These four things will help you get to know God. By following them, you can find the happy and full life He promised.
1. God loves you. He made you so that you could know Him in a real way.
God's love ... "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, whoever puts his trust in God's Son will not be lost, but will have life that lasts forever'' (John 3:16).
God's plan ... "This is Life that lasts forever, it is to know You, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ whom You have sent'' (John 17:3).
What stops you from knowing God is a real way?
2. Man is sinful. He is far away from God. Because we are far away from God, we cannot know Him in a close way. We cannot know His love.
Man is sinful ... "For all men have sinned and missed the shining greatness of God'' (Romans 3:23); God made man so he could know Him as a friend. But man is stubborn. He wants to go his own way. He does not want to be God's friend. God calls this stubbornness. This rebellion against Him is sin.
Man is far away from God ... "You get what is coming to you when you sin. It is death'' (Romans 6:23).
God is holy. Man is sinful. There is a big canyon that separates God and man. People try to reach God in many ways, such as traditional or formal religion, or by trying to life a good life.
There is a way over that canyon! "Jesus said, `I am the Way...' '' (John 14:6)
3.Jesus Christ is God's only answer for man's sin. It is only through Jesus that we can know God as a true Friend. You can know His love.
He died for us ... "But God showed His love to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us'' (Romans 5:8).
He rose from the dead ... "Christ died for our sins ... Christ was buried; He was raised from the dead three days later, as the Holy Writings said He would be. Christ was seen by Peter. After that the twelve followers saw Him; after that, more than 500 of His followers saw Him at one time'' (I Corinthians 15:3-6).
Jesus is the only way to God ..."Jesus said, `I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one can get to the Father except by Me.' '' (John 14:6).
There is a canyon between God and mankind. But God has made a way over the canyon. The only way is Jesus Christ. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. He died in our place to pray for our sins. He is the Way.
But ... it is not good enough just to know these things!
4.We must each take Jesus Christ into our life. We must let Him come in as Saviour and Lord. Then we can know God as a true Friend. We can know His love.
We must accept Jesus Christ ... "He gave the right and power to become children of God to those who receive Him. He gave this to those who put their trust in His name'' (John 1:12).
We accept Jesus Christ through faith ... "For by His loving favour you have been saved from the penalty of sin through faith. It is not anything you have done; it is a gift from God. It is not given to you because you worked for it. If you could work for it, you would be proud'' (Ephesians 2:8,9).
When we accept Jesus, we get a new life (read John 3:1-8).
We receive Jesus by asking Him to come into our life ... (Jesus is speaking) "Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and we will eat together'' (Revelation 3:20).
Accepting Jesus means not running your life any more. It means giving your life to God. It means believing that Jesus comes into our lives and forgives our sins. It means letting Him make us what He wants us to be. It does not do us any good just to know that Jesus is God's Son. It is not enough just to know that Jesus died on the cross. It is not enough just to have a good feeling. We must accept Jesus Christ by faith. We must decide to accept Him.
Here's how you can ask Jesus into your life:
God knows how you think-- it is more important than your words. You could pray this prayer right now. (Praying is simply talking to God.)
Lord Jesus, I want to know you in a real way. I am sorry for doing wrong things. Please forgive me. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I now ask you to come into my life. I accept you as my Saviour and Lord. Come and be the Chief of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you for taking away my sins. Thank you for giving me life and lasts forever.
Did you pray this prayer?
You can know that Jesus lives in your life.
Did you ask Jesus into your life? Did He come into your life? In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said He would come into your life. He said He would be your friend. You can get to know Him in a real way. How do you know that God has come into your life? He said so in the Bible. You can trust God. He does what He says.
The Bible says we have life that lasts forever
We get this life when we accept Jesus ... "This is the word He spoke; God gave us life that lasts forever and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life; he that does not have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Now you can know you have life that lasts forever'' (I John 5:11-13).
Thank God many times. Thank Him because Jesus lives in your life. Thank Him that He will not leave you. Hebrews 13:5: "God has said, `I will never leave you or let you be alone.' '' When you asked Jesus into your life, you have life that lasts forever. God will not lie to you.
Do not go by how you feel. Trust what God says in the Bible. What the Bible says is true. The Christian lives by faith. He trusts only God. He believes what the Bible says.
Let's says that a snowmobile represents "fact'' and the sled it is pulling represents "feelings.'' A snowmobile will run fine without a sled. And, of course, it would be useless for a sled to try to pull a snowmobile. It is the same way when we are Christians. We cannot trust our feelings. We have to put our trust in God. We have to trust what He promises in the Bible.
New Life in Christ
If you asked Jesus to come into your life, many things happened:
1.He did what He said He would. He came into your life (Revelation 3:20; Colossians 1:27).
2. He forgave all your wrongdoing (Colossians 1:14). You became God's child (John 1:12).
3.You get life that lasts forever (John 5:24). You start a new life with God living in you.
4.He made you to become His friend (John 10:12; II Corinthians 5:17; II Thessalonians 5:18).
5.His Spirit comes to live in you (Ephesians 1:13; Acts 2:38; John 7:39).
How to Grow as a Christian
God will help you with every part of your life.
You can grow by:
G -- Going on your way and praying every day (John 15:7).
R -- Reading the Bible every day (Acts 17:11). Start with the Gospel of John.
O -- Obeying what God says (John 14:21). W -- Witnessing (telling others about Jesus) by what you do and what you say.
T -- Trusting God. God will take care of all your life (I Peter 5:7).
H -- Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a helper. Let Him guide you every day. He will help you tell others of Jesus. He will help you live for Jesus every day (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8).
And Go to a Good Church
God's Word tells us: "Let us not stay away from church meetings'' (Hebrews 10:25). Many sticks in a stove burn bright. One stick burning by itself is not good. Its fire will go out. It is the same way with Christians. When we meet with other Christians, we walk closer to God. When we do not meet with other Christians, we walk away from God. So find a good church, one that preaches about Jesus Christ. Go every week.
Above has been adapted from a version of ``Four Spiritual Laws'' written by Bill Bright; Copyright 1987: Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted with permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible New Life Version (NLV): Copyright 1969, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986: Christian Literature International, Box 777, Canby, OR 97013. Used by permission.