I came to Christ when I was 12 years old. I was a little boy. I went to camp and my counselor sat me down, and he said to me, “Luis, if you died today, would you go to heaven or hell?”

Now wasn’t that shocking! I was just a boy and he said it like that. I’m glad he did. I needed a shock treatment.

Only twelve years old, I had a foul temper and a dirty mouth. I knew I deserved to go to hell. Well, my counselor - he led me to Christ and I knew instantly - “I’ve got eternal life. I am forgiven!”

The Bible says we are justified through faith and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).

That is something to get excited about - peace with God. No matter what may come our way, we have heaven to look forward to!

I never for a moment doubt because I know I confessed with my lips that Jesus is Lord and I believed in my heart that God raised Him from the dead.

I was only 12 and this peace is something I carry with me every day. Won’t you share that same gift with someone today?

The REAL you God knit together is your spirit and soul. The REAL you God created before there was time. That is an awesome, staggering fact!

It says in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb I knew you. And before you were born, says the Lord, I separated you. I gave you a message to the nations.”

Every one of you, when Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, He was thinking of you. And He knows you. There is not a single person Jesus does not know. The Bible says, “Your name is written on the palm of my hand.”

You are not a number! You are not a forgotten blip in time. You have a purpose, and your purpose involves introducing others to the Creator of their souls!

Jesus already knows those who do not know Him. He already loves those who do not love Him. He suffered, died, was buried and rose for every soul on this earth. He wants to enjoy life with them! And you get to share that life-changing message.

Consider Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John, when she goes to Jesus’ tomb and sees that His body is not there.

She frets and fears and cries out, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

And the disciples, too, were devastated to learn that Jesus’ body was missing. Even though Jesus had told them repeatedly, “I will be crucified. I’ll be buried for three days. On the third day I’ll rise up again.” They forgot. They still did not get it.

Sometimes even TODAY we act surprised that He rose from the dead! We forget what a staggering thing it is to become a follower of Jesus Christ. But that is the tremendous reality that shapes how you live today.

So today, let the so-called “surprise” of Christ’s resurrection - more like awe and wonder - overwhelm you all over again. You will relate better with those who have not yet begun to follow Him.

Put yourself in their shoes remind them of the truth: He is alive today, having conquered death for you and me!

As she was thrown out the window, she grabbed her purse - that was the first thing she did - like “I’m going to save my purse.”

Then she slid down the wing and said out loud, “Jesus, I’ll see you in a minute.” Then she fell and fainted. An hour later she woke up on grass - alive.

The thing that impressed me was that she said, “Jesus, I’ll see you in a minute.” That is the reality of a person who knows Jesus Christ - they talk to Him!

They know that He’s alive, know He wants to hear from us, and know that the moment we die we go straight into the presence of Christ. And then and there we shall see Him as He is. Isn’t that exciting?

Do you know that from your most mundane days to rare and scary emergencies like being in a crashing plane, Jesus is with you? He never leaves your side!

When someone does not know Him, they do not know the joy He brings in boredom, nor the peace He brings in life-threatening situations.

When you introduce someone to Jesus, you allow them to receive the gift of His presence and the joy that comes in talking with Him every day. It is a gift worth sharing!

But, later in his life Karl Marx rejected the Bible’s authority and as an adult called himself an atheist and a Communist.

In the same way, Nikita Khrushchev, the former Premier of the USSR, read the Bible when he was a boy. Yet, years later he made it his ambition to bury the church in the Soviet Union by 1965.

The ironic thing is that now he is buried and the Russian church continues to grow!

These examples show that just because someone may know the Bible, it doesn’t mean that its words have truly penetrated their heart.

So, the next time you’re in a conversation with someone who is talking about the Bible, don’t assume that they’ve met Jesus.

Reading the Bible and going to church don’t make you a Christian. It’s believing the Word of God, believing that Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, loves you, and wants to give you eternal life- that’s what makes you a Christian.

Even if your friends say they know the Bible, don’t be afraid to tell them that Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with them. Do it! It’s the best gift you can give.

“Sir,” I asked him,” do you know Jesus Christ?” The general smiled and said, “Palau, I’ve led such a hard life that I don’t think God wants to know me very much.”

I told him that no matter what he’d done, Christ died on the cross for him and loves him. “If you want to know Him,” I said, “you can meet Him right now.”

As we continued to talk, I explained what Christ had done on the cross, how He died to receive the punishment that should be ours for the wrong we have done.

I asked him, “Sir, would you like to receive Christ right now?” He paused and said quite seriously, “If Christ will receive me, I want to become a real Christian.”

Perhaps you, too, feel like that South American general - that you’ve done so many awful things that God wouldn’t want to know you.

But it’s not true! God loves you. He created you. And Jesus Christ died on the cross for you.

John chapter 3, verse 16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Follow the general’s lead, and become a real Christian today!

One question I love to ask is this: “What is a real Christian?” Ask your friend, then listen to his or her response.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to listen, listen, listen. Don’t assume you know what their answer is going to be. Many times you will be surprised at what they say!

Lots of people think that being a Christian means going to church, living morally, receiving a sacrament, believing in God, talking about Jesus, praying, or reading the Bible.

But none of those things MAKE someone a Christian.

On the contrary, a real Christian is someone who isn’t perfect (just like all of us) and who believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God and puts his or her trust in Him.

It’s someone who is certain of eternal life. And it’s someone born into God’s family.

Jesus says in John chapter 14, verse 6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So the next time you’re in a spiritual conversation, ask your friend what he or she thinks a real Christian is. Then listen to the answer. It might really open things up for sharing the Good News!

My answer is, once any conversation has started, either steer it in a somewhat spiritual direction or ask point blank questions.

Ask them if they go to church or ask, “Do you have the assurance of eternal life, or are you still on the way?” It seems like a simple and silly question, but it’s not and it’s sure to start a conversation.

If your friend says, “I’m still on the way,” then you can begin to share the Good News.

Remember to be a good listener when they do respond. What they say will reveal a lot about their spiritual condition and it will help to show you how to talk with them, and how to pray for them.

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Put some good conversation starters and key questions in your “witnessing tool belt.” Write down some of your own ideas and then look them over each day. It’s a great way to be prepared to share the Good News Gospel. Then, when God opens the door, you’ll be ready!