God created us to be in a loving relationship with Him. And so in the beginning, He placed us in a perfect world that He had created for us. There was no war, no injustice, and no sickness. Everything was complete and whole. Mankind lived in peace and harmony with God and with each other, and we were given a free will. We had the choice to love Him back or to choose our own way.

• So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. - 1 John 4:16

• You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. - Psalm 16:11

Unfortunately, mankind has decided to go our own way and have turned away from God and His ways. We no longer experience God's love because we ignore Him. We choose to do our own thing, which is to live apart from His will. We have rebelled against Him and have chosen to carve our own path. Instead of being able to live in peace and harmony with one another, we now experience lies, hate, jealousy, sickness and war - the fruit of our own choices. A far worse problem is that the relationship between God and man is broken and we cannot restore that original connection to God.

So now we search for meaning, fulfillment, inner peace and purpose everywhere else but from the one true source of life and meaning - the ONE who created us.

• There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away,

• they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. - Romans 3:10

• For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23

• But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. - Isaiah 59:2 

• "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." - Jeremiah 2:13

Our sin and our selfish actions do not stop God from loving us. He chose to bridge that divide, the gulf that stood between us and Him. So He even became a human being in Jesus Christ and gave His life for us. He took on the punishment for our sins, which have separated us from Him, a holy God. Jesus lived a sinless life and died a cruel death on the cross. He took our place for our sins, He payed the price for our rebellion. And on the third day He rose from the dead. His victory over sin and death has made the way for us to come back into a loving and personal relationship with God. Through faith in Him we can experience God's love daily,  experience a process of restoration and transformation, discover our purpose here on earth, and have eternal life after death. We get to live with Him forever! 

• 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:16-17

• Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. - 1 Peter 3:18a

• Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6

Our own good deeds and our own efforts will never be enough, will never be able to restore our relationship to God. God has already done everything to show us how much He loves us and desires to commune with us. But there is only one way back to Him: We have to turn to Jesus and accept His provision. We must turn from our sinful, rebellious ways and turn to God. 

Through Jesus Christ He offers us a rich and abiding relationship here and now, and eternal life. His invitation and open arms are ready for you to leave behind your self-directed ways and begin to follow Him. 

We must each respond to Him by placing our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We don't earn our way back, He made the way possible and offers it to us as a free gift. All we have do is trust and enter in. HE promises to lead us, guide us, and helps us. He is the one who will restore and transform us on the inside, as we step into trusting obedience and intimate relationship with Him. 

Will you choose to follow Jesus?  

• Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. - John 1:12-13

• ...If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved... for "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Romans 10:9,13

• For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

• He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. - Titus 3:5