February 8, 2003

Dear Family and Friends,

I feel the Lord leading me to write you this letter.
I want you to understand that you can put this letter aside and not read it, or you can take the time to read it, and find out what the Lord wants me to share with each and every one of you.

Over three years ago my mother, Betty Hancock passed away.
She was a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend.
She was an amazing person to me, not by herself alone, although beautiful, but what she permitted the Lord to do in her life.
When the Lord would lead her in different situations, she would stand fast and not waiver. She loved the Lord so much that she would follow His word over anything that mankind would say to her. She would follow Him even if family or friends would get angry with her.
What love for her Savior, wow!

Mom also loved her family, she would pray for each and every one of us without ceasing. Her pray life was amazing. She understood that praying was important because that is how we speak to God.
I remember my sister, Nancy saying that mom had a telephone line to God and she did. However, each and every one of us has our own telephone line to God.
He's ready to pick up the phone, are you ready to call Him?

We were blessed to have a mother that gave us such a strong foundation in the word of God. She wasn't perfect and she made mistakes and she knew this. That is why she knew she needed the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior.
Mom was a smart cookie because she realized that this life is just a passing through place and the life here after is where we will spend eternity.
I hope each of you realize that she gave us a treasure that money can't buy and that's by telling us about Jesus.
How fortunate we were, that God chose us, to have her in our lives.

When mom became ill her faith didn't waiver, it became stronger. You could feel the Lord giving her the strength to endure. Even to this day I am in awe of how much the Lord blessed her, comforted her, and loved her.
He took her home, but she died with such grace, and she knew 100% where she was going. All through mom's illness she wanted God to be glorified. She knew God was using her illness to touch people's lives.
She was willing to serve her Lord how He saw fit. Mom's biggest thing was telling people about salvation and even if it meant suffering which she would end up doing.

After the death of mom I became scared and unsure of everything.
However, I knew the one thing that she taught us was the importance of knowing Jesus.
I was nine years old when I asked Jesus in my heart and several times after that. However, I was never 100% sure that I was saved. Sometimes I thought for sure I'm not, with the things I do, say, or think. I thought how could I be saved, and even if I asked Him, why would He want me?
I also thought, I had asked Him to come into my heart in the past, and I'm still not sure? Maybe He doesn't want me. This is how my mind was thinking after the death of mom.
I started reading my Bible and I would listen to Pastor Greg Laurie on the radio.
I truly believe that God sent Pastor Laurie into my life at the time, because he was answering questions I had, but was to ashamed or afraid to ask.

It was Good Friday, April 21, 2000 and Pastor Greg Laurie was having a Good Friday service at Irvine Meadows. A bunch of us decided to go down to hear him preach.
As I sat in the audience I didn't know what God was about to do.
God started working in my life, for I started to understand how much Jesus really suffered for our sins and how much He loved me.

Do you know that they beat Him more than any man was, or ever will be beaten? They played a cruel Roman game known as "hot hand." This is where the soldiers would show the prisoner their fist. Then they would blindfold their prisoner and all but one soldier would hit them as hard as they could. If the prisoner wasn't knocked out they would take the blindfold off and make them guess which soldier didn't hit them. Of course, they usually couldn't guess right and even if they did the soldiers wouldn't admit it.
This game would continue until the soldiers grew tired of it or the prisoner was unconscious. Besides beating Him they took and plucked his beard out. Think to yourself how it hurts if your hair gets pulled, or try plucking a strain of hair off the top of your head. Just figure they plucked his whole beard, and your face is more sensitive, then the top of your head.
They spit on Him and mocked Him. They put a crown of thorns on top of His head. These thorns where long slender thorns, so when they placed it on top of His head, they entered into Him.
Now imagine receiving a rose and as you go to take it, you prick yourself with one of its thorns. I believe quite a few of us have done this and I can say it hurts.
Well there was more then one thorn on His crown.
They also took and whipped him forty times, with a whip called "The cat of nine tails." This whip would cut into the skin and scrap the bone.
They usually only whipped someone with this whip 39 times, because the fortieth time would kill them. However, they whipped Jesus 40 times, but it didn't kill Him. He wasn't done suffering for our sins, yet.
After all the beating, they put nails in his hands and feet, and nailed Him to an old wooden cross.
As He hung on the cross His chest was not resting on the cross, it was bent forward. When your body is in this position it makes it difficult to breathe. Each breath Jesus would have to take, would be hard, so each breath was painful.
When He was thirsty they offered Him vinegar to drink. By the way, vinegar doesn't quench your thirst; in fact it makes you thirstier.
Before He died they pierced him in the side and His blood flowed out.
This is the blood that cleanses those who receive Him as their Lord and Savior.
Before Jesus died He didn't speak condemning words towards the people who were crucifying Him.
He spoke beautiful, kind, and loving words "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do."
Now that's love how many of us would say those words when someone has been just a little bit cruel to us.

Jesus crucifixion is amazing to me.
He went through all of this pain and suffering for me.
He didn't complain or run from it. He stayed and suffered for me, because He loves me that much.
The part of His crucifixion that makes me feel so ashamed, but so loved, is when the sins of the world where placed upon Him. He was holy, pure and without sin.
How awful it must have been to Him, to have all of the filth, disgrace and disobedience "SIN" put upon Him. It must of have been awful for him, as he was sinless. Just think we caused Him to have to come and suffer like this, for your sin and my sin was placed on Him on that day.

Why do you think it took Jesus to die on the cross for you and I?
When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they had one rule to follow. They weren't supposed to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
However, we know that Adam and Eve failed, for they did eat.
Some of you may feel that this isn't fair for me to be blamed for Adam and Eve's sin. Pastor Greg Laurie explained it this way, "Given the opportunity, each one of us would have done the same thing as Adam.
In fact not a single day passes, that we do not face the same test that was set before Adam, and we also fail.
God has given us the freedom to choose between two separate paths: the path that leads to life and the path that lead to death." The Bible says, "Today, I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.
I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make, Oh that you would choose life that you and your descendants might live! (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Now because of Adam and Eve's disobedience "SIN" this caused a separation, or huge gap between God and man.
From the forth chapter of the Bible, to the end of the Bible, God shows us how we can cross over the huge gap.
He built a bridge for us and that bridge is Christ Jesus.
Jesus is our way back to God.

Did Jesus stay dead?
No, three days after His death, He rose and now He is in Heaven.
He came to earth and fulfilled His sacrifice for our sins, for on the cross He said, "It is finished."
Now it is up to us to either accept God's way of salvation, or deny it.
Will you cross His bridge or will you put explosives on it, and blow up the only way you have back to God?

You now know that Jesus loved you and me so much that He came and died for us, and He is our salvation.
He wants to call you His child; however, there is someone else that wants you to be his child and that is "Satan." We know that the ultimate penalty for our sin is "death." Our sins have caused us to spend an eternity of torment and punishment in a place called Hell when we die. However, we don't have to accept this punishment. We can turn from our sins and accept Jesus as our Savior, or we can do absolutely nothing, and accept Satan. It's your choice!
Whose child do you want to belong to "Jesus/Heaven" or "Satan/Hell?"
If you don't want to choose Jesus, then you have made your decision, and Satan is well pleased. The day you die you won't be able to blame anyone but yourself, because you would have denied the one who can save you.

I remember when I was in my earlier teens the family got together at my Grandma White's house.
The family would always sit in a big circle and talk about the Lord. Grandma would sometimes have an alter call.
(This is where a believer will ask if anyone wants to accept Jesus into their hearts.) On one particular day, Grandma had an alter call and she asked for anyone who wanted to be saved, to stand up.
I thought to myself, well this is silly, for everyone in the room was saved, so I thought.
To my amazement my Uncle Howard stood up and said he wanted to know Jesus.
I have never forgotten this because it was a very important memory in my life.
He wasn't ashamed to let the family know that he didn't know Jesus, but he was ready to know Him.
He realized that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross, and he was ready for Jesus to save him. Now because of his decision he made on that day, he is spending eternity with his Savior "Jesus."

I am going to do an alter call in this letter. If you

1. Believe in Jesus
2. Want to know Jesus as your Savior and Friend
3. You realize you're a sinner doomed for eternity
4. You want to turn from your sins and turn your life over to Jesus
5. Then pray this pray from Greg Laurie

Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner. I believe you died for my sins.
Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life.
I receive you as my personal Lord and Savior.
Thank you for saving me.   Amen.

If you just prayed this prayer, the Bible tells us to confess it.
Please send me a quick note and let me know that you have chosen "Jesus" and that you will be in heaven on that glorious day.
If you chose that Christ is not for you, feel free to email me and let me know.
I love each of you and I want to see all of you in heaven, but I can't force you.
Nor will God force you. It's up to you!

Now that you know the way back to God and if you chose not to accept Christ,
then when you die, you can't blame any one but yourself.
Love & Prayers,

Brenda Atkerson
Believer in Christ
batkerson@ameranet.com