After being out with the boys on one Friday night I fell asleep on the sofa at home.  I was awakened by what appeared to be an audible voice that I believe was God.  I'm sure it was real because it woke me up.  He said to me "I've got much better things for you than the life you are currently living".  That was it, short and sweet.  It hit me very heavy as you might expect.

At that same time my two children had heard from their friends about a church just down the road.  They had attended a few times with their friends.  They asked my wife and I to attend with them.  During one sermon the pastor asked "If you were to die and come before God and He said "Why should I let you into My heaven", what would you say".  I knew that saying I was a good person and treated others well wouldn't be enough to get me in for certain.  I knew I needed a better response than that.  I needed to ask Jesus to come into my life.  A few Sunday's later I went forward and gave my life to the Lord.  I figured I better act on what God had spoken to me on the sofa on that Friday night.

Was I changed totally and instantly?  No, I was not.  But that day Jesus forgave me of my sins and God began to work in my life.  I've never looked back since.  He gave me a desire to study His Word, the Bible.  I began to grow in His word and bit by bit I was transformed to be more like Jesus.  Am I totally sin free today?  I wish I could say that I am but that would not be true.  You see, God isn't finished with me yet.  There are still things I struggle with but Jesus forgives me for each transgression as I pray and confess them to Him.

Because of the changes He made in me I was able to be a Deacon in my church.  I assisted in teaching bible classes.  God gave me the will and strength to go out onto the streets of Sarasota, Florida and tell others about Jesus and what He has done in my life.

Am I "Born Again"?  Those are words that seem to upset some people.  They just don't realize that if you pick up a bible and find the phrase "You must be born again" that the words in almost every bible are in RED letters meaning that Jesus spoke them.  You see, being "Born Again" isn't something that some Christian fanatics made up, Jesus said it.  Yes, I'm born again.

As I see it you can take Jesus one of three ways.  You can consider him a crazy man but that doesn't seem logical when you review His teachings and His life.  You can say He was a liar, but no one would go through what He went through for a lie.  The last choice is that you can believe that He is who He said he was, the Son of God.  If you take the third choice then why not heed His words and turn to Him and trust in Him to guide you.  After all, He said "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man (that's every man and woman) comes to the Father except by Me."

It's not enough to "believe" in Jesus and who He was.  A lot of the worlds worst people believe in Jesus and who He was but they don't have Jesus in their life and/or heart.  The bible says that even the demons know who Jesus is and believe in Him and tremble.

These three things are true:

1.  Jesus is the Mesiah

2.  Jesus rose from the dead

3.  Jesus will return one day for those who belong to Him

Friend, ask yourself, "If I were approaching heaven and God said "Why should I let you into heaven?" what would you say?"  If you can say "Because I have accepted your Son as the living Christ and have asked Him to come into my life and guide me" then you will be saved and allowed to enter (Jesus said so).

If you aren't certain where you'd go if you died today then please seek Jesus.  He will meet you and guide you and I can promise you that your life will be changed for the better.  Will you still have problems?  Yes, but Jesus will help you through each and every one of them.

If you need Jesus just bow your head and ask Him into your heart.  Repeat this prayer.

"Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner and I need Your forgiviness.  Please clean me of all sin and come into my heart.  I give my life to You and I ask You to come and live in me.  I thank you for hearing my prayer and I accept you in my life".

If you prayed that prayer and you meant it, Jesus has forgiven you of ALL your past sins and will begin working in your life.  When you struggle, you can count on Him to hear your cry for help and come to your assistance. 

If you prayed that prayer please tell someone about it.  Find a church and begin to attend.  Give God the glory and praise He so rightly deserves.