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As a believer in Christ, do you sometimes feel as if Christ is far away from you? You love Him as your wonderful Savior, and you appreciate all He’s done for you. But does it seem as if your relationship with Him is objective rather than intimately personal? Do you wonder how you can have a closer relationship with the Lord?

To answer this question, we first need to see the nature of our relationship with the Lord Jesus. When we repented of our sins and believed in Jesus as our Savior, something remarkable took place in us that made our relationship with Christ profoundly personal and subjective. And it had everything to do with our human spirit and the divine Spirit being united together. As we’ll see, this union between us and the Lord is what makes Christ real, near, and available to us all the time.

Since this is such a great matter in the Bible, we can only discuss it briefly in this post. We’ll read crucial verses and insightful notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to help us see our union with the Lord and its significance for our Christian life.

God truly loves us. The Bible tells us that He took some tremendous steps in order to save us. As God’s children, we experience His help when we have difficulties and can come to Him with all our cares.

But knowing this, it’s possible for all our prayers to revolve around ourselves. We ask God for things we need, and even when it comes to God’s will, our prayer is usually, “God, what is Your will for me?” Somehow, we always end up at the center.

If we stop to consider that God is the One who created the heavens and earth and all mankind, we have to wonder why He did it. Could God have a goal in mind beyond simply caring for the details of our personal welfare?

The idea that God might want something for Himself may never have crossed our minds. After all, God is Almighty; He doesn’t lack anything.

Have you ever thought to ask God, “Is there something You want for Yourself?” In this post, we’ll read some key verses from Ephesians together with notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to help us find the answer to this question.

 
It seems increasingly rare to hear the word conscience nowadays. People simply decide what’s good and what’s bad according to their own views, and the conscience doesn’t seem to factor in at all. But God doesn’t want us to live that way, especially once we’re saved. After all, He created us with a conscience, which has a very important role in our lives both before and after we receive the Lord.

So it’s important for us to see what the Bible reveals about the conscience, and why having a good conscience is so crucial when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.

In this blog post, we’ll read some key verses and study notes from the Recovery Version on this important subject.

 
In a previous post, we saw that according to the Bible true Christian transformation isn’t brought about by an improvement in behavior, or by acting in a way we think is more Christ-like. Instead, it’s the result of God’s life operating and growing within us.

Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us we’re being transformed as we behold and reflect the Lord like a mirror. As we behold Him, more of Christ is infused into us, resulting in a spiritual “metabolic” process: our old, natural element is replaced with more of Christ, and we spontaneously live according to Him.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at 2 Corinthians 3 with help from notes from the New Testament Recovery Version to see the things that can hinder us from being able to behold the Lord and how we can deal with them.

 
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an essential tenet of our Christian faith. It’s only by the redeeming death of our Savior and His resurrection that we are justified before God and eternally saved.

Romans 4:25 makes this clear:

“Who [Jesus] was delivered for our offenses and was raised for our justification.”

But in addition to this, did you know that the Bible speaks of three wonderful things that happened when Jesus was resurrected from the dead?

In this post, we’ll read verses and helpful notes in the New Testament Recovery Version that reveal these three things. We hope this will give us a broader view of and deeper appreciation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 
In 2 Timothy 2:22 the apostle Paul gave this strong command:

“But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

This word is as urgently needed today as it was when it was written nearly two thousand years ago. In order to have a proper Christian life, we need to take this word to heart.

In this post, we’ll discuss what this verse means and how it applies to us with the help of other verses and notes in the New Testament Recovery Version.

 
Anyone considering the Bible in an objective way would conclude it’s an extraordinary book. It’s filled with fascinating stories and the riveting history of God’s people over many centuries. It also contains deeply moving poetry, words that are a source of profound comfort and wisdom, and passages that convey the highest standard of ethics and morality.

This is reason enough for anyone to read the Bible.

But we believers treasure the Bible for much more than those qualities alone. We treasure it as the very speaking of God.

In this post, we’ll discuss just seven of the many wonderful ways we benefit from reading the Bible. We’ll look at key verses and notes from the Recovery Version that present compelling reasons to read God’s Word regularly throughout our entire Christian life.

 
The question in this post’s title might seem odd to you. Most of us wouldn’t think of ourselves as being a vessel.

But if we want to know not only who God is but what His thought is concerning us, we must come to the Bible. It’s the Word of God that reveals God to us. And it also reveals that we human beings are created by God as vessels.

We’ll read some key verses, together with notes from the New Testament Recovery Version, that reveal this fundamental truth to us. Knowing the meaning and significance of being a vessel will greatly affect our Christian life.

 
At one time or another, we’ve all glanced at our cell phone only to see that the battery is in the red zone. It has so little power that it might run out completely while we’re on an urgent call, or cause us to miss an important email or message.

All too often, our Christian life can look like it’s in the “red zone.” The unending demands of day-to-day life, family, work, and financial woes wear us out. On top of that, we’re discouraged by our sins and failures, and we feel powerless to follow the Lord. It seems like we barely have enough “juice” to deal with everything in our lives. We’re perpetually in a state of “low battery,” on the verge of completely running out.

Feeling drained and weakened indicates we’re in need of more spiritual power. But how do we get it?

In this post, we’ll read some verses in Philippians and Ephesians, along with their insightful notes from the New Testament Recovery Version, to discover the source of power for our Christian life.

 
The Bible reveals that the depths of God’s love are unfathomable. We simply don’t have the ability to comprehend all the details of God’s great love for us.

But in this post, we’ll read just a few verses and notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to increase our appreciation of God’s love for us.

 
Imagine you haven’t eaten for a while; you’re hungry and weak from the lack of food. Suddenly, a delectable aroma floats by. It makes your mouth water, but simply smelling the aroma of food doesn’t satisfy you. You’re still as hungry as you were before.

Simply reading something in the Bible and being temporarily inspired is kind of like smelling a delectable aroma. It’s not that we don’t receive anything at all, but the inspiration quickly fades. Nothing solid actually “sticks to our ribs” or satisfies us inwardly. For that, we need to eat the Word of God.

“Eating” the Word of God may sound strange to us. But as we saw in a previous post, God gave us His Word to be food to us. It’s by eating the Word of God that we can be spiritually nourished and strengthened in our Christian life.

But to eat the Word of God, we must go deeper than simply reading it. So in this post, we’ll discuss how to eat the Word of God.

 
Prayer is a fundamental part of our Christian life. It’s how we contact God, converse with Him, and enjoy fellowship with Him. But have you ever considered that prayer is our spiritual breathing?

Today we’ll look at some key verses from the Bible to see what this means, and how we can practice this kind of prayer in our daily life.

 
Over the span of thousands of years, God gave us His precious Word. Now we have His complete revelation in our hands: the Bible. History tells us that the Bible has profoundly affected countless people throughout the centuries. It has served as a guide for how to live, and it has even been taught in schools as great literature.

But the Bible isn’t merely a book full of doctrines about God and the Christian faith, a work of literature, or a self-help manual telling us how to have a good life.

Actually, God’s intention in giving us His Word is that it would be our spiritual food to nourish us. How do we know? The Bible itself reveals this to us.

 
Have you ever wondered what spiritual growth is? As believers, we may have heard people mention spiritual or Christian growth. But what is Christian growth?

The matter of growth is a tremendous subject in the Bible. But in this post, we’ll look at a few key verses in the New Testament to get an overview of the growth that God desires to see in us believers.

The Bible tells us we believers have an excellent remedy that’s more than able to deal with the sins we commit: the blood of Jesus Christ.

When we first believed in Jesus as our Savior, God forgave us and washed us of our sins. This is because the blood Christ shed on the cross satisfied all God’s righteous demands that were upon us.

And the same is true after we’re saved. We’re forgiven of our sins not because of anything we can do but because of the precious blood of Jesus.

But have you ever wondered whether you were really forgiven after you sinned? Have you felt troubled by the fear that the stain of your sin would be with you forever?

To address this problem, we need to see the powerful effectiveness of the blood of Christ in dealing with our sins. For this, we need to know the truth from the Word of God regarding this matter. Then we’ll put our complete faith in the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Christ is truly precious, and the Bible reveals many marvelous aspects of what it does for us. In this post, we’ll focus on just four of these aspects by looking at verses and notes from the Recovery Version. This will fortify our faith in the blood of Jesus and its effectiveness for our whole Christian life.

 
Nowadays, it’s not unusual to hear someone described as being a “spiritual person.” But if you ask people what they mean, you’ll probably hear different things.

For instance, some would say a spiritual person acknowledges the existence of a higher power in the universe, which may or may not be defined as God. Others say spiritual people are those who cultivate their inner feelings and thoughts to love themselves, other people, and the planet. Some might say someone who is spiritual rejects materialistic values and engages in humanitarian works.

Many find it hard to define what they mean or what their view is based on.

But as those who believe in Jesus Christ, our definition should come from what God says in His Word. If we know the biblical meaning of what it is to be spiritual, we won’t spend time pursuing something that’s not according to God.

In this post, we’ll look at verses and read some notes from the New Testament Recovery Version to help us understand what being spiritual means according to God’s Word.

 
Many people are familiar with the precious words of Psalms 23 in the Old Testament about the Lord as our Shepherd. But did you know that the New Testament also shows us how Jesus is our Shepherd today?

Today we’ll read some verses and notes from the New Testament Recovery Version that reveal different aspects of what Jesus as our Shepherd did in the past to care for us and how He continues to shepherd us today.

 
Have you ever felt discouraged after you experienced a failure in your Christian life? Maybe you wondered why God let you fail, especially since He could have prevented you from making that mistake. After all, doesn’t God want us to have a good testimony as Christians?

In this post, we’ll explore why God sometimes lets us fail, and how our failures can actually help us grow in our Christian life.

Human beings need each other for camaraderie and mutual protection. The same is true for us believers; we need the support and companionship of other Christians. Whether we’re a new believer or we’ve been a Christian for a while, we all need spiritual companions.

 
When you read the Bible, you’ll notice that the Holy Spirit is mentioned in numerous verses. This, of course, is the divine Spirit of God. Many verses also mention the human spirit. As we saw in a previous post, our spirit, the deepest part of our being, was specially created by God with the ability to contact and receive Him.

In the post, we’ll look at three key verses in the New Testament that mention the two spirits—the Holy Spirit and the human spirit—together. We’ll also read notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to see what these verses reveal to us about our Christian experience.

 
The world today is full of troubles—wars, environmental crises, senseless violence, economic uncertainty, troubling new viruses, social upheaval. When you look at the chaos around the globe it can make you wonder, Does God have a plan? Why did He create everything? And if He does have a plan, how do we fit into it?

In this post, we’ll look at verses from both the Old and New Testaments, along with some key notes from the Recovery Version, to find the answers to these pressing questions.

 
As Christians, it’s crucial to know the central items of our faith. One of these key beliefs is the following:

God is eternally one, and this one God is eternally the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; yet the three, being distinct, are not separate.

This statement about the eternally one God being the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is profound. It’s impossible to cover this subject comprehensively in a single blog post. But since it’s essential for us to have a basic understanding of who God is, we’ll point out some important verses related to this crucial truth.

In the New Testament, all four Gospels give the account of the crucifixion of Jesus. But in John 19:31-34, details are recorded that don’t appear in the other three accounts:

“Then the Jews, since it was the day of preparation and so that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath day was a great Sabbath), requested of Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other man who had been crucified with Him. But coming to Jesus, when they saw that He had already died, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.”

The Roman soldiers routinely broke the legs of those they crucified to hasten their deaths. Since Jesus had already died, they left His legs unbroken. Yet one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, and out of His side came blood and water.

Why are these details about the piercing of Jesus’ side recorded only in the Gospel of John? Do they have a special meaning?

 
Have you ever felt like you didn’t know how to pray, or like you didn’t know the right words to say to God?

Throughout the years, thousands of books have been written on the subject of prayer. This great matter has many aspects. But in this post, we’ll discuss just one simple aspect of prayer: talking to God.

We’ll look at a few instances in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that can help shed light on this aspect of prayer.

In previous posts, we discussed the meaning of consecration, the basis and motivation for consecrating ourselves to God, and how to consecrate ourselves to the Lord.

In this post, we’ll take a look at a moving story of consecration recorded in the Bible about someone who loved the Lord Jesus and gave her all to Him. We’ll also read some notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to help us see how this story relates to us today.

 
In previous posts, we discussed the crucial significance of consecration for our Christian life. We saw that consecration means putting ourselves in the Lord’s hands and becoming a living sacrifice. We also saw that God’s purchase of us and His love for us are the basis and motivating power for us to give ourselves to Him.

In this post, we’ll discuss how to consecrate ourselves to the Lord and how we can live a life of consecration.

The Sermon on the Mount, the traditional name for what Jesus spoke in Matthew chapters 5-7, begins with nine blessings known as the Beatitudes. These blessings are full of rich meaning for our Christian life today.

In a previous post, we discussed the meaning of the very first blessing recorded in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

In this post, we’ll explore the meaning of another blessing. Matthew 5:8 says:

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Today we’ll read verses and notes from the New Testament Recovery Version to help us understand what it means to be pure in heart, and how this results in seeing God.

 
As believers in Christ, we all desire to be under His blessing. In Matthew 5, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Have you ever wondered what that means and how it applies to you?

In this post, we’ll take a close look at this phrase in the Bible. With the help of notes from the New Testament Recovery Version, we’ll dig into the meaning of being poor in spirit and see how it applies to us today.

Human beings are complicated. Each one of us is unique; we come from various backgrounds and have different personalities.

But with respect to how God created us, we’re actually all the same. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that we were all created with three parts—a spirit, a soul, and a body:

“And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In this post we’ll read an extremely helpful note on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version to help us understand these three parts.

In Matthew 6:6, the Lord Jesus said:

“But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

These words aren’t hard to understand, but we may find they’re much harder for us to put into practice.

The Lord Jesus said in Mark 12:30:

“And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.”

What does it mean to love the Lord from our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind, and our whole strength? Do we even have the ability to love Him with our whole being like this?

In this post, we’ll briefly discuss what it means to love God with our entire being using verses and notes from the New Testament Recovery Version.  

 
We may have heard the phrase “witness for Christ.” But what does it mean? Witnessing simply means telling others what we’ve personally experienced of the Lord Jesus.

For instance, when we received Jesus as our Savior, maybe we told our friends or family about our salvation experience and how wonderful it was. That was our witnessing to them.

Numerous verses in the New Testament tell us we should witness for our Lord and Savior so sinners can be brought to salvation. Let’s get into some of the reasons why we must witness.

 
The terms born again and regenerated are fairly familiar to many people and are usually associated with becoming a Christian.

But what does it mean to be born again? Does it mean to have a fresh start to live a moral life? If that’s the case, does a person who is already good, upright, and ethical even need to be born again?

In this post, we’ll look at what the Bible says about being born again.

Because the Lord Jesus died for our sins, when we believed in Him, we were forgiven and washed of all traces of our sins. We shouldn’t feel troubled by what we did or who we were before we were saved. We must be very clear about this.

But when we were saved, we also became a new person in the Lord with a new life. We were born again with the life of God. From that point on, we have a new life, and we should also have a new living.

If we continue to live the way we did before we were saved, the things of our past life will hold us back. To progress in our Christian walk, we need to put an end to our old way of life so we’re no longer under its influence.

So how do we do this?

 
When we consider how Jesus Christ loved us and gave Himself on the cross for us, we can’t help but love Him. We often want to do something for Him in return.

So we might ask the Lord questions like: “What do You want me to do for You?” and “How can I be useful to You?”

The problem with questions like these is that they suggest God created us primarily to do something for Him. But is that really why He created us? He already had a multitude of angels to serve Him. Why did God need to create mankind, if it was for the same purpose?

 
The name Jesus is a special name. It’s actually the most special name in the universe! Philippians 2:9 tells us that God highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on Him “the name which is above every name.”

In addition to Jesus, in the New Testament we can find many other names for our Lord that are rich in meaning and communicate a particular aspect of what He is to us.

In this post, we’ll cover five names for the Lord mentioned in the books of Matthew and John, using notes from the New Testament Recovery Version that explain their meaning. Taking a closer look at these names will increase our appreciation for this wonderful Person and help us know Him in a deeper way.

 
In a previous post, we discussed the meaning of consecration and how giving ourselves to God makes a tremendous difference in our Christian life and relationship with the Lord.

But knowing that we should hand ourselves over to the Lord may not be sufficient. We have to realize the underlying basis for our consecration to the Lord and the motivation for us to do so willingly. If we see these two things, our consecration will not be something we do reluctantly or half-heartedly merely because it’s good for us. Instead, it will be a sweet experience that will deepen our relationship with the Lord Jesus.

 
When we were saved, we were born again with the life of God. What a truly wonderful and joyous experience! But regeneration is only the beginning of our spiritual journey.

After we’re regenerated, the next step is to consecrate, or give ourselves to the Lord. In this post, we’ll look at the meaning of consecration, and why it’s a crucial step in our life-long journey with the Lord.

 
People all over the world have heard the story of Jesus’ birth. But have you ever wondered whether there’s more to the familiar story? Since the Bible records the birth of Jesus in detail, is there a deeper meaning to that event?

In this post, we’ll use verses and notes from the New Testament Recovery Version to see something of the significance of Jesus’ birth. Catching even a glimpse of its real meaning will increase our love for Jesus and uplift our worship of Him.

I’m a good person. I try to do right by others. Being kind and living a moral life is enough to please God. Right?

The Bible gives the account of a good, upright man and respected leader of his community named Nicodemus. We all would admire such a person. Yet this good man came to Jesus one night and said, “We know that you have come from God as a teacher.” He probably thought Jesus had a new teaching that would help him be an even better person. But instead of teaching Nicodemus how to be perfect, Jesus said something shocking to this moral man: “You must be born anew.”

Nicodemus was perplexed. What did Jesus mean—somehow return to his mother’s womb and be born a second time? Jesus explained, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

To be born anew isn’t to be born again in our physical body, our flesh; nor is it to convert to a religion, turn over a new leaf, or improve ourselves. In fact, in God’s eyes, the most moral person and the most immoral person have the same need: the life of God. To have the life of God, we must be born anew.

To be born anew is to be born of the Spirit of God in our spirit, the deepest part of our being. When God’s Spirit comes into us, we receive the life of God and we’re born of God. We become sons of God. Then, in addition to our human life, we have the highest, most wonderful life in the universe: the divine, eternal life of God.

Our behavior isn’t what’s important to God; it’s whether or not we have His life. Actually, our good behavior—however commendable—can never compensate for the fact that we’re sinful. The Bible tells us, “All have sinned.” So like Nicodemus, we may outwardly live an ethical life, but our inward nature is still sinful. God wants us to have His life, but He’s righteous and must judge sinners. So how can judged sinners receive the life of God?

The Bible tells us good news: God loves us and gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross as our Substitute. There, Jesus bore the sins of the whole world and was judged in our place. Because He died for us, we can be forgiven of our sins. But that’s not all. He resurrected from the dead and became the life-giving Spirit. Now, whoever believes in Him receives the eternal life of God.

God is calling you to be born anew. For this, you must repent—that is, turn from everything else to God—and confess you’re a sinner. You must believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Savior. You can be born anew right now by opening your heart and praying:

“Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. I repent of living my life without You, and I turn to You. I believe in You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and resurrecting from the dead. Lord, I open my spirit to receive You right now. Come into me so I can be born anew with Your life. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.”

If you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus, do visit our New Believers’ page.
You can read and share all of our gospel tracts here.

Have you ever thought, “There’s probably a God. But how can I know Him?”

The longing to know God is a common thread running throughout human history. The Bible tells us God wants us to know Him, even in a personal way. It recounts the story of a man named Paul, who around the year 50 A.D. came to Athens, the leading city of ancient Greece renowned for its culture and philosophy. The city was filled with objects of worship made by the Athenians, including an altar inscribed “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.” There, Paul boldly announced to them something they’d never heard before: Jesus and the resurrection.

Wanting to know more about this new teaching, the Athenians led Paul to the Areopagus, the place where serious matters were discussed. Paul had carefully observed the altar to an unknown God, so he declared: “What therefore you worship without knowing, this I announce to you.”

Paul told them God made the world and everything in it. God is the Creator. He’s the Lord, the owner, of heaven and earth who doesn’t dwell in a temple made with human hands. Instead, He’s the One who gives life and breath to all. Human life comes from Him, and human existence is sustained by Him. God is the source of all life.

Then, Paul declared that God made every nation dwelling on the face of the earth. God is the source of all humankind. Paul also said God set the times and boundaries of each nation’s existence so that people, no matter where they are, “might seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, even though He is not far from each one of us.”

Paul concluded: “God now charges all men everywhere to repent because He has set a day to judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has designated, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.” This man is Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind.

Jesus is the very God who became a man and lived on the earth. He was a perfect, sinless man, and at the same time, God Himself. He was a God-man. Jesus died on the cross to take away the sins of the world, and then He resurrected from the dead.

Jesus Christ in resurrection is now the life-giving Spirit. Like air, He is omnipresent. He’s here with you right now. Will God remain an unknown God to you? If you want to know Him, you must repent, that is, have a change in your thinking and turn from a life without God. You must turn to God, who is the Creator, the source of all life, and the Savior, Jesus Christ. If you repent, believe in Him, and call upon Him, He will forgive you of your sins and come into you. Simply pray:

“Lord Jesus, I turn to You. You are God, my Creator, and my Savior. Thank You for dying for my sins. I believe in You as the One who resurrected from the dead. Forgive me of my sins and come live in me. I receive You right now. Amen.”

If you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus, do visit our New Believers’ page.
You can read and share all of our gospel tracts here.

Who is Jesus? People have pondered this question for two thousand years.

“Jesus was the founder of a religion.” “Jesus was a great philosopher.” “Jesus was a social reformer.” “Jesus is a myth.” Who is Jesus, really?

To answer this question, we first have to understand why we exist. The Bible says God created us in His image so He could enter into us and be joined to us. By sharing His divine life with us, God would be everything to us, and we would express God. But before this could happen, Satan, God’s enemy, deceived man and caused him to doubt God. Mankind fell into sin and was separated from God.

But instead of giving up, the eternal God became a lowly man, Jesus. Jesus is the most wonderful person in the universe: He is the true God who became a real man, a God-man. 

During the thirty-three years Jesus lived on earth, He was perfect in word and deed. He was compassionate and tender, yet fearlessly bold and frank. Jesus spoke words with authority no one had ever spoken before—words like “I am the light of the world” and “I am the way and the reality and the life.” He cared for the rich, poor, strong, weak, young, old, educated, uneducated, moral, and immoral. Jesus reached every kind of person with His love. Like a shepherd seeking his lost sheep, Jesus came to seek mankind.

Loving us to the uttermost, Jesus suffered death by crucifixion, bearing the judgment of sin for the whole world. He died in our place to save us, however sinful and vile we may be, from the final judgment of sin: eternal death.

After dying for us, Jesus rose from the dead! Only He could say, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus Christ conquered death, and in resurrection, He became a life-giving Spirit. Like air, the Spirit is everywhere, ready to enter and give eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the very God who created you and became a man to bring you back to Himself. Jesus is the Redeemer and Savior who died for you so you could be forgiven of your sins and saved from eternal judgment. Jesus is now the Spirit who longs to come into you, live in you, and be everything to you. He wants to fill you with Himself and be the joy and meaning of your life.

You can know Jesus personally. If you turn to Him, believe in Him, and call upon His name, you will be saved. Accept Him as your Savior today by praying:

“Lord Jesus, I turn my heart to You. You are the true God. I believe in You. Thank You for loving me and dying for me. Forgive me of my sins. I accept You as my Savior. Lord Jesus, I open my heart to receive You. Come live in me and be everything to me. Amen.”

If you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus, do visit our New Believers’ page.
You can read and share all of our gospel tracts here.

Have you ever felt unsatisfied, let down, even inexplicably empty after you got what you thought would make you happy?

You’re not alone. This perplexing feeling has been known to strike even the most accomplished and wealthy people. In fact, King Solomon had it all—a kingdom, untold wealth, and profound wisdom—yet reflecting on his life, he concluded there was nothing new under the sun, and everything was vanity.

It’s as if something compels us to find the elusive missing piece that would bring lasting satisfaction. Though we may pursue successful careers, meaningful relationships, material possessions, even fun and entertainment, nothing cures that mysterious, empty feeling deep inside. Why do we feel this way? It turns out that to have this sensation is to be human.

The Bible tells us God created us in a certain way. He made us with a physical body, the visible part of our being that enables us to contact the material world. God also made us with a soul, an inward part that experiences things in the psychological realm, such as thoughts and emotions. Most of us are aware of these two parts of our being, yet the Bible reveals there’s even more to us than this.

First Thessalonians 5:23 says, “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete.” This tells us that besides a body and a soul, God made every human being with a third part: a spirit. This God-designed third part enables us to contact and receive God. Since God created our spirit to contain Him, without Him our deepest part is empty, and we can never be fully satisfied.

The famous French mathematician Blaise Pascal put it this way: “The infinite abyss in man can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.” Without God, true satisfaction eludes us; only God can satisfy the longing of our third part. When He comes into our spirit, He fills our deep emptiness with Himself. He becomes our real enjoyment, wealth, and meaning, and we’re finally and lastingly satisfied by the eternal, divine life of God.

God took some monumental steps to be able to enter our spirit. He became a man named Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect human life and then died to take away our sins. He was buried, and then He rose from the dead. When He resurrected, He became a life-giving Spirit, available anywhere to anyone.

Now He can live in you. He’s waiting for you to believe in Him and receive Him. You can be filled with God in your third part, your spirit, right now. Just turn your heart to God and pray:

“Lord Jesus, I confess I’m a sinner. Forgive me of all my sins. I believe in You. Thank You for dying for me. Come into my spirit and fill my emptiness with Yourself. I receive You. Thank You, Lord. Amen.”

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At a world-renowned American university, a professor routinely inquired on the first day of class, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Usually, students would flippantly say they’d ask God for money or other material things. But on one particular occasion, a student said, “I’d ask God, ‘What’s the purpose of my life?’”

This was just after the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, had killed thousands of people in one day. The entire nation was in shock and mourning.

Since that awful day, other horrific events have continued to take place, such as senseless acts of violence everywhere and devastating natural disasters. These dreadful, heartbreaking incidents make us suddenly realize how fragile and precious life is. Faced with the ephemeral nature of human existence, the big question lying dormant within us surfaces, demanding an answer: What’s the meaning of life? 

Maybe you haven’t asked yourself this kind of question lately. But if you were to take some time for quiet reflection, how would you answer the questions that really matter? For instance, what’s the point of living? Why are we here? The student who said he’d ask God about the purpose of his life isn’t alone in his perplexity.

Can you find the answer at today’s colleges and universities? With in-depth study, research, and inquiry, surely here you’ll unearth the purpose of your existence. Or will you?

Let’s consider this for a moment. College students today are presented with a mind-boggling array of philosophies, world religions, theories relating to mankind’s origins, and schools of thought concerning human existence. Yet more often than not, God and the Bible are eliminated from the discussion. Many regard God merely as a faulty human construct, and the Bible is routinely scorned as being archaic, fictional, and devoid of value or relevance in today’s society. On campus, it’s commonly either implied or explicitly stated that anyone who reads and believes the words of the Bible must be superstitious, ignorant, or intellectually weak. In such an atmosphere, who would want to be caught reading the Bible, or taking it seriously?

But don’t be fooled, for the Bible actually unlocks the mysteries of God, the universe, and our existence. Why not be daring and find out what it says?

If you read the Bible with an open heart, you’ll discover God loves all of humanity deeply. He’s the Almighty God who created the universe, including mankind, with a specific intention. Longing to share His eternal life with us and live in us, God created us in His own image and likeness to match Him. He also made us with a human spirit, which has the ability to receive Him. By being joined to us and living in us, God would be our very life and everything to us; by being filled with God and living with Him, we would spontaneously express Him. This is God’s purpose for humanity.

A glove is a good illustration of this. It’s made in the shape, or image, of a hand, with four fingers and a thumb. It matches a hand. You might put other things into a glove, but only a hand truly fits. When a hand gets into a glove, it fills the glove. Then as the hand moves, the glove moves, expressing the hand inside. A glove is made to contain a hand; without a hand, it’s meaningless.

Our empty being cries out to be filled. We try to fill ourselves with all kinds of things, but only God truly “fits.” No wonder relationships, studies, entertainment, or even adopting a worthy cause ultimately leave us feeling flat, aimless, and unfulfilled. Blaise Pascal, the famous French mathematician and physicist, said, “The infinite abyss in man can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.” Until God comes into our human spirit, we’re empty. We’re made to contain God; without Him, our lives are meaningless.

We also need to realize the Bible says all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Without exception, every human being is sinful; this sin is the source of all evil acts, both great and small, committed in the world. As sinners, we’re under God’s judgment, unable to approach Him. So are we doomed to remain empty, without God, and live a pointless existence?

The answer is an emphatic no. God never gave up on His plan for us. To solve the problem of sin, He, the eternal God, became a man, Jesus Christ, to live on earth and reach humanity. He was a person like no other; all His living, deeds, and words were perfect. After living a sinless life, Jesus was crucified, dying in our place to save us from eternal judgment. Because Jesus died for us, we can be forgiven and washed of our sins.

Jesus Christ not only died for us, but He also resurrected from the dead! He is now the life-giving Spirit, who is available everywhere for anyone to receive. He’s done everything to make this possible. If you turn to Him and believe in Him, He will save you, and He will come into you and fill your inner emptiness with Himself. He will be your joy, light, strength, comfort, love, peace, rest, and so much more. In a loving, mutual relationship with one another, He will fill you, and you will express Him. This is the God-designed purpose of human existence and the meaning of your life.

Jesus is waiting for you to open to Him. You can receive Him and thereby know the meaning of your life. Simply pray this prayer with a sincere heart:

“Lord Jesus, I turn to You. I confess I’m an empty sinner. Lord, I believe in You. Thank You for dying for me and for resurrecting from the dead. Lord, forgive me of all my sins. I accept You as my Savior. Lord Jesus, I receive You into my spirit. Come into me and live in me. Lord, fill me with Yourself, and make my life full of meaning. Amen.”

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As Jesus made His way through the throngs of people surrounding Him, He suddenly stopped and asked, “Who is the one who touched Me?”

Although it seemed obvious, His disciples answered that the crowds were pressing upon Him. But Jesus insisted, “Someone touched Me.” He was certain a particular person had touched Him, because at that moment, divine power had gone out of Him.

A woman stepped out of the crowd and confessed to Jesus that she had deliberately touched Him, and something wonderful had happened to her.

For twelve long years she had been suffering from an uncontrollable hemorrhage, year after year losing more blood. She had seen many physicians and spent all she had, but nothing helped. Then she heard about Jesus. Desperately making her way through the crowd, she came close to Him, believing that if she touched even the fringe of His garment, she would be healed. And when she touched Him, her flow of blood stopped. His divine power had been transfused into her. With tender lovingkindness, Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be well from your affliction.”

This story in the Bible portrays our real condition. We’re afflicted with a disease that inevitably issues in eternal death: the inward disease of sin. How much suffering and damage this sickness has caused us! Try as we might, we can’t get rid of it. Just like the woman in the story, the many “physicians” we resort to of philosophy, self-help programs, and other methods are ineffectual. We need Jesus to heal and save us.

In order to save us, God Himself became an approachable—even touchable—man, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to live among those sick with sin. Then He, the sinless One, died on the cross for our sins. The Bible says that Jesus’ redeeming death heals us of our affliction of sin.

Jesus also resurrected from the dead and became the life-giving Spirit to give us eternal life. The Lord Jesus is available here and now, able to enter into and live in anyone who repents and believes in Him.

But merely hearing about Jesus or being in the crowd milling around Him won’t save you. Like the woman, you must come to Jesus in faith, believing in all He did for you. Your sins will be forgiven, and He will impart His eternal life into you. You can touch Him in faith right now by praying this simple prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I need You. I’m a sinner. I believe in all You did for me on the cross. Thank You for dying for me to heal me of my sins. I receive You as my Savior. Come into me and give me Your eternal life. Amen.”

If you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus, do visit our New Believers’ page.
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Have you ever wondered, “Why do I have so much unrest? How can I have peace?” No matter what you do, the inner peace you yearn for seems unattainable. Everyone has felt this way, regardless of background, education, or social status.

The root of this unrest is that human beings are not at peace with God. Why is that? After all, God created us. He wanted to have a loving relationship with us. But Satan, God’s enemy, deceived and poisoned man with his sinful, evil nature. Mankind became sinful and, as a result, is fundamentally in conflict with God. In this condition, it’s impossible to have peace.

The Bible tells us we’re alienated from God and enemies in our mind because of our evil works. Every day, people reject God, profane Him, and act in opposition to Him. Some even daringly say, “There is no God.” Sin affects everyone, estranging them from God and making them God’s enemy.

You might think, “I’m not such a bad person,” but can anyone claim to have never had a sinful thought, spoken a lie, or done something they shouldn’t have? Or maybe you think that good deeds can offset sins. But the poison of sin automatically stains every thought, word, and action. The Bible tells us plainly, “There is none righteous, not even one.”

In order to have peace, you must be reconciled to God. But sins are an insurmountable barrier between mankind and God. In this matter, everyone is utterly helpless; no one can do anything to rid themselves of their sins.

But there’s good news! Because of His immense love, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. The Bible says, “God commends His own love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus bore the judgment for your sins and shed His blood to resolve the conflict between you and God. Because of His sacrifice, if you accept Jesus as your Savior, your sins will be forgiven and you’ll be reconciled to God. God will gladly welcome you and fill your heart with a deep peace and His eternal love.

You don’t have to remain in endless turmoil and unrest. You don’t have to be God’s enemy. He loves you and longs for you to be reconciled to Him. Jesus died to make this possible, but you must accept Him and what He did for you. Simply repent—that is, turn your heart to God. Confess your sins to Him and accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior by praying:

“Lord Jesus, I repent. I confess I’m a sinner. I’ve been Your enemy. Forgive me of my sins. Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me and dying on the cross for me. I receive You as my Savior right now. Thank You for reconciling me to God and bringing me peace with God. Amen.”

If you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus, do visit our New Believers’ page.
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How did I get here? The young man took a long look at his life. He was penniless, homeless, filthy, and starving. You would never know he’d once lived comfortably in his wealthy father’s house.

But he had left home, cut off his relationship with his father, squandered his inheritance on a life of sin, and ended up in a pitiful state. He finally came to his senses. As he honestly considered his situation, a deep feeling welled up in him: I need to go back to my father. But he was so ashamed. After all he’d done, he wondered whether his father would even want him as a son anymore. In desperation, he decided to return home, confess everything to his father, and beg to be a servant.

The son was unaware of the depth of his father’s love for him. Little did he know that his father had been longing for him, waiting and watching for his return. Even while the young man was still a long way off, his father spotted him and ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him affectionately.

Filthy and ragged, the repentant young man confessed his sinful life to his father and said, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But his father responded by clothing him with the best robe and then sacrificing a fattened calf to feed him. With rejoicing, he called for a feast, saying, “Let us eat and be merry, because this son of mine was dead and lives again; he was lost and has been found.”

This parable recorded in the Bible reveals God’s infinite and unchanging love for us. Like the wayward son, each of us will eventually come to the realization of our true situation: we’re lost and need to be found. We may feel too ashamed to come to God. But He longs for every one of us to come back to Him.

In God’s eyes, to be lost actually means you’re dead in your sins. To find you and make you alive, God became a sinless man named Jesus, who died on the cross for your sins. Because He suffered the judgment for your sins, you can now return to God. If you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ, you will be forgiven. Not only so, because Christ resurrected from the dead, you’ll also be made alive by receiving Him. Then you’ll no longer be lost; you’ll be found. You’ll no longer be dead; you’ll be a living son of God rejoicing together with Him.

God is loving and forgiving. He’s watching and waiting for you to come to Him. You can do this right now by praying this simple prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I’m lost. I’m dead in my sins. I need to be found. Thank You for coming to die for me on the cross. Thank You for resurrecting from the dead. I receive You right now. Come into me. Cleanse me and make me alive. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.”

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In the darkness of night, Jesus’ disciples struggled against a strong wind to row their boat across a churning sea.

Suddenly, amid the darkness, wind, and waves, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. They were frightened as He approached their boat. Then they heard Him say: “It is I. Do not be afraid.” Upon hearing these words, the disciples took Him into the boat. With Jesus in their boat, they immediately had peace, and the boat arrived at the land they had been rowing toward.

This account in the Bible vividly depicts our situation today with the all-too-familiar struggles of life. Most of us would admit that at times we feel as if we’re surrounded by problems. Difficulties with work, school, relationships, money, and health seem endless. Our troubles are like the churning of the sea, tossing us about and robbing us of peace.

We may put on a brave face, but inwardly we’re aching, worn out, and discouraged as we struggle with the problems that threaten to overwhelm us. But the good news to the disciples that night is good news to us today. In our situation of darkness and despair, Jesus speaks these words: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Without Jesus in our lives, we only have the struggle. We have no peace or rest. But how can we have Jesus, the One who gives real peace?

For this to be possible, Jesus, who is the Son of God, came into this troubled world and lived among mankind. He was full of loving compassion and sympathy for every kind of person. He fully understood the fallen human condition. To save us, He—the sinless One—was crucified for us, the sinners. He bore the full penalty for all of our sins and shed His own blood so we could be forgiven and saved from eternal judgment.

But this isn’t all. Jesus rose from the dead! In resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit who saves and gives eternal life to all who believe in Him.

The Lord Jesus has already done everything for you to be saved. Now He’s just waiting for you to take Him into your “boat,” that is, into your life. He wants to calm your fears and be with you on your life’s journey. He will give you a peace you’ve never known before, even amid the storm of life’s problems. Will you let Him in? Just turn to Him and open your heart to receive Him by praying:

“Lord Jesus, I need You! Thank You for coming as my Savior into this troubled world. Thank You for dying for me. Forgive me of all my sins. Lord Jesus, I believe in You. Come into me and fill me with peace. Be with me on my life’s journey. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.”

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“For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Written nearly two thousand years ago, these words in the Bible referred to certain Greeks who had rejected the word of Jesus Christ and His cross, dismissing it as foolishness. These Greeks prided themselves on their philosophy and ardently sought wisdom to understand the universe. But they couldn’t truly explain human nature, nor had they discovered the meaning of mankind’s existence.

The Bible reveals that God created man with the purpose of entering into man to be man’s life, enjoyment, and everything. As a result, man would be God’s expression. God and man would not be two separate entities, but joined together in a loving relationship.

But before this could happen, God’s enemy, Satan, stepped in and corrupted man with sin from the inside out. Mankind became thoroughly sinful in both deed and thought and completely separated from God. Mankind also became ignorant of God’s wonderful purpose for human beings.

Since then, humanity has struggled in vain to overcome the inward evil of sin, and to discover the purpose of human existence. But there’s good news. God wisely made a way of salvation to bring us back to Himself: Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.

To all outward appearances, Jesus was merely a good man who died an ignoble death by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman government. But Jesus was more than a good man; He was the Almighty God who humbled Himself to become a lowly man. He was without sin, yet He willingly bore the sins of every human being in His body on the cross. Jesus’ redemptive death saves us from sin.

After Jesus died for us on the cross, He resurrected from the dead. In resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit, who is available everywhere to everyone. When we receive Him, He comes to live in us, and our lives are filled with meaning.

Will you regard the word about Jesus and His cross as foolishness, even as you struggle with the problem of your sins and the emptiness of an existence without purpose? Or will you recognize the cross of Christ as God’s power to save you and bring you back to Himself?

The Lord Jesus and all He did on the cross can be yours. You simply need to receive Him. He’s waiting to come into you to save you and be the meaning of your human life. You can accept God’s way of salvation. Just open your heart to Him and pray:

“Lord Jesus, I accept the word of the cross. I confess I’m a sinner. Thank You for dying for my sins on the cross. Thank You for being God’s way of salvation for me. Lord Jesus, I open my heart to You. Come into me. I receive You as my Savior and the meaning of my life. Amen.”

If you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus, do visit our New Believers’ page.
You can read and share all of our gospel tracts here.

Most of us don’t like to think about death, let alone talk about it. It’s a frightening subject. But at one time or another we’ve all been touched by death, suffering the loss of a relative, friend, neighbor, or someone else in our lives.

Though we try to prolong life, no one can escape death. When death’s final summons comes, everyone—rich or poor, strong or weak, well-known or unknown—must surrender.

Death is frightening not only in its inevitability and power, but also in its mysteriousness. What happens when we die? What awaits us in the great unknown after that? The Bible aptly says that all our life long, we’re held in slavery by the fear of death.

Yet our loving Creator, the living God, didn’t intend for us to die.

Then where did death come from? Death is the consequence of sin. God created man because He wanted to share His eternal life with man. But before man could receive the life of God, Satan deceived and poisoned man with his sinful nature. As a result, our human spirit, created to contact and receive God, became deadened; our human soul, especially our mind, became an enemy to God; and our human body, created by God as a pure vessel, became polluted with sin, doomed to physically die.

Physical death, though, isn’t the end. The Bible tells us that it is reserved for men to die once, and after this comes judgment. What will we be judged for? Most importantly, we’ll be judged based on whether or not we’ve believed in Jesus Christ, the One who died for our sins and overcame death to free us from its power. If we do not believe in Him, we face the second death, which is to perish in the lake of fire in eternal torment.

Who is this Jesus Christ in whom we must believe? Jesus is the very God who became a man of flesh and blood. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross for all of us sinners. Then three days after being crucified, He resurrected from the dead. He defeated the power of death! By dying for us, He solved the problem of our sins; by resurrecting from the dead, He broke the power death had over us.

Christ is living now and forever. In resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit, who is now available to everyone, everywhere. As the Spirit, He can come into us with His victorious, death-conquering life. When we receive the resurrected Christ by believing in Him, He makes our spirit alive with His eternal life today, and He delivers us from the second, eternal death in the future.

The Lord Jesus wants to free you from the fear of death and give you the hope of eternal life. Just open your heart and pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I believe You died for my sins on the cross and resurrected from the dead. Thank You for overcoming death and coming to give me eternal life. I receive You as my Savior right now. Come into me, Lord! Amen.”

If you prayed to receive the Lord Jesus, do visit our New Believers’ page.
You can read and share all of our gospel tracts here.