God's Good News

Have you ever wondered why you are here? I mean, why you are on this earth, at this given time and place. Is it to grow up, go to school, get a job, start a business, have a family, grow old and die? Is that all there is? Think of all the great people who once walked this earth, but are not with us anymore. Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, each walked on this earth at some point in time, but now they are gone, and gone forever. No matter how great we are in this world, we can't escape this physical death. It's a certainty.

But it does not have to be so, for there is a life beyond this physical death. An eternal life no less, promised to us by God Himself, right before the beginning of time. This I know from the Bible (in Titus 1:2).

God knows you more than you'd ever realize

Do you know that it is no coincidence where and when you were placed on this earth? God has it all planned. He knows each of us, by name. He knows us even before we are born. In Isaiah 46:3, He told the Children of Israel, when they were held captive in Babylon, saying, "I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born." He also said it to Jeremiah (in Jeremiah 1:5): "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." In the same way, God knows each of us before we were born.

God is our Creator in heaven, and we are His creation. Whether or not we acknowledge Him, He still is.

Right at the beginning of the history of mankind, sin crept into this world, and has been here to stay since. It is this sin that has separated us from God. Because of sin, we are like lost children, set adrift from our Father in heaven. God hates sin but He loves us. However, we cannot be in the same place with Him, because of our sin. Because He is holy and righteous, our sin has to be dealt with.

The Only Way

The only way for us to be with God our Father again is to have our sins paid for. The only way is in the form of God's only son, Jesus, by whose blood, we have a new and living way to reconnect with God (Hebrews 10:19-20). Jesus himself said, in John 14:6, that this is the one and only way. But to make this way possible requires Jesus to die for us, and to die in the most painful way. When God sent Jesus, his only Son, to this earth, His main purpose was to die for us, so that we can once again be reconnected with God (Rom 5:10). Jesus did not look forward to this fate with pleasure. When the time drew near, He too was so traumatised by what was coming, that He prayed, "If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." (Matthew 26:39)

But even God has to go by His character, and there is no other way to save us but death for Jesus. And so, in full obedience to His Father, Jesus died on the cross for us. Jesus is God's one and only Son, whom He loves and in whom He is well pleased (Matthew 3:17) Yet God loves us so dearly that He willingly gave Jesus to die for us, so that whoever believes in Jesus will not die an eternal death, but will have eternal life with God (John 3:16). That is the Good News which God wants every person in the world to know. We are all God's children (Romans 8:16). We were once lost, but were found and are brought back.

According to the newspaper today (Nov 2011, as I wrote this), there are now seven billion people on earth. So how many of these are God's children? Yes, all seven billion of them can be God's children! All seven billion has a chance to enjoy eternal life with God. Yet many are not aware of the beautiful plans God has for them.

Which is where I come into the picture.

Through the ages God sent messengers to re-establish the connection between Him and the rest of us. Those who follow Jesus are instructed to spread the Good News to everybody in all the world. Because of their love for God, many have gone to all the different corners of the world, telling everybody the Good News that they can once again reconnect to God through Jesus, who died for them. Many have suffered greatly and some have died for God. Indeed I am not worthy to be in their shadows.

And yet, unexpected as it seems, one day God tells me I too have to do my part. Every day thousands die and have no chance to hear the Good News. I need to get God's Good News to as many people as I can. I anguished to think of so big a task that God has given me. How do I reach so many people? What do I say to them? I am just a simple man. I am not a preacher, I am not a missionary ... in the sense of how I picture missionaries to be. What difference can I make? Will people laugh at me and call me crazy?

Following God's Call

But as it appears, once God calls you, there's no saying no. He did it with Moses, and he did it with His own son, Jesus. So here I am, risking ridicule to bring this precious Good News. God loves you so much that He willingly sent His Son Jesus to die for you, so that your relationship with Him can once again be re-established. To accept God's great gift, all you have to do is to acknowledge that you are a sinner and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Welcome Jesus into your life, as your Lord and Saviour, so that through Him, you shall never perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God loves you so much that He will look for every new avenue to reconnect with you. Even this, from someone as unworthy as me. Like a father looking for his lost child, you are so precious to God that He will find every possible method to look for you. All He wants is for you to accept Him as your heavenly Father and be reconnected with Him again.

Accepting God into your life

If you are willing to accept God into your life, say this prayer:

"Dear God, I acknowledge I am a sinner. On my own, I am destined for eternal death. I thank You for sending Jesus to die in my place, and through Jesus, I can once again have a relationship with You. I welcome Jesus now into my life, as my personal savior, and I look forward to serving You. This I pray in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen."


Here are some passages from the Bible which are related to the above message:

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. Those were God's words to the prophet Jeremiah, but those same words is applicable to each of us. God does know each of us before we were born.

Isaiah 46:3
I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. (New Living Translation)

John 14:6
I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me (New Living Translation).

John 3:16
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. (New International Version)

Hebrews 10:19-20
Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.

Titus 1:2
A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.

Romans 3:23
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Colossian 1:21-23
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your mind, because of your evil behavior. But now God has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death, to present you holy in God's sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Now you continue in your faith, established and firm, and not move from the hope held out in the Good News.

Ephesians 2:10
We are God's masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.