If you have read the booklet 'A Life for a Life,' the story of Luis and Sebastian, and would like to know more about who Jesus is or about what He has done, click here. If you would like to learn more about the brand new life Jesus can give you, click here.

Take a moment to imagine something. Imagine that one hour from now by some crazy accident, your life as you know it comes to an end. Perhaps it was the bus, racing past. You had stood a little too close to the road. It happened so suddenly that you felt little pain. Everything turns to darkness. All is darkness for a few moments. All is quiet. Suddenly something happens that you never expected. Your eyes are blinded by an astonishing brightness, right in front of you. Without being able to see, you feel as if you are in the center of a great space, like a gigantic stadium. And the lights have just been turned on- pointing at you. As you turn away from the Source of piercing light, you notice that encircling you is a vast crowd of uncountable numbers, many of whose faces you can clearly see. Some of them you immediately recognize. Many of them have the look of terror as they look at you and then at the Source of Light in front of you. Your heart doubles its pace as you slowly turn back to look again at the Source of light.

With a jolt of fear, you realize that the Source of Light is a Person, radiating light and power like the sun- piercing all the darkness by His splendor. And you are nearest to Him, feeling the pulsating energy flow like electricity through you. Your face and body tingles as it reflects the white hot glory in front of you. Like a splash of ice-cold water on your burning face, you suddenly know that this is God. Here, in front of you, is the One who has always existed. Every doubt you ever had vanishes in that moment and all things become as clear as day. Just as you realize this, something else happens.

In an instant, your entire life passes before you. Yet every detail is as plain as day, agonizingly slow and relived. Every moment, every thought, every word you ever spoke, every single thing you have ever done flows past you, utterly crisp and clear. In that one moment, you see yourself exactly as God sees you. You see the good, but only for a moment. Because in that public place, with all the universe watching and the eyes of the living God gazing on, every thought of anger, of lust, of selfishness, of pride, of greed, every word of slander, every lie you have told brings unutterable unforgiving shame to you. Each selfish thing you have done or thought or said feels like a fresh blow to your body. As each one passes before you, unforgotten and visible for all to see, you feel like it would have been better not to have ever existed than to have to pass through this wretched moment. All the illusions you invented your whole life in thinking you were actually a good person vanish in smoke right at that moment.

And then, suddenly, silence. All is quiet. In the terrifying silence, in tears, you cannot even bear to look up at His face. But like the sound of a thousand train horns, His voice, deeper than the oceans, breaks the silence as he calls you by name. "I have given you one short life to live. And in this life, you doubted Me. You disobeyed Me, dishonored Me, and distrusted Me. You were self-seeking. You rejected the Truth. You followed evil. You decided your own eternal destiny the day you chose your own will over mine. What do you say in your defence?"

What words will you say to the living God at that moment? What can you possibly say? Take a moment to think about it. When all the masks you have been wearing have fallen away, and God’s piercing gaze reveals you as you really are, what will you say to Him in your defence? As surely as the sun will rise, so that day will come. And when it comes, it will be too late for you.

Please take courage today that there IS a Way in which you may stand before the living God, on that final Day, unashamed. The secret is in something He, Himself, has done in giving us a brand new life. He has provided a way by which all our wretched past, present, and future can be forever erased. Everything now revolves around this Man named Jesus. If you would like to know more about who Jesus is or about what He has done, click here. To find out more about this new life, click here.

Each summer, as a child, our family would travel to Calcutta to visit my mother’s parents. They lived in a tiny flat on Lower Circular Road, rented from a tailor. They lived on a meagre income and had very little to spare their entire lives. But despite their circumstances, I can remember nothing but the feeling of joy every time I remember them. And the reason was simple enough: It was here that my grandmother and grandfather loved us and completely accepted us for who we were. But far deeper than that was this amazing sense that we were bringing pleasure to them, that we were a joy to them!

There have been many times in my life that I have been happy or have experienced pleasure. I love driving fast. The fastest I’ve driven is about 240 km/hour from Bremen to Stuttgart on the Autobahn. Thrilling! I love coffee: strong, sweet, and with two teaspoons of milk, first thing in the morning. Pleasure! I love a good spy-movie. Watching Jason Bourne discover his amazing CIA-trained abilities. Total fun! But all these things, and many more, come to an end. Of course, there’s the next movie, the next cup, or the next whatever. But as certain as gravity pulls a ball down to the ground, pleasure fades and falls. Happiness fades. Momentary joys fade. Argh!! I hate it. Why can’t I “get no satisfaction?” Behind all my pursuits of pleasure is the longing for something far deeper and stronger and lasting that will never fade.

There’s something in all of us that longs for lasting joy. We’ve been built with it. Like our bodies have been built for food and water, our spirits have been built for joy and we spend all our lives searching for that perfect, lasting thing that will give us the fountain of joy. C.S. Lewis writes, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." *

My dear friend, will you believe me if I told you that I have found it? Probably not. It sounds ridiculous, I know (I’m smiling as I write.) That’s why I put this site together. I hope seeing the name of “Jesus” doesn’t put “religion” in your mind. If it does, throw it out. I too have tried religion. Can’t say there’s much joy there, or much of anything else. I will say, that in Jesus, I have feasted on a joy that I only tasted visiting my grandparents in Calcutta as a little boy. And Jesus promises the same: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” ** I must sound like a lunatic when I say that I know exactly what Jesus meant when he said those words. Today. This very moment. As you read this, right now, you can know eternal life. Can you call Him your friend? Of what value is anything in this life compared to even such a possibility.

Imagine, walking past a tiny plot of land. Suddenly, a shiny object catches your eye near a garbage heap. You walk closer and see that it’s partially buried. As you bend down to look, you realize it’s a gold coin. You dig a little deeper and find another one. You look back and no one has noticed you, but there are people walking by. What would you do? Me? If I knew there was a treasure buried under that tiny trash heap, I would sell everything I had to buy that land (I’m plagiarizing here). That would be the best investment!

That is why I call this the path of joy. It is not only because you will ultimately find lasting joy at the end. No. On this path you will, in truth, find that you are holding the hand of the very One who is all joy and peace and grace and life- eternal life!

So explore and ask me if you have any questions. I would love to share what I have found.

* C.S.Lewis (1949), Weight of Glory. HarperCollins, p. 26

** John 17.3