“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10

Hello. My name is Rachael Lane . I was born on May 22, 1984. When I was born, my umbilical cord was pinched stopping the blood from flowing to my brain. As a result, I had a class four brain bleed. I have cerebral palsy. I am missing about 75% of the left side of my brain. My Apgar scores were a one and seven. An Apgar score is a method for assessing an infant’s health condition on a scale from zero to ten.

Because of my health condition, I had a high risk of dying. The doctors said that I would never be able to walk or talk. I am missing the part of the brain that controls speech. However, the doctors didn’t know what God could do. Around my first birthday, my family found me standing in my crib.

Miraculously, I started walking and talking around the time that I was one and a half years old. I learned to play the harmonica and occasionally play in church. I learned to drive and earned my Associates in Arts Degree majoring in Business Administration. I attend First Baptist Church of Land O’ Lakes.

There, I work with the children’s ministry. Although I have made many decisions in my life, I made the most important decision in my life on May 31, 1998, a decision on where I am going to spend eternity. At an age of fourteen, I received Jesus Christ as my only hope for Heaven.

Without God, I would not be where I am in my life today.

I would like to tell you how you can receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. There are five things that you need to believe so that you can know that you are going to Heaven.

First, the Bible says in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Sin in this verse means the wrong things that we do. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all done things wrong.

Secondly, Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Wages in this verse means payment. Death in this verse is talking about an eternal separation from God in a place called Hell. Because

we’ve sinned, we have a price to pay. In order for us to pay for our sin ourselves, we have to go to Hell to do it.

Thirdly, Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Grace in this verse means undeserved, unmerited favor. It in this verse is talking about eternal

life. Eternal life is a gift from God. People don’t work for a gift, but they receive a gift. Our good works cannot save us. Isaiah 64:6 says that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” When we are at our very best, God still sees our goodness as filthy rags. Heaven is a perfect place. In order for us to get to Heaven ourselves, we have to be as perfect as God and none of us are.

Fourthly, Romans 5:8 says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Commendeth in this verse means demonstrated. Yet sinners in this verse means while we were yet in our sin. The good news is that Jesus Christ has already paid the debt so that we can go to Heaven. Jesus Christ came down from Heaven, was born in a manger, lived thirty-three years of a perfect, sinless life and died on the cross to make the payment for our sin. After Jesus Christ died, he was buried. That wasn’t all, Jesus Christ rose again on the third day and is in Heaven right now.

Fifthly, John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlast­ing life.” Perish in this verse means go to Hell. All we can do to get to Heaven is believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to get to Heaven. John 3:36 says “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Believe in this verse means to put your trust in. Putting your trust in Jesus Christ alone is the only way to get to Heaven.

If you would like to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then pray a simple prayer like this:

“Dear God in Heaven, I know that I’m a sinner. Because I’ve sinned, I deserve your punishment which is to spend eternity in the place called Hell. I know that there’s nothing that I can do of myself to earn eternal life. I believe that your Son Jesus Christ died to pay for my sin and right now, I am  trusting Him alone to be my Savior, my only hope to get to Heaven. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me the gift of eternal life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.”  

© 2007. No part of this page within No Tears In Heaven may be reproduced or reused in any way, electronic or print, without the expressed permission of the webmaster of No Tears In Heaven, or its respective author through her personal website www.rachaellane.org .The testimony of Rachael Lane is used with permission. Rachael is a member of First Baptist Church of Land O' Lakes, Florida www.fbclol.org