Phew, it's been such a busy summer, and regardless of few blog postings lately, I have not forgotten about you guys! I've been reading lots of good Christian books to gain knowledge for your benefit, and boy, am I learning some pretty sweet stuff about Jesus.
So I've been thinking hard about what to write about in my blog this week, and there were so many topics that I wanted to choose from. As I was weighing out my options, I decided that this was the perfect subject to talk about this week: How does one become a Christian? Because what if one of you beautiful souls out there is lost and reading these blogs but doesn't understand why I'm talking about this stuff? I know this post is long, but it's gonna be worth it. So here it goes.
This has been a real passion of mine since I joined Campus Crusade for Christ at the beginning of my first year of college. It kills me to know that there are people who don't know Jesus and his amazing love, and even worse, they don't know how to become a Christian. We Crusaders had the option to Share door-to-door at dorm rooms to share the Gospel of Christ by giving each person a little 15 page book about how to get to know God personally (aka KGP). So are you ready? Would you like to know God personally?
First, I want you guys to know that God loves you soooo much and he created you so that you can get to know him personally. Not only that, but he has pretty awesome plans for you. The bible tells us that:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
And God also tells us of the plan he has for each one of us:
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
(John 17:3)
So why haven't we accepted this truth yet? Why are so many of us still wandering around not knowing about this eternal truth?
The second thing you guys need to know is that we, as humans, are sinful and separated from God. We do bad things which prevents us from knowing him personally or experiencing the fullness of his love and plan.
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
We as people are meant and were created to have fellowship (relationship) with God; but, because we are stubborn and go by our own self-will, we chose to go the way WE want to go, which causes our relationship with God to break and cause a separation from him. The Bible calls this self-will, which is described by an attitude of constant and active rebellion or passive indifference, SIN.
"For the wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23)
Above is a diagram showing that we as people are sinful, and God is perfectly holy. We are separated by a gulf to God. We try so hard to reach God by our own ideas of creating a relationship with him (religion, good works, philosophy, morality), but we can never quite reach and bridge the gap to our holy God.
So what is God's response to all this? Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through him alone we can know God personally and experience God's love and plan. Jesus died in our place for every sin we have committed:
"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
But he conquered death and rose from the grave:
"...Christ died for our sins...He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
And because of his payment for our sins, Jesus is the only way to God:
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" (John 14:6)
Above shows how God has bridged the gap that separates us from him by sending his one and only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay for our sins and rebellious natures. So if you're trying to get across a river and you see a bridge in front of you, what are you gonna do? I hope you wouldn't try to swim on your own accord to get across, but use the bridge to make it easier and safer for you to get to the other side. Get it now? The only way to get to God is to cross that bridge! But knowing just this truth isn't enough. There's more.
Come back tomorrow for part 2 of the blog and find out what you can do to bridge the gap with God and gain a personal relationship with your Savior!
Praying for you all! Tons of love, Trish <3
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