Dear Friend,

What is the most important question you will ever face? That crucial question is this: Where will you spend eternity? Life is brief, but eternity is forever.

God loves you with infinite love, and wants you to live eternally with Him. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

But there is a problem. God is perfect holiness and righteousness, so He cannot tolerate sin in His presence and must punish it where it is found. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) And “the wages of sin is death [eternal separation from God] . . . .” (Romans 6:23)

But God, before the ages began, and in order to display His grace and glory, had already decreed that grace would come to us in Christ Jesus. God’s righteousness, justice, and love came together on the cross, where “God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

That’s right! God’s Son, Jesus Christ, became a man, took our place, and paid the penalty of our sin for us. “The LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

After bearing our sins and dying on the cross, Jesus rose from the dead to give us eternal life. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures . . . and He was buried . . . and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” (I Corinthians 15:3-4)

We cannot buy, earn, or deserve God’s salvation. It is a gift! We receive it only by faith, by trusting Him for it. That’s why God calls it grace – unmerited favor. “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) When a child is rescued from the flames of a fire, he doesn’t do anything. He just clings to the fireman who is saving his life.

The answer to that most important question of life is – Jesus! God has promised to give eternal life to all who truly trust in Jesus. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” (John 3:36) To believe is to trust, or lean upon Christ Jesus – in other words, to give up self-reliance and to rely on the Lord Jesus like the child in the fireman’s arms.

Dear Friend, will you believe in Jesus?

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

At Woodland, our deepest hope is that you will trust Christ for salvation so that you may enjoy eternity with Him.