There was a great work created, molded, crafted by the Great Artisan Himself, and lost to destruction. It fell, and was damaged, and had become useless for it's intended purpose. Although The Artisan could look on it and love it because He created it, it could not bring him the fullness of joy because of it's condition. It was given (not sold, but given) to lesser uses.

Finally, the Artisan decided to regain His precious possession, but ownership was not directly His. The Artisan, being who He is, ultimately had control, and ownership, but had relinquished it to another.

The Artisan purchased back His creation at a tremendous price, and is in the process even now to repair the broken parts of His work.

Ultimately, the great work will be completed, and will be removed from the work surface to be put in a place of great honor. The work will be so highly respected that all of the Artisan's other works will seem diminutive by comparison. The Artisan will be recognized by all to be the greatest of all, and will be seen throughout all that is known as the true Master.

That work of art, designed and created by the Master Artisan is known as the Human Race. The Artisans's name, well, He has many, but most people will know the name people call Him today. He is God. But you knew that. This sort of analogy isn't new. But it is true. I could quote you massive amounts of bible verses, but I don't need to. You knew it in your heart as soon as you began to read.

What caused this great work to fall? It's that quaint old idea called sin. Yes, sin. It is as real as the breath you just drew. But God didn't throw away His creation. He allowed it to grow, to flourish. And to continue in sin. That is how you and I got to where we are today. We've lied, we've cheated, we've stolen, we've hurt people. "I haven't done any of those things!" you might say. I have. Not even intentionally, sometimes. But we've all done something, I don't think we'd be human if we hadn't.

You see, sin isn't always great big horrible things, sometimes it's just in what we think, or the reason we do something. At any rate, because of that sin, God established that the price, or penalty for sin would be blood. It is interesting that He would choose blood, for it is absolutely necessary for life. And my blood, may not be compatible with your blood, so it was my blood that was required to pay for my sin. And your blood for your sin.

Am I saying that you have to cut yourself to pay for your sin? Not at all.

You see, there was one who was worthy to pay that blood price for all of us. There was one who knew absolutely no sin of any kind. He lived his life with a purity that no man can match. He gave His life, His blood to pay the penalty for our sin. His name was... yes, you guessed it! Jesus.

God's own son, Jesus came from heaven, born as a normal everyday human being, except that He knew He had a purpose. As he became an adult, He led thousands to repentance.

I don't think God ever wanted a bunch of followers, rather I think He wanted many servants. People he could mold and teach in His ways, and instruct them to reach out and draw them "into the fold" so that they could be redeemed from sin.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to preach a new truth. I am simply trying to speak in a normal "tone of voice" as it were, sharing my conceptual grasps of the scripture, the Holy Bible.

I can't imagine anyone thinking I am a terrible person. Nobody thinks I'm perfect, but nobody else really thinks they're perfect either. I think we all think we are as good as the next guy, except for this or that, or some other thing.

Now, here's where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Am I good enough? Are you? Good enough for what? To have earned the right to a long life? To have earned the right to go to heaven? Good enough to have earned the respect of God and my fellow man?

Think about this for a moment, please. How good is good enough? I've never killed anybody!! You say. I don't cheat, or steal, or rob anyone. Well, like I said earlier, neither do I. But really, we all do, in one way or another.

Sure, we don't actually kill other people (I hope). We don't commit armed robbery, or larceny, or burglary. But we do. Every man and woman who is behind bars today has done what? Not specifically, but generally. They have committed a, or a series of... crimes. Now, these are not necessarily crimes against God, rather, they are crimes against society. Against other people.

You and I, however, have committed crimes, not against society, but against God. We have lied. We have stolen time from work (that extra long break the other day?). We have hurt people (what was that hand gesture when you got cut off in traffic?).

Am I saying God wants us to be perfect? No. I am saying He wants to make us perfect. In the process, we will have to be changed. We are all in different stages of gaining perfection, if we have accepted God into our lives.

I offer you, right now if you like, the opportunity to allow God to make you perfect. It won't happen overnight. It will take a lifetime of changing, growing, learning. But if you would like to begin that process of being made perfect, here's how you begin.

Find a nice quiet place, maybe you're in a quiet place now, maybe you'll have to print this out, or save it, or just try to remember the general idea, but find a quiet place and go over these words.

Talk to God. It's sort of like talking to yourself, at first. Because we can't see God in person. But He is there, really He is.

Tell Him that you know you're a sinner. That's the phrase used to describe someone who has broken His law, the way He wants us to live.

Tell Him you are sorry for your sins. He wants to be able to change you to perfection, and He can't do that if you don't want it.

Tell Him you want to change the direction of your life. That's what it means to repent, to change the way you do things. It's sort of like spiritual and mental rehabilitation for your soul.

Tell Him you accept Jesus' blood as payment, or sacrifice for your life of wrong-doing, of sin. Ask Him to come into your life.

Ask Him to bring you new life, with a new purpose. To begin the perfection of your soul.

Tell Him you want to become a new person. Then thank Him for the work that is being done in you. Yes, in you. At that moment, you will be the focus of all of God's attention.

Kind of hard to believe, huh? Well, I understand that, but later on, as you learn more and more about Him, you will also learn how He can concentrate on you, and on me at the same time!

Isn't that great? You will learn more and more, and pretty soon, joy will begin to fill your mind, and your heart!

You learn about God from the Bible. If you pick up a bible, and get lost in the "thee's" and the "thou's" and so on, don't worry about it... just get the general idea at first. Also, you need to find a good christian church to go to. Obviously, I can't tell you where to go to church, most likely we don't live anywhere close to each other, but if you search the internet, or the yellow pages, you'll find a church near you. The name on the door doesn't mean that much, as long as they teach the truth. You can always email me at joereverend@yahoo.com. But I suspect you know a christian or two who can help you find a church. Just ask 'em, I'm sure they'll help you!!

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