Have you ever wished you could get tickets to major events like the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards, or a presidential inauguration? Getting tickets to important events isn't always easy, and it's usually expen-sive. But one thing is for sure--if you don't have a ticket, you won't get in. Getting into heaven is a whole lot more important, because heaven is forever. So is hell. The decisions you make in this life determine where your eternal destination will be. And just as with the major events of our culture, you need a ticket to get into heaven, something that proves you should be admitted. Unlike tickets for entertainment events, how-ever, you can't purchase a ticket to heaven. The price for entrance is righteousness--you must be sinless and perfect. That's what you need to enter heaven, since "nothing unclean will ever enter it" (Revelation 21:27). Since that's the entry requirement, it seems impossible to get in. After all, it's true--we are sinners and far from perfect. The Bible says we all sin and fail to meet God's standards for righteousness (Romans 3:23). Because of that, we are under condemnation and destined to die (John 3:36; Romans 6:23). Despite that, we can find entry into heaven because God has provided a ticket for us. How Do I Get This Heavenly Ticket? Our ticket into heaven comes to us by faith. We can't earn it by doing lots of good deeds, like giving away money or serving the poor. It's only through faith that we gain admittance. The faith we need is to believe that when Jesus, God's sinless Son, died on the cross, he made it possible for our sins to be forgiven. We deserve to be on that cross, but Jesus died in our place. The Bible says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). Our own righteousness won't admit us to heaven, but only "the righteousness from God that depends on faith" (Philippians 3:9). Faith is trusting what God says and in what he has done for us. Jesus willingly died for us and was raised from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. When we genuinely believe this truth, we are admitted into heaven when our earthly life is over. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). It Gets Even Better When we place our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin's judgment, God credits us with Jesus's perfect righteousness. Christ is our righteous "ticket" to heaven. God forgives all our sins because Jesus bore the penalty for them on our behalf. The Bible tells us, "For our sake, he made Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sins were applied to Jesus so that his righteousness could be applied to us You may wonder why God would ever do such a thing. He did it because he loves us. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not per-ish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Love is the source of the great exchange God made-- our sin for Christ's righteousness. When it comes time to leave this earth, those who have put their faith in Christ will go to heaven. Do you have your ticket? If not, it's not too late to trust in Christ for forgiveness of your sins and the gift of eternal life. If that's your sincere desire, here's a prayer that can help you express your decision to God: God, I acknowledge that I am sinful, and I know that I cannot live with you in heaven unless I have righteousness. Please forgive me for my sinful ways. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and had all of my sins applied to his pure and sinless self. I also believe that he was raised from the dead in order that I might be also. Please apply Jesus's righteousness to me so that I can become a new creation and live with you forever. Amen.

May I offer you a ticket to Heaven? You don't have to pay for it, and that's a good thing, because you could never afford to buy it! It's free, but only because someone has already paid the ultimate price for it. God loves you and not only wants you to have a fulfilling life on earth, He also wants you to live with Him in Heaven forever. He's the one who offers you a paid-in-full ticket. No one wants to go to hell where there will be no joy and no pleasures whatsoever, and God doesn't want anyone to go there either. The Bible says that God is "not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9). But there is a problem with getting that free ticket. We have all done wrong--we have all sinned, haven't we? God's Word says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1 John 1:8). Sin pollutes--it makes us unclean, unfit for God's presence in that wonderful, perfect place called Heaven. Sin penalizes--it separates us from a sinless God, "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). In short, our sinfulness blocks the delivery of the ticket that we need to get into Heaven! Who paid for it? Wait! There's good news! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth to be born and to live His life without sin. He "once suffered for [our] sins, the just [One] for the unjust [all of us!], that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). When God "laid on Him the iniquity [sins] of us all" (Isaiah 53:6), Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34). The answer is simple and profound: Jesus was separated from God because He took your place and mine on the cross, and by dying He paid in full the "wages" our sins had earned. Then He rose from the dead, was seen by hundreds of people, and is alive today so you can know Him and receive the gift of eternal life--your ticket to Heaven. That's right! The Bible says this about all who believe in His name: "as many as received Him [Jesus], to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12). That is fantastic! You can become a "new" person--born of God--to start a brand new life that pleases God. And, of course, all God's children have a ticket to Heaven! Do you want it? It is no accident you were given this offer of a ticket to Heaven. God has made sure you can receive it. The whole issue is, did Jesus pay for all your sins or didn't He? God said He did. Trust God that it is so. "He that believeth on the Son [of God] hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). Just as a man says, "Yes, I will take this woman to be my wife," God wants you to tell Him, "Yes, I will take Jesus to be my Savior. I believe that He is the only way to Heaven." The Bible says, "He that hath the Son [Jesus] hath life" (1 John 5:12). If you believe that God's way to Heaven is the only way, you can "claim your ticket" by telling God in words like these: Dear God, I have sinned. I know I have offended You in many ways. I am so sorry. I believe that Jesus suffered and died for my sins, paid my debt in full, and rose again. Jesus, I believe in You and thank You for what You've done for me. Please save me from the penalty of my sins, and give me a new birth and the power to live for You. Thank You for this offer to spend eternity in Heaven with You! Remember what John 3:36 says: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." Do you now believe in Jesus as your Savior, your only "ticket to Heaven"? Do you have everlasting life, like God said?

Each title in The Applause Libretto Library Series presents a Broadway musical with fresh packaging in a 6 x 9 trade paperback format. Each Complete Book and Lyrics is approved by the writers and attractively designed with color photo inserts from the Broadway production. All titles include introduction and foreword by renowned Broadway musical experts. Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery, and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious, and very popular. The story of how these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years.