The Best Bargain of Your Life

I was shopping at Burke’s Outlet last week and couldn’t resist getting Paisley a yellow and white sundress with ducks appliquéd on the bottom. It is getting close to Easter and the weather is warmer. I could picture her dark hair and eyes and her olive complexion against the crisp yellow and white dress and I knew she had to have it. We women are great shoppers. We always justify our purchases and this one was justified because she needed an Easter dress and Burke’s is an outlet store so the price was great. I love to find bargains. Probably the best bargain is something for free; don’t you agree? I do love those buy one, get one (BOGO) sales.

But the best deal I ever got never cost me a bit of money. I was 9 years old in the summer of 1959. I was attending GA (Girls Auxiliary) camp at a Baptist Encampment called Peach Creek, in New Waverly, Texas. I had a great week at camp. We hiked, swam, played games, had chapel services and got to shop for goodies at the camp store. All in all I would have the say the week was grand. On Thursday evening, at the final chapel service of the day, my heart was touched by the missionary who was speaking. I wish I could remember his name. He was a foreign missionary to Africa who was home on furlough. I believe his wife was a nurse. I knew for the first time in my life that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. When the invitation song started, I was one of the first to walk toward the preacher and tell him that I wanted to accept Christ as my Savior. I remember him sitting with me on the front row and explaining to me the plan of salvation. He went through Scriptures found in the book of Romans. Baptists commonly refer to these as the “Romans Road.” I’ve written them here for you.

We must realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness.
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.”

God gave us the way to be forgiven of our sins.
Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

If we remain sinners, we will die. However, if we repent of our sins, and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will have eternal life.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you are saved.
Romans 10:9-10: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Just call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved!
Romans 10:13: “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Determine in your heart to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life today.
Romans 11:36: "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to who be glory forever. Amen."

After sharing these verses with me and being absolutely sure I understood them, the missionary preacher asked me to repeat a prayer after him. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was something like this:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

With that prayer my life was changed forever. I was so interested in mission work that I decided I would be a missionary nurse in Africa. I collected information on nursing school for several years and studied life in Africa. But as I grew older and realized I have an extremely weak stomach, I did not attend nursing school. In fact, I would never in a million years want to be a nurse. But God, I His mercy, continues to give me a mission field wherever I live and work. Did I lead a perfect and sinless life after I accepted Christ? Of course not and actually, far from it. I struggled as a teen and young adult with sin, mistakes and poor judgment because I failed to attend church and spend time in prayer and Bible Study. I was like an unguided missile on a path to destruction. But God guided me back to Him and I can say that for the last 26 years I have stayed on that track and enjoyed the blessings of God on my life and the lives of my children. If after all I have done wrong in my life God can still use me to shine His light on the world, He can use anyone.

If you have never had a time in your life when you accepted the free gift of salvation, why not do it today? Jesus is just waiting on you. It is not enough to just know about Jesus in your head and to say you believe in him. Even the devil and his demons believe Jesus is real. You must repent (turn away) from your sins and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life. That part is what the devil and his little imps will never do. It’s a free gift, but the gift can only be yours if you accept it.

April 4 is Easter. Wouldn’t it be great to celebrate the real reason for Easter instead of baskets, bunnies and eggs? Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This year Easter can be a celebration of your resurrection from your dead life into eternal life in Christ. It is the best bargain you will ever find.

Much love – go with God!

Candy