If you already know the saving love of Jesus Christ, then you know the freedom, grace, peace, and hope that comes from knowing forgiveness. You know that God is real. You know that God has a plan, and that in His beautiful plan there is a unique reason that He created you. You know that life is not always perfect. You know that bad things can and do happen, but when the bad happens there is a loving God who you call Father, and you know to run into His arms for comfort. Those of us that work with Camp Monty hope and pray that you have that peace that can only come from knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
If you spend one day at Camp Monty and in the city of Niksic, Montenegro, you learn quickly that this incredible community has little knowledge of a God who Loves them. In this area of the world, the Bible is taught to them like Greek and Roman myths are taught to children in America. They have no concept of a God who loves them so much that He would come to earth just to die so that they could know Him deeply.
That is why we go.
They need to know. We need to go.
God sent us Jesus, His Son, so that we have the revelation of God’s love and sacrifice that saves us from God's righteous judgment. Without the forgiveness of Jesus, we would not have a way a way to get to God.
The Bible says that we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23). This means that we have all offended God. We have all broken His laws and are therefore guilty. Because of this, we are separated from God (Isaiah 59:2), are dead in our sins (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:3), cannot come to God on our own apart from Jesus (Rom. 3:10-11). Without the forgiveness that can only come through Jesus we would suffer through eternity apart from Him in a place called Hell (2 Thess. 1:9). The only way to escape this judgment is by receiving Christ. The way you receive Christ is by trusting in what Jesus did on the cross (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:24).
Since we are sinners, we are incapable of removing the guilt of our sinfulness through our own efforts. In other words, we can’t become righteous by what we do. Why? Because we are dead in our sins (Eph. 2:3). This means that since we cannot remove our own sins. God must do it. But because He loves us, He allows us to choose Him and His forgiveness.
Jesus, who is God in flesh (John 1:1, 14; 8:58; Col. 2:9), bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). He died in our place. He paid the penalty of breaking the Law of God that should have fallen upon us. He satisfied the law of God the Father by dying on the cross. If you desire the peace of knowing that your eternity will be spent with your heavenly Father (who loves you and desires to love you, have you know Him and experience true joy), then you must realize that you have sinned against God. Once you recognize your need for forgiveness, you simply have to look to Jesus who died on the cross and trust what he did in order for you to be forgiven, and ask Jesus to forgive you.
This is a huge step of faith towards a loving God who desires to have you know Him. He loves you. He created you. He knows everything about you.
Take the time to know Him. If you have any questions about knowing Jesus, please reach out to Life Impact for Eternity. We would love to talk to you about the forgiveness and peace that can only come through Jesus. Please use the form below to contact us.