If we remember it or not, our condition before we placed faith in Christ was an eternal darkness of fatal hopelessness. Paul describes each of us without Jesus like this:

• dead in transgressions
• existing in sin
• following the ways of a fallen world
• following the ways of a powerful rebel spirit
• being used by the ruling rebel spirit as a pawn
• gratifying sinful cravings that took us deeper into darkness
• following desires of our sin nature
• following the thoughts/logic of our dark sin nature
• objects of God's wrath in time and in eternal judgment

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also
lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath."
- Ephesians 2:1-3

But, God's nature is love and he offers mercy. This eternal character of God was manifest in Jesus Christ when he came as a man to pay the awful price for our sin and rebellion that had placed us in the path of God's wrath. Jesus suffered and died to remove the eternal darkness and rescue us from the fatal hopelessness. This can only happen because of grace. God's love moved Jesus to pay our penalty in order that he could have mercy on us. In his grace God removed us from our hopeless state to be placed in a position of eternal life and favor with the Almighty God.

"The spiritual man is the mature man who can discern all things with a mind renewed with a standard of evaluation that comes from
knowing God's Word."
- Galyn Wiemers

93% of Americans have a Bible in their home, but only 54% have read it more
than once a month.