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How to Become God's Child           THE CONDITIONS     The Lord Jesus Christ... humbled Himself and became man. He lived a perfect life and never broke His Father's law of love. He offered His own perfect life as a sacrifice to provide a substitute for the penalty of your sin. His death on the cross shows at once how much God loves you and how much He hates your sin You can choose one of two things:  pay the penalty for your sin... or resolve to turn your back on the past and give your life to God... letting the LORD JESUS be your substitute. God cannot forgive you... unless you are willing to stop fighting Him and make Him your "boss". His Holy Spirit makes you willing to change, as He draws you now by His love, He wants to help you to make a life-changing decision... now! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. no man cometh to the Father, but by me". --- John 14:6. "He that trusts his life wholly to the Son is experiencing eternal life. he that does not believe on the Son of God shall not see life... but the anger of God abides on him". --- John 3:36.     THE STEPS Salvation is God's plan... to restore man to a holy, happy relationship with Him. All problems of sin, doubt, failure, and lack of victory or God's power can be conquered by the following steps: 1. RETHINK . . . Stop running away... from the voice of God and look at your life. We do not naturally want to obey God. Only if we let the Holy Spirit show us our sin, as God sees it... will we realize just how bad we have been. To do this, you must be totally honest! Don't pretend. Don't "play down" your sin. Stop making excuses! Admit from your heart, "God, I am all wrong!" If necessary, get paper and pencil and write down the things that have come between you and God and have stopped you from serving Him as you ought. 2. REPENT . . . . Turn your back... on your old way of life. Be Willing to lose any habit, any plan, any friend that you have been living your life for. This is not easy, but JESUS said if we want to follow Him we must first count the cost... --- Luke 14:25-33. Salvation is like a marriage. Two people promise themselves to each other, pledge their love to each other before a watching world, and give up all their old dates. This is what God wants you to do to know His love. 3. RENOUNCE . . . Give up all rights... to your own life. If you are going to be a part of God's world-changing family, you cannot be your own boss any longer. You must DIE to your own plans and ambitions, and be willing to do whatever God wants you to do. He knows exactly what will make you most happy. Remember that God really loves us... and knows us... and made us like Him... in His image. WOW! It may hurt... to surrender everything at first, but God knows best, and will never ask you to do anything that you will regret in the end. A true Christian has nothing of his own... time, talents, money, possessions, friends, career and future. All must be surrendered for the King's service wherever and whenever He wants them. 4. REPLAN . . . . Be prepared... to make changes in your life! The very moment you make this heart-choice for God, the old "you" will die, and a new person inside you will begin to live. If the Holy Spirit is speaking to you about getting something right with someone, you must be willing to do it. God will help you. Wherever you need to confess wrong, or restore or repay something to someone, the LORD JESUS will give you courage and the words to say. Becoming a Christian implies the willingness, as far as humanly possible, to right all known wrong. "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper... but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion" --- Proverbs 28:13. **** If you have written out a list of things that have come between you and God, ask His forgiveness now for those things against Him. Plan to make right all other things with people you know you have wronged and feel guilty about. This is very important... don't put it off! The circle of confession... must fit the circle of committal of sin. Those against God, confess only to Him. Those against one person, to that person alone. Those against a group, to the group. **** 5. RECEIVE . . . . Receive the LORD JESUS CHRIST by faith... (A loyalty of love to the Word of God) to rule in your heart as King. He must be your absolute "boss" from now on! This act of faith is neither an idea nor a mere feeling but an act, a Choice of your will, made intelligently and carefully. Give Him your doubts, your weakness, and your loneliness. Your heart will never die to the world until you trust, surrender, believe from your heart! Be totally honest with Him! Receive Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Master to live for Him... from this moment on... forever! "If you confess with your mouth jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead... you shall be saved. for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation..." --- Romans 10:9-10.     Are you willing to trust His love? Will you choose His life, or turn your back on His love and choose a future without Jesus Christ, without hope and without an end? Will you be very honest with Him right now? Talk to God before the touch of His Holy Spirit lifts off your life. Tell Him in your own words something like this:        "FATHER GOD, I'M SORRY I'VE BEEN SELFISH AND REBELLIOUS SO LONG. I'M SICK OF MY OLD LIFE AND I WANT TO CHANGE. PLEASE FORGIVE ME... AND GIVE ME THE POWER TO LIVE MY LIFE FROM THIS MOMENT ON FOR YOU. I GIVE YOU MY HEART! TAKE OVER EVERYTHING I HAVE AND AM...   AND BE MY LORD AND KING. I PRAY THIS PRAY, FATHER...  IN THE NAME OF JESUS, YOUR SON...        AMEN" WOW! We are excited for those of you that have just prayed this prayer... and we would like to hear from you. JESUS Said: "Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven" --- Matthew 10:32. "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God;" --- Luke 12:8. SO, GO TELL SOMEBODY!... Parents, Friends... and throw us an e-mail: BRO_LOU@LANES_CHAPEL.COM or CHAPTAIN_RED@MASTERPEACE.NET