Is Jesus Your Joy for All Eternity?

Old Testament prophets, at God’s command, proclaimed the good news that the Savior of the world was coming. Sometimes they whispered the message in ways that demanded a closer examination of the passage. “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). At other times, the announcement was loud and clear, a trumpet blast from a mountain top.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

From the Old Testament, we see that our deliverer is coming. We deserve to be punished by God for our sinfulness, but mercifully, He promises to send a Savior – Jesus.

In the New Testament, we witness the fulfillment of that Old Testament promise. (God always keeps His promises.) Strangely, the news comes at night to a band of shepherds. An angel, directed by God, announces the arrival of an infant in the city of David, Bethlehem. It’s not just any baby; it’s “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The excited shepherds hurry off to Bethlehem to find Mary, Joseph, and the promised One “wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

This baby – Jesus – would one day suffer the punishment that you and I deserve. The Lamb of God would be sacrificed on a cross for sinners.

He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Some 30 years after His birth, Jesus Christ felt pain at a level that’s impossible for us to fully comprehend. He hung on a cross … He bled … and He died there for sinners – for us.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit (1 Peter 3:18).

Jesus never sinned; you and I can’t say that. All of mankind, beginning with Adam, has sinned against God. God is our Creator and King, and we dismiss that truth with each act of rebellion. Yet! the Son of God died in our place – “the just for the unjust.” The reason He died was “so that He might bring us to God.” The hymnwriter Charles Wesley rightly stood in awe of such mercy.

Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

The Bible says you must place your faith in Jesus for you to be saved from your sins. Have you done that? Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? Consider this familiar verse:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).

I have three challenges for you if you’re concerned because you’ve never placed your faith in Jesus:

Be thankful. Does your heart ache because you are not one of God’s children? Then thank God that He has helped you to realize that. It’s a tremendous mercy that God has brought you to that point. But you must not stop there.

Explore the Bible. Spend time reading the Bible. Ask God to help you understand what it means to believe that Jesus died for your sins. The book of John is a good place to begin. Click HERE for a link to the book of John.

Watch this short video. Bert Harper, a man much-admired here at American Family Association, will help you understand what it means to place your faith in Jesus. The video is less than four minutes long, and I think it can be a tremendous help to you. Click HERE to watch it.

I pray that you will place your faith in Jesus. He is your only hope for joy and peace in this life and throughout eternity.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (John 1:12).

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