First notebook entry: Introducing myself

Dear friend,
Receiving your letter yesterday made me very happy and reminded me of the beautiful days we shared. I was also reminded how busy I have become at work and as a result, I have not written you. There is no excuse for not getting back to you and I apologize. Anyway, your letter causes me to try to sit and take a rest to myself (I'm not sure what this means. Maybe "Your letter provided an escape from the hecticness of life. ) 

I don't claim to know everything or understand all there is to know. The Trinity can be confusing to some people. Here's one way of explaining it: Let's say you have a man in a city, he has a job as a mayor. This man also is married and has children. For some people his job is being a mayor, he is also a husband, he is also a father. Three distinct "persons" you could say and yet the same man.

(see previous message) Jesus did not stay dead. Jesus is alive. Jesus is with God in Heaven. The Bible says, ". . . Christ died for our sins . . . ." (I Corinthians 15:3) Why did Jesus come to earth, die, and rise again? He did this for us. He died for our sin. God loves us, and this is His plan. Jesus can take away our sin. Jesus can save us from Hell. Jesus loves us. He died for us. He rose from the dead. He can give us life in Heaven. How can we go to Heaven? Jesus has a gift for you! The Bible says, "The gift of God is eternal life." Jesus died for you, and His gift is life in Heaven. You cannot work to get this gift. Jesus wants to give you this gift. You must ask Jesus for the gift. Does God love you? Yes, He does! Is Jesus God's son? Yes, He is! Did Jesus die for you? Yes, He did. Did Jesus stay dead? No, He is alive today. Do you believe in Jesus? Ask Jesus for the gift. He can give you life in Heaven. He can save you from Hell. Let's ask Jesus now! Say and believe, "Jesus, I believe in You. I am not perfect. I have sin. I do not want to go to Hell. I want to go to Heaven. You died for me, but You did not stay dead. I want Your gift. I want a life in Heaven. I am trusting in You. Please give me life. Please save me from Hell. Please give me a home in Heaven. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for giving me life."

I'm from Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I'm a Baptist but the name really doesn't matter. Here's what I believe: 1. Heaven is a beautiful place and a happy place. Heaven is real, and Heaven is good. God made Heaven. God made Heaven for us, and God is in Heaven. 2. God also made the earth. The Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God made the animals and the plants. God made the first people. The first people were Adam and Eve. They were perfect. God was perfect. Heaven was perfect. The earth was perfect. 3. But Adam and Eve did not obey God. This made them not perfect. This made the earth not perfect. Heaven was perfect, but Adam and Eve were not perfect. Adam and Eve could not go to Heaven. 4. Because they did not obey, Adam and Eve had to go to Hell. Hell is bad. Hell is a place of fire. Hell is a place of pain. God is not in Hell. The Bible says, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." (Revelation 20:14) 5. God loves us. The Bible says, "We love him, because he first loved us." (I John 4:19) God loved Adam and Eve. God did not want them to go to Hell. God had a plan. God’s plan is for us too. We also are not perfect. We do not always obey God. We also cannot go to Heaven. We also must go to Hell, but God has a plan for us to go to Heaven. 6. God's Son is Jesus. Jesus came to the earth. Jesus came to save us from Hell. The Bible says, “. . . Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God . . . ." (John 20:31) Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus can show us the right way. Jesus can show us the truth. Jesus can give us life in Heaven. How can Jesus do this? Jesus was perfect. Jesus never lied nor cheated. Jesus always obeyed his mom and dad. Jesus died perfect. Three days later, He was alive again. He was made alive again. Jesus said, "After three days I will rise again." Jesus did rise again. How can Jesus rise again? He is God's Son. Jesus did not stay dead. Jesus

I go to church almost every day! I love it. We don't have to go, there's nobody holding a gun to my head but the reason I go is to learn more about God, to encourage other Christians, and to work as a team to share the love of God with other people that have never heard of Jesus Christ.

Many people categorize any church that believes in Jesus Christ as "Christian". The biggest difference between the Catholic religion and many Protestant denominations is Catholics believe in Jesus + good works = Heaven. Many (not all) Protestant denominations believe that good works have nothing to do with being justified with God. It is a free gift from God and Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly says that it is not by works that we do. Just like a Christmas gift, you're not expected to pay for it if someone is giving it to you. If they hand you a wrapped gift and say, "Here, this is for you..... now that'll be $20." it wouldn't be a gift.