God

People were created by God to have a relationship with Him. Every person was designed by God with a special plan and purpose in mind for their life. That special plan and purpose for your life can only be fulfilled when you have a relationship with God. Success in life is defined by fulfilling your God-given purpose.

How can a person have a relationship with God? Although, most people in America call themselves Christians, very few actually have a relationship with God. You can call yourself anything you like, but that doesn’t make your label accurate. In this blog, I will lay out the succinct basics of entering into a relationship with God, based on the Bible. There is no other way. It is profound, but yet as simple as ABC.

A, you must ADMIT that you have done wrong things, you have sinned, every human being has. NLT Romans 3:23 For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. God’s glorious standard was exemplified in the perfect life of Jesus Christ, who never sinned. We all fall short of that standard. That sin separates you, a sinful human being, from having a relationship with a holy God. You need to simply admit it.

B, you must BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive your sins and release you from the penalty of the wrong you have done. Your sin separates you from having relationship with a holy God and condemns you to an eternity without God in a place called hell. Jesus having no sin of His own, took your sin upon Himself on the cross and paid your penalty, so that you could be released from eternal death and enter into enternal life. NLT Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. The free gift of God, eternal life, is received through faith, through believing that Jesus’ death is sufficient to forgive your sins and place you into a relationship with God. NLT John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Finally, C, you must COMMIT your life to following Jesus, all your days. That means that you make a firm and irrevocable decision to make Jesus the leader, the CEO, the president, the Lord of your life. From now on, you don’t call the shots anymore, He does. He has a plan for your life, and you are making a decision to follow it, no ifs, ands or buts about it. NLT Romans 10:9 For 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. It’s as simple and profound as that. ABC.

So, what are you waiting for? You don’t know how long you have on this earth. You’ve got a plan from God for your life to get started on. Don’t put it off. Simply go through the ABCs above and talk it through with God. He’s right there with you and He’s listening. Do it now!

If you’ve just prayed the ABC prayer, congratulations, you now have a relationship with God. If you are in the St Louis area, come to Life Church St Louis next Sunday, mark your Connect Card that you have committed your life, and we will get you a free New Believer’s New Testament to read and start figuring out God’s plan for you. You also need to get involved in a good, Bible-believing church. If you’re in St Louis, Life Church St Louis is the place to be. See you next Sunday!

If someone uses the phrase “God told me to do it” in their conversation, a lot of people would peg the person as weird, wacko or even worse. We’ve all read news accounts of heinous crimes committed by someone who was convinced that God told them to do it. So people move to the other extreme and even churches teach that God does not speak to anyone anymore. Oh, they say, he spoke in the times of the Bible, but not anymore, we’re on our own.

A little strange, isn’t it, that the creator of the universe is telling people to do horrible things or has suddenly become mute in the 21st century. The truth of the matter is that God is good and He still speaks today. The Bible tells us that the reason that God created people was so He could have a relationship with them. A relationship is defined by two-way communication. That communication with God is called prayer.

Now most people think of prayer as simply speaking to God, usually asking Him to do something for us. However, the Bible invariably shows a picture of prayer as two persons conversing, man talking to God and God talking back to man. Don’t you think the world would be a better place if people started listening to God a little more and to their televisions a little less? When you pray, have you ever stopped to listen? God wants to speak to you, but you’ve got to have an open mind in order to hear Him.

NLT John 10:27 Jesus: “My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Ninety two percent of households in America own at least one copy of the Bible. The average number of Bibles per household is three, yet in any given week only 42% of Americans read their Bible at all. (Barna) Many people think the Bible is full of myths and errors, like any other book of antiquity.

How wrong they are! The Bible is absolutely unique among books on the face of the planet. It was written over 1500 years by more than 40 authors in three languages and addresses hundreds of controversial subjects. Yet, it has an incredible unity, as it tells one story from beginning to end. It is the continuing all-time bestseller, yet too few people read it or even know what books are in the Old or New Testaments.

If you consider yourself a thinking person, you owe it to yourself to read the Bible, not a dab here or there but the whole thing. Unfortunately, the majority of Bibles people have are of the King James Version translated in 1611. Now it was a fine translation in 1611, but the English language has evolved since then, so most people find it hard to understand. Read the Bible in a modern translation, I suggest the New International Version or the New Living Translation. Your comprehension will go up an order of magnitude. Begin in the New Testament and when you complete that, then go back and read the Old Testament. In the near future, we will begin a discussion group on this website, where you will be able to discuss what you have read, ask questions and get answers.

The Bible is not just a book, not just ink on paper or even pixels on a screen, it is full of living power. If you read it, you come in contact with the awesome spiritual power of God. Don’t read it if you are satisfied with your life. But if you want change, if you want to experience God, if you want to understand the all-time bestseller, dive in. You won’t regret it.

NLT Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.