I was talking with Beth today, and we were sharing our favoirite passages with each other.  Since I typed it out for her, I thought I would share it here also. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NLT)

17) That means anyone that belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (18) And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.  And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. (19) For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.  And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. (20) So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.  We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (21)  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that could be made right with God through Christ.”