Are you having questions about how to know God personally and how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Maybe you are having concerns about your relationship with Christ. As you read the following material, ask God to reveal Himself to you.
Realize God loves you and seeks to have a personal relationship with you. I John 4:10 states "Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven." Understand that a personal relationship through Christ is more than attending a church, being baptized, making a commitment to do better, or memorizing a set of religious material. Having a personal relationship with God is even more than being religious. The word of God says in James 2:19 "You surely believe there is only one God. That’s fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them shake with fear.
- Agree with God about who you really are. God says, "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God" and "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:10-11 and 23) So often we would rather play the blame game. It’s not my fault. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, or I have made some bad choices in life, or I’ve associated with the wrong crowd. God loves you regardless of your past. Admit to God what He already knows. "I have sinned against you God."
- Acknowledge your inability to save yourself. Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." We think all I need to do is try harder, get myself together and straightened up, or do the right things and then I’ll be okay. The Prophet Isaiah states, "...All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." God is not impressed by mankind. There is nothing you can do to earn a personal relationship with God. It is God who seeks a personal relationship with you. Acknowledge that you need God in your life.
- Accept God’s remedy for your life. Remember God loves you and has provided all that is necessary for you to be forgiven and have a personal relationship with Him. (John 3:16-18) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus was the one who bore our sins, died in our place, was buried, and whom God raised from the dead. Two followers of Jesus were asked what to do to be saved, they answered "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:30-31) When we accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as payment for our sin, God forgives us of our sins and enters into a personal relationship with us.
- Admit your need for Christ to save you now. Do you understand that you are a sinner and that you cannot earn God’s forgiveness? The Bible states "...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Notice what you just read in God’s Word. It states that you "will" be saved. Not might be, or could be saved. Christ says in Revelation 3:20 "I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in…" The following is a simple prayer, often called a sinner's prayer. Don’t just read it; pray it out loud to God. He is listening, and He will hear you.
A PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT
Dear God, I believe you love me; you sent your Son to provide eternal life for me. I confess I am a sinner needing forgiveness. I turn from my sins to you and your plan for my life. Jesus, I accept you as the Son of God who died on the cross, and was raised from the dead. I give myself to you forever. Enter my life as Savior and Lord. I accept your gifts of forgiveness, and adoption into the Christian family. Thank you for making me a Christian. Send the Holy Spirit to give me power to follow you. AMEN
