You were made for relationship. Your personal relationship with God is, without a doubt, the MOST IMPORTANT relationship you will EVER have in your lifetime!
Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and their sin separated them from God (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-24). Before they sinned against God, they knew Him intimately. They walked with Him and talked with Him. Genesis 3:8-9 (NLT) says, Toward evening they heard the LORD God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. The Lord God called to Adam, ‘Where are you?’ These verses show God’s desire to have a personal relationship with you. He is the Creator of the universe, yet He came looking and calling out for the man He created, even after he had done wrong.
Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) tells us, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” I have a question for you: Do you know Him? Let me clarify. You probably know about Him, but do you know Him intimately? Most Christians believe they are saved and then get caught up in the routine of church. To some Christians, church is more of a social thing than a spiritual thing. They come to church Sunday morning and sing the songs, pray the prayers, listen to the preacher preach, and then leave a tip for God in the offering. They believe they have done their ‘religious’ duty and that makes them a good person. They leave church, go back into the world, and experience no more closeness to Jesus until they return to church and do the same thing all over again.
Romans 14:8-9 (NKJV) says, For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and living. There is so much more to the Christian life than just a Sunday morning ritual. It’s not about religion with a bunch of rituals and rules. It’s about a relationship with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, involving love, faith, trust, and obedience.
When man sinned against God, we were not only separated from Him, but we lived under the condemnation of our sin. The Bible says the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). A blood sacrifice was necessary for our sins (usually a lamb). This was a continual process by all men for their sins. God loves you so much that through the divine Trinity, He worked out your salvation. God the Father came up with the plan for your redemption, God the Son implemented the plan, and God the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) applied the plan. God sent His perfect Son as the ultimate sacrifice to die on the cross for your sins and wash them away forever. God raised Jesus from the dead three days later proving His power and truth and giving Him victory over sin and death. The Bible says, “Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness. I speak this way, using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is easy to understand. Before, you let yourselves be slaves of impurity and lawlessness. Now you must choose to be slaves of righteousness so that you will become holy. In those days, when you were slaves of sin, you weren’t concerned with doing what was right. And what was the result? It was not good, since now you are ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 6:18-23, 8:1-2).
The result of all of this is that you receive the free gift of salvation and, thus, you will spend eternity with your Heavenly Father. Jesus left heaven and came to earth in the form of man. Just as God the Father came to the Garden of Eden looking for Adam and Eve, God the Son left the comforts of heaven to come to earth to do for you what you could not do for yourself. God loves you dearly and He did all of this to restore His relationship with you. Jesus’ sacrifice bridged the separation caused by sin and made it possible for you to have a personal relationship with God.
To be a Christian, you had to admit you were a sinner, repent from your sin, realize your need for a Savior, and surrender your life to Jesus. Your personal relationship with Jesus begins the moment you realize you cannot fight the daily battle of the devil, the flesh, and the world without His help. God has given you the Holy Spirit as your Counselor to help you. John 14:15-17 (NIV) says, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.” You surrender to His will and He becomes the authority in your life.
Jesus knows you struggle with sin. When He died on the cross, He suffered horrifically as He took on your sin and the sin of the world. Jesus was resurrected, and He conquered both sin and death. He wants you to live the victorious Christian life He died to give you. It requires 100% commitment and you have to give your life to Him. In Philippians 1:21 (NIV) Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Jesus, Himself, said, “He who is not with Me is against Me. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot or cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth” (Matthew 12:30, 10:37-39, Revelation 3:15-16 NIV). Jesus does not want half of you; He wants ALL of you. He will NOT settle for a half-hearted, mediocre follower.
God gave you His Word, the Bible, so that you know Him and what He wants you to do. The Bible is your instruction manual for life (B.I.B.L.E. – Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth). Jesus wants you to read the Bible, learn from Him, and follow His example. James 1:22 (NIV) says, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Jesus wants to be in a continual conversation with you through prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He wants you to meditate on His Word throughout your day to keep your focus on Him and His ways (Joshua 1:7-8). God’s goal for you through every circumstance and experience of your life is to help you conform into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) says, “And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.” God wants to walk with you through this journey as you use your life to serve His purposes: Love others, serve others, and do good works. Love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and you will not only have a strong personal relationship with God, you will be Living The Victory, and most importantly, you will glorify God!
Go Live The Victory!
