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Free Gift!‘GOD’S WAY TO HEAVEN’ For God so loved (your name) the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that if (your name) whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life! John 3:16 Dear Friend, you’re not here by accident! You may have come to our site deliberately, searching for a place to worship, or out of curiosity, or you may have even found us accidentally. In any case you are looking at this page on our site with questions about what God says you must do to receive forgiveness, and have life everlasting with Him. First and foremost we want you to know GOD LOVES YOU with an unconditional love. His love for us is so great that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to die in our place and to take upon Himself all of our sins so we could come to Him by faith, repent (turn away from our sin) and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Nothing you have done or are doing will keep you from His love and His forgiveness except the rejection of His Son. Jesus shed His blood on the cross of Calvary so we could be restored unto God and not have to go to hell (a place prepared for satan and his demons). It is not God’s intention for anyone to go to hell; that is why He sent His Son, Jesus. By rejecting Christ WE HAVE MADE the decision where we will spend eternity. If you know you need to get right with God, it is He who is drawing you. His Word tells us in JOHN 6:44, spoken by Jesus “No one can come to me, unless the Father (God) who sent Me draws him……” What an awesome thought, God is drawing you to Himself!!!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! Come to Him just as you are!! You cannot and do not have to change to accept Christ. After you sincerely receive Him into your life then our Lord will begin to help you to change through the power of His Holy Spirit living in you. Below are scriptures from God’s Holy Word explaining why we all need our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. YOU MUST REALIZE THAT YOU ARE A SINNER “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) There is not one of us on this earth, other than Jesus Himself, who is without sin! WHERE DID SIN COME FROM? “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all have sinned”. (Romans 5:12) We all stand accountable for our own actions and sins before God, and must personally repent of them ourselves. No one can do it for us. We cannot blame or excuse away our sins because of someone else’s actions. GOD’S PAYMENT FOR SIN “For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord”. (Romans 6:23) When we sincerely repent of our sin and give our life to Christ we receive eternal life starting here on earth and continuing forever with God. GOD LOVES YOU! “…. while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly (very rarely) die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us….” (Romans 5: 6-8) You may die for someone you love, or even a friend, but would you die for someone who doesn’t like you, or is your enemy. That is exactly what Christ did for us. When we walk our own way and reject Christ we are against Him. Yet even today God gives everyone the opportunity to receive forgiveness and everlasting life by putting our trust in His Son, Jesus Christ; believing by faith He died for our sins and rose from the dead to assure us we too shall live forever with Him. GOD’S GREATEST DESIRE IS THAT YOU BE SAVED “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance”. (2 Peter 3:9) God is coming again someday, but right now, today, He is waiting patiently for anyone who will repent and accept His Son as Lord and Savior. It is important you understand that His love is so great for you that He sacrificed His own Son on a cruel cross so you could come to Him, be cleansed and have a relationship with Him. We were created for fellowship with God. That is why people have an empty place inside them that cannot be filled by the things, or even the people of this world. It is, if you will, a hole or void in our lives that only God can fill. You will never fill it with the empty and vain things of this world. HOW DO I CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD AND RECEIVE HIS FREE GIFT OF SALVATION? Jesus said “Truly, Truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God”. (John 3:3) You were born physically into this world and to be born again means a spiritual birth. You are born in the flesh and you are “born again” spiritually when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You become alive to Christ and start understanding the things of God. “Jesus said………..the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel”. (Mark 1:15) “………….unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. (Luke 13:3) Jesus loves us so much and makes it clear that we must turn away from, and change our mind about, our sin. Jesus is the gospel; He is the Good News, the Truth.. Jesus said “I am the way, and the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father (God), but through me”, The Gospel tells us who He is, why He came and what He did for us so that we could be restored to a right relationship with God our Father. “……..THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”; that is, the word of faith that we are preaching, “that 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 (mankind) believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation”. (Romans 10: 8-10) What a wonderful free gift from God!!! There is nothing you can do to receive this gift of grace; it is given to you freely from God when you call out to Him sincerely from your heart, repent of your sin and ask Christ into your life. “For by grace you have been saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast”. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Once we receive God’s salvation then this is who and what we are in Him. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ……. (Romans 8:16-17a) “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (deeds), which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”. (Ephesians 2:10) After you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, you receive His Holy Spirit who comes to live in you and helps you daily to walk in Him. He bears witness that you are now a child of God and entitled to all of His benefits as His children. Dear friend, this is a serious matter to consider. If we were standing before you we would pled with you not to wait. Won’t you right now ask Christ into your heart? God’s Word tells us …. “at the acceptable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you”; “behold, NOW is the acceptable time,” behold, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION”( 2 Corinthians 6:2) . No one is promised tomorrow! When you leave our site we pray you have made the decision to accept Christ. If you have not, then with love and concern we must tell you that you cannot stand before God one day and say you never heard of His saving grace through His son Jesus Christ. We all will give an account of our lives. Our prayer is that you accept Jesus now and receive the assurance of His love and forgiveness. Talk to Him; He is here and He will hear you if you are sincere in your heart. If you’re not sure what to say here is a suggested prayer. “Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believeYou died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in heaven for me. Jesus, I want to know you personally, come into my life; take control of my life; forgive my sins and save me. I am placing my trust in you alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life.” Amen If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please let us know. www.lakecarrollbaptist.org We want to rejoice with you in what God has done in your life and help you to grow spiritually. We are here to help you understand the love Jesus has offered you for free. We encourage you to get into His Word, start with the book of John and learn about your Lord. If you do not have a Bible, let us know. No matter where or who you are WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!! WHAT IF I’M STILL NOT SURE? If you are still hesitant to accept Christ, won’t you contact us? www.lakecarrollbaptist.org We want to be available for you, to answer any question(s) that may be on your heart and possibly is preventing you from making the decision for Christ. God loves you and is waiting for you. We are here to show you the love of God if you will allow us to do so. No matter where or who you are, we are HERE FOR YOU!! HERE IS A SUGGESTED PRAYER FOR YOU IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH UNBELIEF Dear God, if you are real and your Son truly died for my sins, please help my unbelief. There are so many religions and beliefs in this world today and it causes me to be confused as to what is the truth. Reveal to me the truth and place in my heart the desire to know you. Draw me to you so I may with confidence believe and accept by faith that you are the one true God and your Son is our Lord and Savior. Amen If you have a Bible we encourage you to read the book of John in the New Testament. If you do not have a Bible please let us know. As you read, continue to ask God to reveal the truth to you. The book of John tells you all about the life of Christ, what He did for you and why He came to earth and gave His life that you may live forever with Him. Visit us at www.lakecarrollbaptist.org, call (813) 933-5683, or write/visit us at: LAKE CARROLL BAPTIST CHURCH.12012 N. Rome Avenue.Tampa, Florida 33612 We have A PLACE FOR YOU, come GROW WITH US!
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