How to Accept Jesus
We are so excited that you are interested in learning how to accept Jesus into your life. This means that you will have a connection to God, who gives hope, peace, love, and so much more than we can even imagine.
God loves you (and me) so much and He wants to have a relationship with 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." It's difficult to understand such love, but think about how much a parent loves their child. A parent would do anything for their child including give up their life to save their child. How much more God loves us. He wants to give you peace and life. He tells us in John 10:10a, "I have come that they (you) may have life, and have it to the full." John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
So what do you do to accept Jesus? The next step is to recognize that we are sinners, meaning we are imperfect and struggle with behaviors and thoughts we call sin. There are multiple examples of sin such as: stealing, lying, lust, excess pride, gossip and so much more. God is gracious and shows you and me the sin in our lives so that we can address those aspects of our lives with him as we grow closer to Him. We can not be good enough or save our lives by trying to be good. God knows this, and still loves us. He asks us to talk to him about our lives - the good and the bad. We call this prayer. Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It's not being bad, it's called being human.
Jesus died on a cross so recognizing our imperfection and our need for God, we can then ask Him to forgive us for our sins and to give us hope in Him. It is a simple prayer that we can pray to do this. The result is He gives us peace inside. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Jesus says to come - knock at His door and ask. He'll let you in. He says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." This is found in Matthew 7:7.
Just pray this prayer to ask Jesus to come into your heart and your life.
Dear God, I want you in my life. Please forgive me for my sins and help me to know what they are as I learn to live for you. Come into my heart and give me your love and hope. I accept you as my Savior who gives me life now and in heaven. Thank you for dying for me and for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.
God loves you (and me) so much and He wants to have a relationship with 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." It's difficult to understand such love, but think about how much a parent loves their child. A parent would do anything for their child including give up their life to save their child. How much more God loves us. He wants to give you peace and life. He tells us in John 10:10a, "I have come that they (you) may have life, and have it to the full." John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
So what do you do to accept Jesus? The next step is to recognize that we are sinners, meaning we are imperfect and struggle with behaviors and thoughts we call sin. There are multiple examples of sin such as: stealing, lying, lust, excess pride, gossip and so much more. God is gracious and shows you and me the sin in our lives so that we can address those aspects of our lives with him as we grow closer to Him. We can not be good enough or save our lives by trying to be good. God knows this, and still loves us. He asks us to talk to him about our lives - the good and the bad. We call this prayer. Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It's not being bad, it's called being human.
Jesus died on a cross so recognizing our imperfection and our need for God, we can then ask Him to forgive us for our sins and to give us hope in Him. It is a simple prayer that we can pray to do this. The result is He gives us peace inside. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Jesus says to come - knock at His door and ask. He'll let you in. He says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." This is found in Matthew 7:7.
Just pray this prayer to ask Jesus to come into your heart and your life.
Dear God, I want you in my life. Please forgive me for my sins and help me to know what they are as I learn to live for you. Come into my heart and give me your love and hope. I accept you as my Savior who gives me life now and in heaven. Thank you for dying for me and for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.
What if I Think I'm Not Good Enough For God to Accept Me?
The Bible gives us a significant number of examples of individuals who have made decisions in their life that were less than the best, but God loved them so much. One individual who is a great example of how much God wants us and loves us is David from the book of Psalms. He made some of the biggest bad decisions that most of us would think of - he had an affair with a married woman, she learned she was pregnant, and then he had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11). But he was considered a friend of God. How could that be? God wants us to be holy.
David had a heart that sought after God. He asked for forgiveness when he sinned (Psalm 51) against Uriah, Bathsheba's husband who he had killed. He loved to spend time with God (Psalm 63:1-8), and he called out to God in even the most difficult moments (Psalm 17:1-8 and Psalm 61) and then praised God for being there and chose to remain faithful. God loved him because they spent time together in prayer. David talked to God like a best friend.
There are many other examples of His love for us and His desire to have a relationship with us. Abraham, the Apostle Paul, Moses, and Peter are just a few examples of individuals that we can read about and see how much God loved them and used them in spite of their poor decision making, or impulsive decision making.
We are offered the same love and friendship from God. It doesn't matter what you have done in this lifetime, God loves you and only asks of you that you ask him to forgive you and to help you not repeat that (even though in our humanness, many times we fail at this miserably!) and then spend time learning how to be more like Jesus.
Don't be afraid to bring the things that bother you, shame you or make you feel so unworthy of love stop you from reaching out to the only true source of pure, unconditional love. We humans try to love each other, but we will still even unintentionally hurt each other at our best. God is not us and He loves in a way that we can't even fathom. God created us in His image - He loves us. You are made clean in Jesus because He died on the cross we talk about at Easter to give us hope and life. Reach out to Him - He loves you!
David had a heart that sought after God. He asked for forgiveness when he sinned (Psalm 51) against Uriah, Bathsheba's husband who he had killed. He loved to spend time with God (Psalm 63:1-8), and he called out to God in even the most difficult moments (Psalm 17:1-8 and Psalm 61) and then praised God for being there and chose to remain faithful. God loved him because they spent time together in prayer. David talked to God like a best friend.
There are many other examples of His love for us and His desire to have a relationship with us. Abraham, the Apostle Paul, Moses, and Peter are just a few examples of individuals that we can read about and see how much God loved them and used them in spite of their poor decision making, or impulsive decision making.
We are offered the same love and friendship from God. It doesn't matter what you have done in this lifetime, God loves you and only asks of you that you ask him to forgive you and to help you not repeat that (even though in our humanness, many times we fail at this miserably!) and then spend time learning how to be more like Jesus.
Don't be afraid to bring the things that bother you, shame you or make you feel so unworthy of love stop you from reaching out to the only true source of pure, unconditional love. We humans try to love each other, but we will still even unintentionally hurt each other at our best. God is not us and He loves in a way that we can't even fathom. God created us in His image - He loves us. You are made clean in Jesus because He died on the cross we talk about at Easter to give us hope and life. Reach out to Him - He loves you!