Knowing
God personally....
Can you believe that the
Creator of everything desires a personal relationship with you? That's right!
The God who made it all wants you to know Him. We're not talking about some
arms length, untouchable kind of thing. We're talking about close up and
personal.
It works
like this. Because love is fundamental to His nature, God created beings upon
whom He could express His love and who would return that love. But true love
must be freely returned. So He gave us free wills and the right to choose to
return His love or not.
Yeh! You
guessed it! We chose NOT! Despite His love revealed in creation, His word -
the Bible- and so many other ways, we humans have chosen to go our own way.
Choosing our own way rather God's way is what the Bible calls SIN. Nasty word
that!
The BIG
problem is that choices have consequences. The consequence of our choice to
do our own thing is that the relationship for which God created us is now
lost. Even worse, instead of life lived in relationship with God, we have
condemned ourselves to separation from Him. That separation has major
consequences both here and now and in the life to come. Listen to what the
Bible has to say:
"All
of us are like sheep that are lost, each of us going our own way" Isaiah
53:6 (TEV)
"Everyone
has sinned and is far away from God's saving presence." Romans 3:23
(TEV)
"For
sin pays it's wage -- death;" Romans 6:23 (TEV)
Here it
is in a nutshell. By choosing our own way rather than God's way for us, we
have not only rejected His love, but cut ourselves off from the relationship
with Him for which He created us. That's dumb if you ask me. But we are all
guilty and there is nothing we can do about it. We're lost, guilty, cut off,
our goose is cooked! Use any expression you like --we've had it!
The
bottom line is that because a relationship with you and me is such a high
priority for God, He was not prepared to leave us out in the cold. He was
determined to open a way back into His presence, no matter what the cost. And
that cost was horrendous. It meant giving His Son, Jesus Christ, to make good
the mess we had made.
When
Jesus Christ came to our earth 2000 years ago, He accomplished two
significant things:
- Firstly, He showed us that
it is possible for a person to live a life that pleases God and return
the love He deserves. The Bible says, He "... was tempted in every
way that we are, but did not sin." Hebrews 4:15 (TEV)
- Secondly, He gave His life
to pay the penalty for our failure and rebellion against God's plan and
purposes for us. The Bible says, "Christ himself carried our sins
in His own body on the cross.." 1Peter 2:24 (TEV)
As a result
of His death on the cross we are able to enter into that close relationship
with God for which we were created. We know that is true because God put His
seal of approval on all Jesus said and did when He raised Him to life after
He had been dead for three days..
Let me
put it another way. God poured our on Jesus on the Cross all the punishment
you and I should have suffered for our rebellion and sin. Now there is
nothing to stop us entering into everything which God originally intended for
us. Now we can have a personal relationship with God. Sounds great
doesn't it!
How do
you enter into this personal relationship with God. It really is as simple as
A B C.
A.
Accept the fact that you are a sinner and in need of God's forgiveness.
B.
Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that when He died on the
Cross, He died in your place.
C. Come
to Him, confess your need of Him and invite Him to come in and take charge of
your life.
Now listen to
what the Bibles says:
"If you
confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved." Romans 10:9 (TEV)
Now it's up
to you.
Now it's up
to you to decide what you are going to do about this personal relationship with
the Living God. You can reject all that He has done for you. That's your
choice but remember, there are consequences. OR you can choose to accept what
Jesus Christ has done for you, receive Him by faith and invite Him to take
over the place of authority in your life.
If you would
like to receive this free offer of God's love and forgiveness and enter into
a meaningful personal relationship with Him, you could pray the simple prayer
below and God will hear and receive you as one of His own. Ready? Then here
goes.
Dear Lord
Jesus, I want to enter into a personal relationship with God. I want to know
the plans and purposes you have for me. I know I am a sinner. I have
stubbornly chosen to do my own thing and rejected your place in my life. I
know I cannot help myself. But now I recognize who you are and what you did
for me when you died on the Cross. I choose to put my faith in you rather
than
in
myself. Now I invite you to come into my life as my Saviour, my Lord and my
Friend. I invite you to take over my life and help me to live as you want me
to live. Thank you for your love for me. Amen
If you
sincerely prayed that prayer, God has forgiven your sin and you are now
a child of God. You have begun the journey of knowing God personally.
Please
contact us and let us know of the decision you have made to follow Christ. We
would like to encourage you and help you find other Christians who can help
you develop your new found faith.
Contacts
and More Information
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Regents Park
Community Church 
At Home with RPCC