Home For The Holidays

This week many of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas is right around the corner. Many of us may find ourselves looking forward to celebrating the holidays with loved ones. Some of us may travel to spend the holidays with family and loved ones. Maybe you look forward to going to grandmas house or going home for the holidays. Maybe some of us are the ones who host for the holidays so it is our own home that becomes the place where loved ones will gather. It is such a wonderful blessing to have a home and it is a wonderful blessing to have people to share it with. As we are talking about home right now you probably have your home in your mind or maybe you are even reading this post from the comfort of your own home. Our home here on earth is a temporary one and we all have a home that will be much more permanent. After our time here on earth comes to an end, we will either spend our eternity in heaven or hell. Now that may seem like a grim subject to dive into during this lovely holiday season but it doesn’t need to seem grim at all. You can be encouraged because if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then your eternal home is in Heaven with Jesus and if you have not yet accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior then you can do so today!

We are all imperfect sinners. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (NIV) Every single one of us sin. Our sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:2 says “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (NIV) Our sin leads to death. Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV) It is God who we sin against and yet it is God who has blessed us with His free gift of salvation for our souls in His one and only Son Jesus who loves us and gave Himself for us. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV) Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins, He was buried and then He rose to life again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) and all who believe in Jesus receive eternal life in Him. We cannot save ourselves. Salvation for our souls is only found in Jesus. Acts 4:12 says that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (NIV) Salvation in Jesus is a free gift from God and we must accept this free gift from God by faith. Romans 3:25 tells us that “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. (NIV) We must accept God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus through faith in Jesus. If we come to understand and admit that we are sinners and if we believe in our hearts that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and that He rose to life again, then we can invite Jesus into our hearts and our lives as our personal Lord and Savior and receive eternal forgiveness and eternal life in Him. Romans 10:9 tells us that “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV) If you have come to understand and admit that you are a sinner and if you believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sins and that He rose to life again, then you can invite Jesus into your heart and your life as your personal Lord and Savior and receive eternal life in Him. You can pray a prayer like this:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I know that I am a sinner and that I need Jesus to save me. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sins and that He rose to life again. God I am sorry for my sin. I invite Jesus into my heart and my life as my personal Lord and Savior. I commit my life to you.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

If you prayed a prayer like this and accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have received eternal life in Jesus and you now have an eternal home in Heaven with Jesus! In Jesus all of your past, present and future sins have been forgiven for all of eternity and you have now been reconciled to God by the precious blood of Jesus who loves you and gave Himself for you! Jesus paid the full price for you and it is done, it is finished! In Jesus you have been eternally set free from all sin and death because Jesus, your personal Lord and Savior, conquered sin and death for you! It is no longer you who lives but it is Jesus who now lives in your inner being as your personal Lord and Savior and Jesus is your life! (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:4) In Jesus you have died to sin and death and you are now alive to God in Jesus! (Romans 6:11) In Jesus you now have peace with God! Romans 5:1-2 says that “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. (NIV) Not a single one of us deserves forgiveness or salvation for our souls, in fact because of our sins we deserve death and punishment, but God has blessed us with His perfect love and His perfect grace in our Savior Jesus! In Jesus, and through faith in Him, you are now looking forward to an eternal home in Heaven with your Savior Jesus!

If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then do not delay another moment! As 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 says “As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (NIV) God has brought you here for a reason and He is working in your heart and in your life at this very moment! God has brought you here and He has shared with you the truth and the gospel of salvation! Today is the day to open your heart to God and invite Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior! God has revealed the truth to you and He has presented you with His free gift of salvation for your soul in Jesus! Now you must receive God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus with faith! God loves you perfectly as you are! God knows every single bit of your inner being even better then you do, for God created your inmost being! There is nothing that you can hide from God and there is no where that you can go to escape His perfect love for you! So do not turn away from God and His offer of salvation in Jesus! Commit yourself to God and let go of all that burdens you! Only in Jesus, and through faith in Him, can you receive eternal life and an eternal future in Heaven with Jesus!

Our home here on earth is a temporary one and all of those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior are looking forward to an eternal home in Heaven with Jesus, who loves us and gave Himself for us! You may be going home for the holidays or you may have the home in which many will gather this holiday season, but if you are in Jesus, then you can rejoice in the Lord knowing that not only have you been blessed with a wonderful home here on earth but you have also been blessed with an eternal home in Heaven with your Savior Jesus! That gives home a whole new, joyous meaning! Enjoy this holiday season rejoicing in the Lord your God!