Journey4Jesus
Praying Gods Word in all areas of life… The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Do you know Jesus?
Do you have a personal relationship with the Living God?
What does that mean to have a personal relationship? Isn’t just believing in God enough? And… what’s with all this talk about Jesus?
First of all lets talk about the personal relationship: Jesus is not an impersonal God, He came to earth 2000 years ago so that we could know Him in a deeper way than what was ever possible before. He doesn’t want us to just know about Him, He wants us to experience Him on a moment by moment basis.
How do we know this? The Bible shows us this so clearly.
John 3:16-17 TPT, says this: “For this is how much God loved the world – he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!”... How Great is this!!
John 10:10 TPT, says this: “A thief has only one thing in mind – he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect – life in its fullness until you overflow!”... This is the type of life I want to have!!
So why don’t more people have this relationship?
My short answer to this question… SIN.
Sin is anything we do that is against the way that God created us to live. When He created us, He had a plan & purpose for each and everyone of us, but He also gave us free-will, to think and make our own decisions to follow Him or not. He wants children not robots. Sin separates us from God… He is Holy and cannot be in relationship with unholy people.
Oh don’t get me wrong, He gave His children ways to make themselves right with Himself for a long time, but those came with a host of rules and regulations that people simply could not follow, He knew those would never last…that we needed something more. That’s where Jesus came in. God knew that He needed to send a sacrifice that would cover and erase those sins once and for all. He knew that without this we could never truly KNOW Him, so He sent Jesus.
Jesus came…lived…taught…died…and rose again from death, all so that we could finally be free from the sins inherent within the world. Jesus took ALL of our sins… yours and mine… and broke the bondage they held over us when He rose from the dead. This is the gift of Eternal life with Him.
How do we know this… again the Bible shows us so clearly.
Romans 6:23 NLT says: ” For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”… Thank you Jesus!!
Romans 3:23 TPT says ” For we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God!!... This is one thing we cannot do on our own, only through Jesus!!
So why does it always seem so complicated?… once again, the Bible shows us so clearly:
I believe the problem lies in Religion verses Relationship. I believe when Jesus came, He came to replace Religion. It’s no longer about a list of rules, followed by a host of sacrifices. In the New Testament which is actually the New Covenant ( which replaces the Old Covenant of the Old Testament), what did Jesus say to the thief on the cross beside him? Luke 23: 42-43 TPT; Then he said, “I beg of you, my Lord Jesus, show me grace and take me with you into your everlasting kingdom!” Jesus responded, “I promise you – this very day you will enter paradise with me.” Notice there were no rules here… Just relationship… The belief that Jesus was who He said He was!!
John 14:6 TPT says: “Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too.”
Romans 5:8 TPT says: “But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!” Notice we didn’t have to “Get right” first, He accepts us as we are… He will complete the work needed within us… Hallelujah!!
Phillipians 1: 6 TPT says: “I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it…” Thank you Jesus!!
So what’s a person to do?… one last time, let’s look to the Bible:
For the Scriptures encourage us with these words: “Everyone who believes in Him will never be disappointed”…These are promises I will hold my life upon… Praise you Jesus!!
John 1:12 TPT seals it when it says: “But those who embraced Him and took hold of His name were given authority to become the children of God!” … Thank you Heavenly Father.. Abba!!
So let me ask you this? Have you experienced this life giving Relationship that Jesus is offering you? Maybe you have spent your life learning about Jesus rather than knowing Him personally. Maybe you have grown up in a church that was filled with routines and ceremonies ( please note these are not bad in of themselves… they are just lacking what we need most… Jesus). Maybe you’ve heard the Bible is just a bunch of rules that no one was able to keep anyway. Nope, when Jesus promised us new life, He also promised He would provide the way, He would change us from the inside out as we grow in our relationship with Him. Or maybe you’ve been told that the Bible is full of Hate and Judgement. I would challenge you to read the Book of John, which really sums up the Love of who Jesus is, and what He came to do.
The World says, ” If it feels good for me, its right for me”
The Bible says, there is only one way that leads to life, that is the way of God”
“You can rationalize it all you want and justify the path of error you have chosen, but you’ll find out in the end that you took the road to destruction“ Proverbs 14: 12 TPT or in the NKJV “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of death”. …
Remember that thing in the world that we all suffer from? Sin… it will lead you the wrong way every single time… that’s exactly why we need Jesus to be the light on our path!!
Well if you’ve made it this far… I have to ask” Will you accept the free gift that Jesus offers you, a personal relationship with the Living God?
- Admit that you are a sinner… Just like me and everyone else on this planet ( we are all in the same sinking boat.. trying to run our own lives apart from God and His plan)
- Be willing to turn from your sin and allow Jesus to help you become the type of person He created you to be… living life to the fullest
- Believe that Jesus is who He says He is ( Gods Son) and that He did what He said He did ( Died on the cross for the sins of the world, and rose from the dead to defeat eternal death for all times)
- Invite Him to come into your life, to fill that Jesus sized hole in your heart, and lead you into a new Relationship with Him as your Lord and Saviour.
There are no magic words to pray to accept Jesus as your saviour, If you’re at this point, He has already been calling you… Just accept the invitation. Express these 4 thoughts above to Jesus in any way that works for you and trust that He will do as He promised.
How do you know that you are now Saved? lets look to what the Bible tells us one final time:
Romans 10: 13 TPT says: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord ( Jesus) will be rescued and experience new life.”
Ephesians 2: 8-9 TPT says: “For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in Him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ ( Jesus)! so no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.”
Did you pray to receive Jesus as your Lord & Saviour?
If you did, please… please… please, send me a message. This day is a new birthday for you and I want to celebrate it with you. When we move from Independence of God into Relationship with His son Jesus, it is called being ‘Born Again’.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT says this; “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!… Welcome to the family!!
Where do you go from here?
You have now started your own Journey for Jesus. I would love to track with you and point you in the right directions… again, please send me a message and let me know about your decision, after all we are family now.
A few things I would suggest:
- get a Bible, and start reading ( I recommend starting in John, or at least the New Testament) or go online to http://www.youversion.com and get a free Bible App – this is how you will grow in your faith to a deeper understanding of Gods plan for you.
- Find a Bible believing, Jesus following Church in your area, where you can grow within a community of other followers (remember the people within the Church are simply like you and I; sinful people saved by Grace… they won’t be perfect. Keep trying till you find a church you click with , it will be so worth it)
- Pray… prayer is just talking to Jesus. We grow in relationship when we spend time talk and listening to those we Love, and He loves you so very much!
- Find ways to get involved… there is such a gift in serving others because of this Love we have for our Saviour… Remember, “He wants All to come to this place of Salvation and None to be lost”.
- If you mess up, ask for forgiveness… ask Jesus to help you as you grow. This is another reason we need to be in community… trust me, you will fail, but God is right there to pick you up again and dust you off… As I said, it’s a journey.
Always remember “Life is better when we journey together”... All Gods blessings ❤️ Janet
Journey4Jesus 