Spiritual Fitness: The Most Important Giving Your Life to God The tougher your situation gets, the more you will need strength from beyond yourself. Paying attention to your spiritual fitness is the only way to be truly "free." The Bible is God's guidebook for life and is the best ongoing source of help and guidance. Begin a personal relationship with God, the most important decision you will ever make. Not much is offered to us with no strings attached. But God's love comes that way. "I love you with a love that will last forever," God tells us in Jeremiah 31:3. And nothing is able to separate us from that love (Romans 8:39). Sadly, most people never experience that love. The reason is sin. "All people have sinned and are not good enough for God's glory," Romans 3:23 tells us. It's not a question of the good deeds weighing more than bad deeds. It's not an issue of living a better life than the guy in the next cell. Compared to God, we all fall short of what we should be. And that cuts us off from feeling His love and purpose in our lives. But God's love never quits. And out of that love He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins through His death on the cross. Then, to prove to the world that He could break the power of sin, God raised Jesus from the dead. God loves each one of us. We can be saved from God's punishment and from the power of sin in our lives. It requires accepting Jesus as our Savior from sin and as Lord of our lives, realizing that we can never be "good enough" without Him. Salvation is nothing we can earn. It's free to us, but costly to God. It cost the life of Jesus. But it costs us nothing, except maybe our pride. If you want to know the love and freedom that only Jesus can give, pray a prayer something like this: "Heavenly Father, I want to experience Your love and freedom. The Bible says that if I accept Jesus as mv Lord and believe in m,v heart that You raised Him from the dead, I will be saved. I believe that You are God and that by Your power You can forgive me and make me a whole person inside. I believe that by that same power You can give me peace. Forgive me for anything that I have done that was against Your will. Things I have thought, things I have said, things I have done. I accept Jesus as my Savior. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for forgiving me. And thank You for giving me eternal life. Now please guide me in mv new Christian walk. Amen." Welcome to God's forever family! You have just made the most important decision anyone ever could make. Follow-up Steps 1. Get a Bible and read the following verses to confirm what you have just done: John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." John 6:37 - "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." I John 1:8,9 - "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:10-13 - "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has his testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son." 2. Find a friend and share with him or her. Find a Bible believing church and get involved. You'll find the support you need to face life's challenges. 3. Talk to God every day and read your Bible faithfully. Good books to start reading are the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament and the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. You'll find plenty to think about and apply to your life!