To Believe in God?
· First, one must believe that God is real and His word is truth. There are many evidences all around that declare there is a maker of the heavens and the universe ( Psalm 19). There is also great evidence that God’s word is a divinely inspired work.
· There must be an understanding that you are not God and that you have completely failed at life according to God’s perfect and just standards. This failure is called sin. Sin is to literally “miss the mark” set by God. He has set that mark at His good and perfect standard because that is how life was meant to be lived ( Genesis 1:26-31); it is what is best for us. Sin, what we were born into ( Genesis 3:1-19) and that which we have committed ( Romans 3:23), has completely severed our relationship to God ( Romans 5:12-14). We are lost and destined for an eternity away from God ( Romans 6:23).
· The “Good News” or “Gospel,” is that God has made a perfect way for our relationship to be restored once again ( Romans 5:1-11), the way it was intended to be before there was sin. Our life is of immense importance to God. And being that death is the consequence for our sin, the only price high enough to pay for that sin is the death of a sinless, perfect sacrifice: Jesus, God’s own son. God is a just and righteous God. Because of this, sin cannot just be overlooked. God of course knew this and set forth the plan from the beginning to restore His relationship with humanity ( 1 John 1:1-3).
· Our response to the “good news” is to believe with all our heart and mind that Jesus died on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins and to declare that He and He alone is the Lord or our lives for eternity ( Romans 10:9-10).
· We are then, to live our lives in loving submission to the God who has loved us and sacrificed His life for us, so that we might live in communion with Him. This is truly what the good news is about. Not that we don’t have to go to hell when we die, but that we can now live with God for all of eternity, reaping the benefits of being a child of God; abundant, supernatural life [here and now] ( John 10:10). This is to be done out of love and appreciation for who God is, and it is an eternity long process.
· We are to continue in life long study of the Bible ( Psalm 1:1-2), continually refining our understanding of who God is and what He is like. This is the only way in which we can believe correctly about Him in every aspect of our life. This is true for every relationship we are in. We must get to know each other, in order to relate better with each other.
What does this relationship look like on a daily basis?
· Take the time each day to appreciate and worship our awesome, loving, graceful, merciful, righteous, just, beautiful God.
· Tell Him what He means to you (worship).
· Talk to Him about the things that mean so much to you and Him (prayer).
· Read and study the Bible, finding out all that it reveals about our magnificent God and learning to apply its truths to your life.
· Make God the center of your entire life, placing Him at the forefront of all that you do, say, and are.
· Answering these questions each day:
o Who is God according to His word? Who does He say that I am? Who does He say others are?
o Out of these simple questions we are able to relate properly to God, ourselves, and others, and on our way to fulfilling God’s greatest commandments.
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:35-40
September 12, 2008 at 1:46 am
this is good stuff, thanks