WHY ENCOUNTER

Why am I on this earth? Where am I going? Why do things happen the way they do?

Creation story (Genesis 1)

The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all its people belong to him (Psa 24:1 NLT). When God began creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was at first a shapeless, chaotic mass. He made everything by the command of His voice. God declared that there be light and divided light from darkness. He called the light ‘daytime’ and darkness ‘nighttime’. Together they formed the first day. Then God separated the vapors to form the sky above and the oceans below. This all happened on the second day. Then He gathered the water into oceans and the dry land emerged.

He clothed the earth with every sort of grass and seed‐bearing plant, and fruit trees with seeds inside the fruit to reproduce more! This occurred on the third day. Then God placed the sun, moon and galaxies of stars in the sky to give light to the earth and to identify the day and night; they brought about the seasons on the earth and marked the days and years. This all happened
on the fourth day.

Then God caused the waters to teem with fish and other life and filled the skies with birds of every kind. This ended the fifth day. On the sixth day, the earth brought forth every sort of animal – cattle, reptiles and wildlife – at God’s command. Then God made man and woman. God blessed them all and reflected on all that He had made and was pleased.

God made the earth for people (GENESIS 2)

God created man to be the master of all life upon the earth, in the skies and in the seas. And God modelled man after Himself. The Lord God formed the man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. Thus man became a living person. And God saw that it wouldn’t be good for man to be alone, so He created a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs. She too was created in the image of God.

Adam became very excited when he saw the woman. Because she was created from his own flesh and bone, he called her “woman.” She met his deepest needs. And God blessed them and told them to multiply and fill the earth and to subdue it, for He had made them masters over every living thing. At last, on the conclusion of the sixth day, when the heavens and the earth were successfully completed with all that they contained, God ceased from His work. God rested on the seventh day and declared it Holy.

nature is god’s handYword

…They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God (Romans 1:19-20).

It’s a world of land and seas: majestic towering mountains, fertile plains, crystal clear lakes and streams, tropical rain forests, scorching deserts and icy polar caps. These combine to make this planet a wide spectrum
of contrasts. Add to this the magnificent expanse of our solar system, the incredible grandeur of a thousand galaxies, and you begin to get a small glimpse of the awesomeness of our God. All the wonders of our world portray the beauty of nature — the reflection of God’s personality.

so, why do you need god?

Ok let’s get personal, why do YOU need God? If people were created to live in a personal relationship with God, and if God is so incredible and powerful, why are there so many people living without Him? Take a closer look at our history. God designed the human race to live in an unspoiled loving relationship with Him.

He’s Creator of the whole Universe- we’re His kids! You can’t get much more personal than that. Except, a major problem came up. God loved Adam and Eve and out of His love, gave them instructions about how to live. Instead they disobeyed and ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was a choice that cost them everything that God had given them. As a result of their mistake, everyone is born in sin. It’s like all people are born on this huge mountain called sin and God is thousands of miles away on another mountain called holiness or Heaven, and there’s this massive valley in between that no one can cross.

Ok! I hear you – You’re thinking, “This is ridiculous! I don’t know who you think you are telling me this stuff! Don’t tell me I have a sin problem. I’m just fine, thank you!” Maybe you think that if Adam and Eve are the ones who disobeyed God – that was THEIR problem. Why should everyone else in the whole human race have to pay the price? But, think about it. Sin is ANYTHING people say, think or do that ISN’T what God would say, think or do. There are so many examples, like let’s say I yell at someone, think badly about them, or just decide I don’t want to clean my room. What would God have done in these situations? The opposite! God would have spoken kindly, thought nicely about someone else, and He’d have cleaned up the messy room.

Now you’re thinking, “Yeah, right! How can ANYONE be like God and always say, think and do things perfectly? It’s out of the question.” You got it (Romans 3:23)! Our Heavenly Dad knew all along He’d need to put a plan in place to rescue us!

GOD’s amazing plan

“I don’t get it. I’d really like to know why there’s so much hype about Christmas. Every year, it seems like the same old story – half‐crazy shoppers running around shops and malls. Seems likes its all about spending money to try to make an impression. Then you top it off with singing carols, tree‐decorating and all this excitement over a baby born in a manger 2000 years ago. I don’t get it. What’s the deal?”

Here’s the astonishing Good News! Christmas IS all about giving. But it started with God, not us. Christmas is about God giving us the most precious and costly gift we could ever receive – Jesus, His only Son. For God had so much love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him won’t come to destruction but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Loads of facts about God’s plan and Jesus coming to rescue us from sin can be researched in the Bible and Old Testament. It’s mind‐boggling, because hundreds of years before Jesus came, the prophet Isaiah predicted it, and all of the prophecies came true (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-9, 11-12, and much more)! God sent Jesus to teach us how to live again in a right relationship with Him and to be free from the results of sin in our lives. God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). All we have to do is believe in Jesus and we receive God’s love, forgiveness and power to live life the way He wants us to here on earth. Plus, we receive the most extraordinary gift ever, the promise of life in Heaven forever after we die. That’s the BEST news ever! However, like any news story, there’s more to find out.

WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE?

He was wounded and bruised for our sins. Isaiah 53:5

Isn’t it something how we want to find a hero? Nothing wrong with it, but it can get out of hand and that’s exactly what happened to Jesus when He came. Sure, He came as a servant, a regular boy, born from an ordinary young woman, in a humble town, but some people were expecting someone different, like a powerful political leader who could save them from their country’s military rule and oppression.

So, when they found out that Jesus came to teach the Good News about how to live a full life through His love, and when they saw Him heal the sick, the lame, the blind, feed the hungry and even raise the dead, well you’d think that might have made them jump up and down for joy! Lots of people did! Many believed He was God’s Son. So what went wrong? What happened next seems unbelievable, but they ended up killing Jesus, nailing him to a Cross, where He died an agonizing death.

“What? Who killed Jesus?” you ask.
WE ALL DID.
“No way! That’s impossible. What do you mean?” Our sins did it. The sins of all mankind, nailed Jesus to the Cross. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). But don’t worry, the story didn’t end there. Something phenomenal happened a few days later…

ALIVE!

Resurrection! Life from death. Like a butterfly emerging from a dark cocoon, Jesus predicted and told his disciples that God’s power would raise Him from death and the tomb to NEW life. From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead (Matthew 16:21).

At first they didn’t get it. His disciples were astounded when He appeared to them. Jesus was alive! God’s greatest miracle of all had happened! Many people saw Jesus after He returned to life. Some of His disciples even ate fish with Him on a beach (Matthew 28,Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20)! Later, people saw Jesus lifted up to Heaven; but just as He promised, He sent His Spirit to lead and guide us here on Earth until we’re with Him in Heaven.

WHy choose jesus?

When making any choice, it’s foolish not to think about the outcome. So what’s the worst that can happen if you don’t choose Jesus? God says it’s real serious: You remain a slave to sin and are separated from His love forever. Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living (Romans 6:16).

“Okay, so maybe God could make a difference in my life. But you don’t realize how much I’ve been through. I’ve sinned and blown it big time! How can God possibly accept me?” There are not limits on God’s love. God’s love is given freely, no strings attached. Actually, He loved YOU long before you ever even thought about Him (1 John 4:19); but you were separated because of sin. God accepts YOU because Jesus paid the price for all sins, past, present and future. All He wants is for you to freely come to Him, trusting in His love for you. He wants you to tell Him how you messed up and are truly sorry, and that you want His forgiveness.

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will not die but have everlasting life (John 11:25).

what’s next

Do YOU want to accept the free gift of love offered in Jesus? The following is the salvation prayer, by which you’ll join God’s family and have a lifetime of living for Him ahead of you. He’s cheering you on!

Dear Heavenly Father: I admit that I am a sinner. I want to accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour. Please forgive my sins and send me your Holy Spirit to give me the strength and power to live for you. Lord, direct every step of my life. Help me to read my Bible, which is your love letter to me. Help me to take time to pray. Help me to be a godly example to family, friends and others. Thank You for filling my heart with Jesus’ love forever.

When you become a Christian, you become a brand new person inside. You’re not the same anymore. A new life has begun (2 Corinthians 5:17)! Next steps? Start GROWING with God! Read your Bible, pray, fellowship with other believers, and attend a Bible-believing church.