Spiritual Experience • The Big 10
Salvation — The Starting Point of Everything
I was twenty years old and sitting on a Navy base, not thinking much about God at all. A Gideon came to the base one afternoon and handed out little Bibles to any sailor who wanted one. I put mine in my pocket. I didn't even open it that night.
Five days later, I signed my name in the back of that Bible. Something had happened inside me that I still find difficult to fully put into words. I had turned. And I have never been the same since.
Before you can run, you have to take a first step. Before you can build, you have to lay a foundation. And before anything else on this list matters, there is one thing that has to happen first: you have to be saved.
I love the story in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are thrown in prison for preaching the gospel. Do they despair? No — at midnight, they're singing. Then an earthquake shakes the place, their chains fall off, and the jailer comes running in, terrified. He falls to his knees in front of these two men and asks the most important question any human being can ever ask: "What must I do to be saved?"
Saved from what? That's the right question to ask. Think about a firefighter running into a burning building. We know exactly what he's saving someone from — the flames. A lifeguard dives in because someone is drowning. The picture is clear. Jesus came to save us from something very real: the eternal consequence of sin. Every human being will one day stand before God and be judged. The Bible says the wages of sin is death — a permanent separation from God. Jesus came to stand in the gap.
Jesus called this experience being "born again" (John 3). That's not just a religious phrase — it's a picture of a completely new life beginning inside you. The Holy Spirit draws you, woos you, and softens your heart. When you respond by turning from your old way of living and placing your trust in Jesus, something miraculous happens: you become a new creation.
Now, here's something I want you to understand about the word believe. In America, we sometimes treat "belief" like a passive thing — I believe in ghosts, I believe in Santa Claus, nothing changes. But in the Bible, belief is an action word. It means trust. It means I stake my life on this. It means I turn in a new direction.
The jailer didn't just nod his head. He and his whole household got baptized immediately. Belief changed their trajectory. And here's the good news: that decision is available to you right now, today — whether it's your very first time, or a moment of recommitment after drifting away.
"I don't want to reach the end of my journey and say, 'I wish I would have.' I want to say, 'I'm glad I did.'"
The gospel message is this: Jesus came from heaven, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. He is alive. He is King. And He is calling your name. If you're ready to make that decision right now, there is a salvation prayer at the end of this book — and we'd love to pray with you in person.