Guess what? God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you forever.

Your heavenly Father also has a special plan for your life. He gives us this promise in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, chapter 29 verse 11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” God created you to have a relationship with Him. He wants you to grow close to Him now and spend forever with Him in heaven after you die.

But one thing separates us from a relationship with God … sin. If you’ve ever done something wrong, then you know about sin. Sin is disobeying God and the Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all [that means us!] have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

Romans 6:23 explains that the punishment for sin is death—separation from God in hell forever. No matter how hard we try, we can’t save ourselves. We can’t earn our way to heaven by being good, going to church, or getting baptized. That’s the bad news.

But don’t worry! God loves us so much that He sent his only son, Jesus, to earth. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and then died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins (Romans 5:8). Three days later, He came back to life and now He lives in heaven.

In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” To reach God and live in heaven after you die, you must accept Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord.

To accept Jesus as your Savior, simply talk to God and admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead, and give Him control of your life.

Here is an example of a prayer that will help you know what to say:

Dear God, I know that I’m a sinner and that my sin separates me from You. I realize that I can’t do anything to earn my way into heaven. I believe that Jesus took the punishment for my sins by dying on the cross and coming back to life. I accept Him as my Savior and Lord. And I will try my best to please You all the days of my life. Thank You for forgiving me and saving me now. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you can be sure He heard you. The Bible says, “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). You have just begun a relationship with God and you will definitely spend eternity in heaven with Him!

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