans 3:23; (2) Romans 5:12; (3) John
     3:16; (4) John 14:6; (5) 2 Peter 3:9; (6) John 6:37; (7) John
     1:12; (8) Hebrews 13:5

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