Do you know how to receive Jesus in your heart? (archived edition pt. IV )

Today's reading: "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

God deals with each of our lives differently according to how we are receptive to Him. But the one thing every person has in common when becoming a Christian, it is coming to Jesus in faith. Faith is a type of trusting expectation of something that is do be done, but has yet to happen. Our faith in Christ is the belief and hope in the promise of salvation, an eternal relationship with Jesus in heaven. It involves recognizing that we are sinful before God, who is holy. It means saying that we are sorry (genuinely) for not having lived our life in a way that is pleasing to Him, ( we can only please God by being obedient to the truth, this involves loving Him first, and loving others.) Also, becoming a Christian means taking yourself off the throne of your heart. Imagine you being in charge of everything you do. Do things go smoothly all of the time? Or, do things go wrong from time to time?

Being a Christian means stepping down from your life and letting Jesus be in charge. You can do this by asking Him to be in control. It might seem a little frightening, at first, surrendering your life over to a God you cannot see, but, it is with that belief of faith that things are going to change for the better, that Jesus is going to give you a new heart, and your life will change. Turn away from your old self (repentance) and let Jesus in to your heart. Let him be the king in your heart. Let Him guide your ways. In the New Testament it says that you won't be put to shame.

It is not enough to believe intellectually, although we need a certain amount of knowledge to make decisions. It is not enough to have an emotional experience because our hearts can certainly deceive us.  By believing in Jesus through faith it is an act of one's will. I am just reiterating what I mentioned above.

If you haven't yet received Jesus in your life and you would like to do so, you just need to pray a simple prayer asking Jesus to make Himself real to you, and ask for the forgiveness of your sins, and let Jesus be your Lord and Savior. Praying is talking with God. He hears every word. When you come to Him through prayer you have to believe that He will do what He says He will do. He will forgive you. (see 1 John 1:9)--

Here is that simple prayer- 

Lord Jesus, I need You. I recognize that I have led a sinful life, that my life is lost without you in it. I realize that I need you, and I need forgiveness of sin, and I want to have a new heart. I want to have a relationship with you. Please forgive me. I believe You are who You say that You are, and I open the door of my heart to You and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take charge of my life and dwell on the throne of my heart. Make me the kind of person that You want me to be. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.