(True story of a lady from Odessa, Ukraine)
I had a sister. She was intelligent, purpose driven and self-confident. All of her life she managed only by herself. “Nobody will help me, I have to do this myself,” she used to say. When I became a Christian, she often mocked me. She told me, “Faith in God is vestiges of the past. How can an educated, intelligent person believe in something that does not exist?”
Bible says: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom.10:17) She did not want to hear about God, nor about His Word. I could do nothing except pray for her. At that time she was offered a job abroad. She gladly accepted the offer and was getting to leave. Once again I tried to tell her about God and faith in Him. I quoted this well-known verse: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. She gave a very surly answer, “I don’t care!”
A year later she let us know that she was very sick and she came back home. When she arrived, we found out that it was too late to have surgery. She started an endless course of chemo and radiation treatment, which made her feel worse and worse. Then she began to think and asked herself the following questions: “Who can help me, if the doctors can do nothing? Is this the end? And if so, where will be my soul be after death?” Only God could answer these questions.
I invited her to come to a ladies meeting at our church and God touched her heart that day through His Word and fellowship with other believers. After that we began to read the Bible together and she thought about life. One day I noticed that something bothered her. “I am the biggest sinner,” she confessed. “I rejected my Creator and my Savior and my disbelief brought me to perish”. Finally she admitted she was a sinner and lost. She repented and accepted Christ as her personal Savior.
That day became very special for her. Before she was spiritually dead; now she obtained spiritual life through a relationship with her Creator. In spite of the fact that her earthly life was approaching the end, she knew, she had life. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
The birth from above (spiritual birth) is an instant act. Many people, who were born again, testify that they cannot remember the day or time, but they know for sure that they transferred from death to life. You should be sure that this spiritual birth took place in your life, otherwise you cannot find peace, knowing that you will not enter the Kingdom of God.
My sister finally got peace in the Lord. At the last moment of her life, she said: “I feel so good!” The Lord accepted her into His Kingdom.
If you want to have eternal life, come to God right now and pray. He is ready to listen to you and to answer. You can pray like this: “Dear Heavenly Father, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who died for my sins. I believe that He was raised from the dead for my justification. That’s why I ask you to forgive my sins. Please change me the way You want me to be. I give you my life, come into my heart and purify it, strengthen me and bless me. Thank you that You heard my prayer. Amen.”
