Cross Post <crosspost7@yahoo.com> wrote:
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>Do you believe in God?
>In the wake of the recent Columbine High School shootings Cassie
Recent? Huh?
>Bernall's story has been an encouragement to many. The following is
>written as Cassie might have told it.
>My name is Cassie Bernall. I was in the Columbine High School library,
>April 20, 1999, when two of my classmates held me and my friends hostage
>with their bullets, bombs, and terror. One of the gunmen thrust a gun
>into my face and asked, "Do you believe in God?"
>Before I tell you how I answered, please know that only two years before
>I had been dabbling with black magic.
>My parents were tipped off when they discovered some letters one of my
>friends had written to me. That's when they stepped in with tough love.
>They grounded me from my old friends, made me change schools, and
>insisted I go to church and youth group. Personally, I think they saved
>my life.
>At my youth group, I began to hear about God's love and forgiveness
>through His Son, Jesus Christ. I discovered that despite the terrible
>things I'd done or considered doing, Jesus had died for me. I decided I
>wanted to give my life to Him. Later I wrote this note:
>Now I have given up on everything else--I found it to be the only way to
>know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought Him to life
>again, and to find out what it really means to suffer and to die with
>Him. So, whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness
>of life of those who are alive from the dead."--Cassie Bernall
>It was in the Columbine library that I faced my moment of truth. With
>the gun pointed at my face, I'd been asked to choose between my old life
>and my new life in Christ with the question, "Do you believe in God?" I
>took a deep breath, then answered with a clear voice, "YES!"
>"Why?" the gunman asked. Before I could answer, he pulled the trigger,
>ending my life on earth. How glad I am I stood up for God with my YES!
>My death is in fact my answer to the gunman's final question, "Why?" For
>today I am with God. Nothing can take that away from me!
>Would you like to be able to say YES to Jesus, just as I did? Would you
>like to be able to say YES to knowing God has forgiven your sins; YES to
>knowing that you can someday, like me, be with Him for eternity?
>To say YES, first, recognize that you are a sinner. The Bible says, "For
>all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
>Who will bridge the distance between you and God? Jesus said, "I am the
>way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
>through me" (John 14:6).
>The good news is that Romans 10:9-11 says, "That if you confess with
>your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised
>him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you
>believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess
>and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will
>never be put to shame.'"
>Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart (Revelation 3:20). Now it is
>time to take a stand, to "no longer live for yourself, but for Christ"
>(2 Corinthians 5:15).
>Will you say YES and ask Him into your heart?
>Test your heart. Can you say YES to these five questions?
>Are you a sinner?
>Do you want forgiveness of sins?
>Do you believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and rose again?
>Are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ?
>Are you ready to invite Jesus Christ into your life and into your heart?
>If you can say YES to these five question, then simply say to Jesus: "I
>am a sinner, I want forgiveness for my sins. I believe Jesus died and
>rose again. I want to surrender my life to Christ. Jesus, please come
>into my heart. Amen."
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