Salz und Licht

Gospel

Do you know what gospel means? It is the Good News from God to every single person: You no longer have to pay for your sins yourself. Jesus of Nazareth, God’s own Son, went to the Cross for you and took your sins upon Himself. What God wants you to believe and admit your transgressions. You are free of guilt once and for all! Jesus is THE way to God:

Jesus says to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

He said to a man:

Man, your sins are forgiven.

Luke 5:20

And the same is true for us. So we can be sure that we will be forgiven if we ask for it. Anytime. So that means: I sin. Ask God for forgiveness. And go on.

Wrong!

Repent

While not quite, asking for forgiveness is not everything. God is about turning back to Him. About repentance:

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Where are they, woman? Has no one condemned you? And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Jesus to the adulteress in John 8:10+11

I let go of sin. I do it no more – at least that is supposed to be my will. But we humans are simply weak and will always fall. This should not be an excuse not to make an effort. Repentance means I want to be obedient to God. To listen to Him and do what He says. What He wants me to do: much of it is in the Bible. I put God first in my life. He is more important than family, work, my hobbies. I start, spend and end the day with Him. I let go of things that keep me away from Him. I occupy myself with His Word. I love my fellow man and do good to him and encourage him. I make an effort to become more like Jesus. This is the repentance, the discipleship, the repentance that God wants – it’s all in the Bible.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Deut. 6:5

It is not about larifari, but about a real life change. Of course, I don’t have to quit my job right now and become a missionary in Timbuktu. I can serve God at home. But I should be ready to do it – if He calls me.enn Er mich ruft.

Practice

This sounds very difficult, having to fulfill everything, and I also used to have this punishing God in the back of my mind who wants to bludgeon me as soon as I make even a small mistake. But it is not like that! God loves YOU! No matter how you are. He has patience with you. You may and will fail, but just keep going with God!

Start talking to Him. Regularly. Every day. Read the Bible. Watch good sermons on Youtube. Get together with other Christians. Find a mentor, someone who has been a Christian for a long time and has a lot of experience in the faith. Someone you trust. You can only benefit. Tell Jesus your transgressions and ask for forgiveness. Apologize to those you have hurt. Forgive when someone has hurt you. Do all this step by step. At your own pace. You will notice how your life slowly changes for the better!

„Homework“: I want to encourage you to give God your whole life and trust Him. It is worth it! Think about what is holding you back. What are you afraid of? Where are your questions? Where are your obstacles? What do you have to lose?

And next week it’s about a decision that every person has to make in his life, whether he wants to or not: The “Highway to hell” or the “Stairway to heaven”.

Thank you for reading and God’s blessings!