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These four things will help you know
God. By following them, you can find the full and satisfying 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 us from knowing God in a real
way?
2. People are sinful, and
far from God, so we cannot know Him in a close way. We cannot know His
love.
Mankind is Sinful
-- "For all men (all people) have
sinned and missed the shining greatness of God" (Romans 3:23).
-- "But your wrong-doings have kept
you away from your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that
He does not hear" (Isaiah 59:2).
God created people so that each of us could
know Him as a friend. But people are stubborn. We want to go our own way.
This rebellion against God is sin.
Mankind is far away from God.
-- "You get what is coming to you when
you sin. It is death!" (Romans 6:23a).
God is holy (completely sinless). Mankind
is sinful. There is a big separation between God and mankind, and people
try to reach God and heaven. Mankind is trying to become a friend of God
in his own way. People do this through traditional or formal religion, or
by just trying to live a good life.
But there is a way over this big
separation.
3. Jesus Christ is God's only
answer for people'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).
-- "Christ suffered and died for sins
once for all. He never sinned and yet He died for us who have sinned. He
died so He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
He rose from the dead. He is alive!
-- "Jesus died for our sins. He was
raised from the dead to make us right with God" (Romans 4:25).
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).
Sin separates us from God. If we die with
that big "gap" between God and us, it will be there forever. But
there is Good News! – God has made a way over the separation.
The only way is Jesus Christ. God sent His
Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. He died in our place to pay for our
sins. He is the Way.
But it is not good enough just to
"know" these three things...
4. We must each take Jesus
Christ into our life. We must let Him come in as Saviour and Master. Then
we can know God as a true Friend!
-- (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).
We must receive Jesus Christ by faith.
-- "He gave the right and power to
become children of God to those who received Him. He gave this to those
who put their trust in His name" (John 1:12).
-- "For by His loving favor you have
been saved from the punishment of sin through faith. It is not by 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 choose to receive Jesus, we have a
new and different life.
It doesn't do any good just to know
that Jesus is God's Son, and that He died on the cross. What you do
with Him is the most important decision you will ever make.
Believing in Jesus means giving Him control
of our life. It means being sorry for our sins. It means accepting God's
forgiveness for our sins. It means turning away from our sins. It means
letting God make us what He wants us to be.
This next part will show
you how to ask Jesus into your life.
Will you ask Jesus Christ into your life
right now? He comes in when you believe. He comes in when you ask Him.
God knows how we think. That is more
important than the words we use when we pray. Praying is simply talking to
God. If you are unsure of what to say to God, you can invite Jesus into
your life through a prayer like this:
Lord Jesus, I want to know You in a real
way. I admit that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for doing wrong things.
Please forgive me. I turn from my sins. I now ask You to come into my
life. I take You as my Savior 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 that lasts forever. In Your Name, Amen.
You can know that Jesus lives in your life.
Did you ask Jesus into your life? In
Revelation 3:20, Jesus says He will come into your life. He said He will
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.
-- "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" (1 John
5:11-13).
Thank God many times because Jesus lives in
your life. Thank Him that He will not leave you.
-- "God has said, ‘I will never
leave you or let you be alone.' " (Hebrews 13:5)
Do not go just by how you feel.
A four-wheeler will run with or without a
trailer. But it would be useless to try to pull the four-wheeler with the
trailer. In the same way, we as Christians do not depend on feelings or
emotions, but we place our faith in God and the promises of His Word.
Fact = God and His Word
Faith = our trust in God and His Word
Feeling = the result of our faith and
obedience
-- (Jesus speaking) "The one who loves
Me is the one who has My teaching and obeys it. My Father will love
whoever loves Me. I will love him and will show Myself to him" (John
14:21).
You now have new life in Jesus Christ!
If you asked Jesus to come into your life,
many things happened, including:
1. Christ came into your life. (Revelation
3:20; Colossians 1:27)
2. Your sins were forgiven. (Colossians
1:14)
3. You became God's child. (John 1:12)
4. You've received life that lasts forever.
(John 5:24)
5. You've begun a new life with God as your
friend. (John 10:12; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
6. God's Holy Spirit comes to live in you.
(Ephesians 1:13; Rom. 8:14; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20)
You now have Jesus living in your life as
your true friend! Is there anything better than that? You can pray right
now, thanking God for what He did for you. Thanking God shows your faith
in Him and what He says.
Next part ... enjoying your new life with
God!
How to GROW as a Christian
G - Go to God, praying every day.
(John 15:7)
R - Read the Bible every day. (Acts
17:11) Start with the Gospel of John.
O - Obey what God says. (John 14:21)
W - Witness for Christ by what you
do and what you say. (Matthew 5:16)
T - Trust God for every part of your
life. (1 Peter 5:7)
H - Holy Spirit. Allow Him control
of your life. He gives the power you need to live for Jesus everyday.
(Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8)
... and worship, fellowship, and serve with
other Christians in a church where Christ is preached. The Bible says:
"Let us not stay away from church meetings" (Hebrews 10:25).
When we meet with other Christians, we walk closer to God. When we do not
meet with other Christians, we walk farther from God. Find a good church.
Go every week.
Has this page helped you?
If you have just received Jesus Christ, be
sure to tell others about what you have done. If you are unable to do
that, or if you need spiritual help, please call or write Tribal Trails.
For More Spiritual Help...
or to tell someone that you asked Jesus into your life...
Call: 306-961-2588, or
E-mail us at: tribaltrails@ncem.ca
Or you can write to us at:
Tribal Trails
Box 3030
Prince Albert, SK S6V 7V4
Canada
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