Something to think about ..

Mary Karen Read, 19 year old freshman 'was born in South Korea into an Air Force family and lived in Texas and California before settling in Annandale, Virginia.

At Virginia Tech, she joined Campus Crusade for Christ and a Bible study group.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” fellow Tech freshman Blair Bullock wrote in an e-mail. “Mary is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She was such a caring and happy person, always laughing and smiling. She never spoke a bad word about anyone; she was a sister and friend to everyone.”

Bullock recalled Read’s reaction last week after their Bible-study group watched a video about heaven.

“Mary was talking about how great it’s going to be when we get there, and how excited she was,” she wrote. “We are comforted in knowing that we will see her again one day.”

http://www.roanoke.com/vtvictims/wb/113500

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Lauren McCain "A 20-year-old native of Hampton, Va., Ms. McCain was known among friends as spiritual and outgoing with a penchant for playing pranks...

"The purpose and love of my life is Jesus Christ," she wrote in her profile on MySpace.com. "I don't have to argue religion, philosophy, or historical evidence because I KNOW Him. He is just as real, if not more so, as my 'earthly' father."

Her father, David McCain, said he believed Ms. McCain was probably praying for Mr. Cho in the final moments of her life.

"She was that kind of girl," he told Fox News in an interview after the shootings. "She believed in Christ and she believed in forgiving. I am so sorry for him and I feel so sorry for the family that will never know the answers."

"I forgive him," he added.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/lauren_ashley_mccain/index.html

Have you made the decision
Mary and Lauren made?

Is your life really the "life in all it's fullness" that

Christ promised in the Bible?

Amidst a world of fear and anger, self and rebellion, you can have the joy and peace of knowing Christ in a personal way, and being assured of heaven.

YOU MAY BE PRO-LIFE, BUT DO YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?

THE SCRIPTURES SAY:

"There is not a single man who is righteous, there is not one who understands, or who seeks for God. All men have turned away from God, they have all gone wrong. No one is good, not even one." ( Romans 3:10-12 )

But can't good works assure me of eternal life?

We may give to a pro-life cause... Help women in a crisis pregnancy... These are important and good, yet they can't get us into heaven... they are no solution to our problem of sin. They in no way give us the abundant life Jesus Christ wants us to have.

WHY? Because...

WE ARE ALL SINNERS BEFORE GOD:
Romans 3:23 tells us "All men have sinned and are far away from God's saving presence."

THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN IS SPIRITUAL DEATH:
"For the wages of sin is death (spiritual death), but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
( Rom. 6:23 )

WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES:
"For by grace have you been saved (from eternal death) through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast." ( Eph. 2:8-9 )

No one can climb their way to heaven. None of us are worthy of obtaining eternal life.

In John 3:3 , we read about a very, very religious person named Nicodemus. Yet, Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God."

YOU respect life and probably know a great deal about being born, but do you know how to be "born again"? By going to a particular church? Being baptized? Good works? The Golden Rule? Just feeling sorry? NO!

By acknowledging your sin and rebellion to God, trusting in His finished work on the cross, and asking Him personally to take over the control of your life, you can be assured that your sins are forgiven.. and that you have eternal life!

The Bible tells us.. "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God..."
( I Peter 3:18 )

The purpose of Christ's coming to earth was to give us the way to obtain eternal life, through trust in Him.

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar."
( I John 1:8-10 )

"He that believeth (trusts) not the Son (as personal Savior) shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
( John 3:36 )

Christ, the Good shepherd, also came "..in order that they (you and I) might have life, life in all it's fullness."
( John 10:10 )

IF YOU WERE TO DIE TONIGHT, WHERE WOULD YOU SPEND ETERNITY?

If you are unsure that you have eternal life, pray a prayer similar to this, and be sure!

Lord, I confess I am a sinner. I recognize that I can do nothing to save myself form an eternity in hell. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I now trust in you (Jesus Christ) to be my personal Savior and Lord of my life, and hereby commit my life to you for all eternity.

(If you prayed this prayer, please let us know , that we may help you in your commitment to Christ)

email us at: dean@gateway.org