1. God is love, but He is also holy, righteous, and just. He created people to be in an eternal relationship with Him, but because the first two humans, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey Him, sin entered their lives, and they were no longer able to be in relationship with the righteous, holy God. Their spirits became “dead,” and they were prevented from living forever with God (see Romans 5:12).
2. All humankind is now inherently cut off from a relationship with God because of sin. All humans are born “infected” with sin and cannot remove this sin problem through human effort. We are incapable of doing enough good things to bridge the gap between us and God (see Romans 3:23 and 6:23).
3. God loved us so much that He intervened by sending His own Son (God in the flesh) to pay the ultimate penalty for our sin through death and then to defeat sin and death by rising again to life. Jesus’ death and resurrection bridge the gap between us and God (see John 3:16 and Romans 5:18).
4. When you turn from trying to please God through your own efforts and instead, accept Jesus’ death on your behalf, you are immediately able to be in close relationship with God and live with Him forever. You can do that with a prayer as simple as, “Lord Jesus, I want you to save me from sin. I turn from my sin and my own way of doing things, and I accept what you did for me. Come into my life and make me new!” On the basis of such a prayer, God regenerates our dead spirits —we are “born from above”—and His Spirit comes into our lives to begin transforming us from the inside out (see John 3:6 and Romans 8:9-11).
5. If you prayed a prayer like that, you are a new creation! The old life is dead, and you are now being outfitted with everything you need for the greatest adventure of your life (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Tell someone such as a Christian friend or a pastor your good news or send an email to info@cassiaglass.com.

Photo by Eberhard Grossgasteiger at Unsplash