“Has anyone ever told you why the story of Jesus is called good news?”<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\nShe said, “No”.<\/p>\n
“Can I tell you?”<\/p>\n
“Sure!”<\/p>\n
“Well, the story goes like this…”<\/p>\n
In the beginning, God made everything. The world, the galaxies, people. Everything.<\/em><\/p>\nGod and people had a close relationship. And there was no evil in the world.<\/em><\/p>\nBut one of God\u2019s created beings rebelled against God. He was called satan.<\/em><\/p>\nHe tricked the first people into turning from God and aligning their will with his.<\/em><\/p>\nAs a result, people\u2019s close connection with God was severed.<\/em><\/p>\nEvil started increasing\u00a0in the world.<\/em><\/p>\nWhat are some examples of evil you see in the world today?<\/em><\/p>\nKizzy: “Killing, stealing, adultery\u2026”<\/p>\n
Yeah, totally. It\u2019s not hard to find examples of evil. That\u2019s not the kind of world God envisioned when He created it. Anyway\u2026<\/em><\/p>\nPeople retained a distant memory of the existence of God, but we lost our close connection to him.<\/em><\/p>\nBut God didn\u2019t give up on people. He still loved us. God loved the world so much, that at just the right time in history, God visited us. He became a human being in the form of Jesus.<\/em><\/p>\nHe was a very special\u00a0baby because he didn’t have any\u00a0influence of evil within him. He was born supernaturally from a woman named Mary who was a virgin. So he was literally called the \u201cSon of God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nWhen Jesus was on the earth, he loved unlike anyone had ever loved. <\/em><\/p>\nHe spoke unlike anyone had ever spoke. <\/em><\/p>\nHe healed the sick. He cast out demons. <\/em><\/p>\nJesus\u00a0told us that\u00a0God was building an eternal kingdom. It’s starting on the earth and would grow to last for all eternity.<\/em><\/p>\nJesus showed us\u00a0what God was really like \u2013 a loving Father who wanted to bring people back into a loving, close connection with himself.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nBut evil people rejected Jesus.\u00a0Though he had done nothing wrong, they killed him.<\/em><\/p>\nHe told his followers before he died exactly what would happen. He told them he was actually sacrificing his life to show people how much God loved them. But Jesus was SO powerful, that even death couldn\u2019t stop him. After three days, Jesus came back to life!<\/em><\/p>\nHe then went\u00a0up to heaven, promising that one day he would return. Right before he left,\u00a0he told his followers to go into all the world \u2013 to every single family and ethnic group and tell this story. For everyone who believes this story, Jesus promises them three amazing gifts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n- You\u2019ll be forgiven of every evil thing you\u2019ve ever done.<\/em><\/li>\n
- Just like Jesus was raised from the dead, you\u2019ll receive eternal life after you die and live with Jesus forever.<\/em><\/li>\n
- You get to start life over in a new relationship with God, where He\u00a0becomes your father \u2013 a good dad. He will guide you through the seasons of your life.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
So, that\u2019s the good news of Jesus. I heard this good news when I was 20 and it absolutely changed my life. I’ve been telling this story everywhere I go so others can experience it, too.<\/em><\/p>\nWould you like to believe this good news and receive these three amazing gifts from Jesus?<\/em><\/p>\nKizzy\u00a0said she wanted to follow Jesus.\u00a0She started crying.<\/p>\n
We led her in a prayer to repent (repent means to “change your mind” about God, your life, your past, present, future — everything) and believe in Jesus.<\/p>\n
She said, “Wow! I feel it! I feel different!”<\/p>\n
A beautiful\u00a0smile spread across her face.<\/p>\n
But\u00a0Jesus was just warming up.<\/p>\n
I asked her,<\/p>\n