Got Jesus?

You’ve probably heard the famous commercial that asks the question: "got milk?" Well, today I come before you to ask you a much more important question: "got Jesus?" Now, maybe thinking about religion is the last thing you’d want to spend your time on. Maybe you’ve been hurt in the past by people who claimed to be religious, maybe you have questions about God, or maybe you wonder why you even need Him. Well, what I hope to show you today is not a religion or any set of rules, but rather a loving God who cares about you and forgives.

Maybe you’re reading this today and you wonder how anyone could love you because of the things you’ve done, or maybe you feel like Christianity is for weak and you want nothing to do with it, or maybe the only thing you know about God is what you learn from that church that your parents make you go to, or... well, the list goes on. Regardless of your background though, this much remains true: God has been seeking you out ever since your first breath and He wants you to come to Him in order that you can have life... and have it to the full.

Have you ever sought after something that you thought would make you so happy only to find out that is wasn’t as great as it appeared? I know I have. I spent a good portion of my life looking for something to fulfill me. No matter where I turned though, I found that the thing that I pursued only left me feeling empty inside. It seemed like a dead end. I knew that there had to be something more to life than chasing every temporary high that came my way, but I didn’t know what that something was. Was I looking in all the wrong places, or could it be that nothing on this earth could ever satisfy me?

I came to the end of my rope when I realized that everything I tried only left me feeling lonelier, emptier, and more worthless than ever before. So what did I do? Well, I cried out to God to help me and He answered my prayer. I finally realized that the reason I couldn’t find fulfillment on this earth was because I was made for another world. I was created and designed to be made complete in Christ and in Christ alone. Just as a car is made to run off of petrol, I was made to run off of Jesus. He is my best friend now and He’s never once left my side.

I’ve said all the above to let you know this: God is crazy about you and wants to be with you. He sent His only Son so that sin could no longer separate us from Him. This is what Jesus said in John 5:24 - "I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life." And if you want to invite Christ into your life, all you have to do is call out to Him and believe that He is who He said He is. No matter where you’ve been, what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you, God’s love for you still remains and nothing can separate you from that love.

If you’d like to talk to somebody one on one about accepting Jesus as your personal savior, please visit www.teenhopeline.com or call The HopeLine at 1-800-394-HOPE. TeenHopeLine is open from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The HopeLine is open from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Sunday.

If you are in or near Colorado Springs and would like to talk to someone about accepting Jesus as your personal savior, please call 719-495-2420 and ask to talk to Bill White, our youth pastor. Bill's usually in or near his office Sunday from 7:30am to 2:00pm, Monday and Thursday from 5:45am to 1:00pm, Tuesday and Wednesday from 2:00pm to 9:00pm. You can also e-mail Bill at bill@blackforestchapel.org, or call and leave a message on our phone at any time.