After we get saved and have been “born again” everyone tells me that I should have a personal relationship with the Lord.  Well, what does that mean?  How do I have a personal relationship with my Lord - someone I cannot even see?   

Yes, He is Holy, and pure and without sin and I am not. While not everyone is a child of God, Jesus extends the invitation to become one to all. I pray for everyone to know what it is like to be a child of God, to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to experience the forgiveness and love of the Father. 

So when we get saved does that mean that we are perfect from that time on? NO!   So how can I have a personal relationship with a Holy, perfect and sinless Savior, while I am not perfect?
 
This personal relationship with God is not as hard to find as we might think, and there is no mysterious formula or incantations for getting it. As soon as we become children of God, we receive the Holy Spirit, who will begin to work on our hearts. 

Oh, you mean we are a work in progress? YES!
 
We should pray without ceasing, read the Bible, and join a Bible-believing church; all these things will help us to grow spiritually. Trusting in God to get us through each day and believing that He is our sustainer is the way to have a relationship with Him. Although we may not see changes immediately, we will begin to see them over time, and all the truths we are taught in scripture, will become clear.
 
Having a personal relationship with God begins the moment we realize our need for Him, admit we are sinners, and in faith, receive Jesus Christ as my Savior.  God, our heavenly Father, has always desired to be close to us, to have a relationship with us.

I don’t know if you know it or not but before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 3), both he and Eve knew God on an intimate, personal level.  They walked with Him in the Garden and talked directly to Him! This was God’s plan for us.  BUT…….due to the sin of man, we became separated and disconnected from God.

What many people do not know, realize, or even care about these days, is that Jesus gave us the most amazing gift—the opportunity to spend eternity with God if we trust in Him.
 
 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
 
God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ to take on our sin, be killed, and then be raised to life again, proving His victory over sin and death.
 
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

If we accept this gift, we have become acceptable to God and can have a real relationship with Him!

Those who have a personal relationship with God include God in their daily lives.  They pray to Him, read His word, and meditate on verses in an effort to get to know Him even better.  Those who have a personal relationship with God pray for wisdom (James 1:5), which is the most valuable asset we could ever have. They take their requests to Him, asking in Jesus’ name (John 15:16). Jesus is the One who loves us enough to give His life for us (Romans 5:8), and He is the One who bridged the gap between us and God.  So, when we are saved: We have God the Father, Jesus the Son who died on the Cross for our sin and the Holy Spirit working in us.
 
I want to encourage you to know that there is something better still for you, you have not yet received the full reward   You who are beginners in this new life, for now you are a new creation.  You may not know what God has planned for you, yet there is something better still for you.
 
I can tell you that over the years I have people tell me that all humans are children of God and it does not matter which religion (if any) we follow.  Doesn’t that sound so cutesy and fuzzy, and comforting; but that is not what the Bible teaches.  Yes, we humans were made in God’s image with a moral compass that sets us apart from the animal kingdom, but the Bible makes it clear that we are NOT all His children.  Actually, in Ephesians 2:3 we are told that before we are saved we were called children of wrath.  There is that sin nature that is hostile to God, and that is why there is so much hate for Christians. Jesus told the religious people of His time that the devil was their father John 8:44 and we become children of God only when we are born again of His Spirit  (John 3:3) and it is only then that we can call God “Father” (Romans 8:15).
 
The Bible leaves no room for homemade religion.  We can’t pick and choose what we want to believe.  So we are going to have to pray for clear vision so that we may know where to stand and what to stand for or we shall fall for anything.
 
You will have happier views of heavenly things as you climb the hill in your spiritual experience.   As you abide in Christ your confidence will begin to grow in the Lord.

Just as when you are an infant and you begin to grow up, it is the same in our spiritual lives when we abide with the Lord,  Of course, there are those in this world who do not ask,or seek or knock of their Lord.  There are many who keep away from Jesus who do not pray to Him . Their attitude is “che sera, sera, whatever will be will be!”
 
You see a true relationship with the Lord can best be described as when we fall in love.  

Have you or a friend ever fell in love with someone special? You can’t stop talking and thinking about the ‘love of your life‘. 

That is what it is supposed to be with each of us and Jesus.   He is now the love of our lives. Yes, Jesus loved us so much He went to the Cross for us.   In todays’ language we would say He took the bullet for us.

If you don't have a personal relationship with JESUS the Savior, why not start today.  Allow HIM to be LORD and the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, you won't regret it!

​One of the basic claims made by Christians is that God is alive and HE wants to have a relationship with us.  We all know that we cannot have a relationship with someone without communication.  We need to communicate with our Lord just the way a tennis player plays tennis.  One hits the ball over the net then waits for the other one to respond.  It cannot be a one-sided discussion.  What do our prayers sound like?  Lord I want this, Lord I want that. bless me Lord,  bless my family.  No, that is not a two-way communication.  We need to learn to listen. 
 
Years ago I heard a story about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.   When he was president he said he got tired of saying the usual things at all the White House receptions.  So one evening he decided to find out if anybody was paying attention to what he was saying.  As each person came up to him and shook his hand he would smile and say, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” 
 
Person after person greeted him and would respond with, “How lovely,” or “That’s nice.”  It was confirmed what FDR believed, no one was listening to him.  Finally, a foreign diplomat shook his hand and once again FDR said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.”  The foreign diplomat looked a little shocked but leaned in to the president and said softly, “I’m sure she had it coming to her.”  Finally someone did listen to what the president was saying.
 
Some of you may be saying; How can I know when God is telling me to do something?  We have several venues available to us.  The first and most important is prayer.  Prayer is especially critical when you are unsure of God’s will for your life.
 
Another way is through God’s Word.  The Bible from Genesis to Revelation are all examples for us to follow and understand what God wants from us.  Remember God never contradicts himself.  He will never ask us to do something contradictory to His Word.  He will never ask us to sin.  He will never ask us to do something Jesus Christ would not do. 
 
We have the passage of Gideon in the Bible who was not sure that God REALLY wanted him to do something he asked him to do.   So, in order to be sure he asked God for a sign to confirm for him.  Yes, you can ask God for a sign but be specific.  That is referred to as Putting out a Fleece (Judges 6).
 
As Christians we also have the Holy Spirit to help us discern what is and what is not God’s will for our lives.  John 16:13 says that the Spirit of truth…will guide you into all truth.  That means that sometimes we Christians get agitated when we are trying to make a decision but the agitation in our spirit letting us know, warning us,  that we are on the wrong track.  Or perhaps when we are trying to make a decision the Holy Spirit will encourage us and we feel at peace when we are leaning toward the right decision.
 
Sometimes God will change a situation without us even realizing He has acted. Isaiah 58:11 says the Lord will guide you always.  The Lord always prepares us.  He never does things half-way.  As Christians there is only one voice that matters.  It is not my voice, it is not your voice, it is not the voice of the past or the voice of the future.  The only voice that matters is the voice of God.  May we begin to see things from God’s perspective.  If we call Jesus our Lord then it is our responsibility to obey His commands, to do what He wants us to do.  Jesus always prayed to His Father; Not my will but His will.
 
Sometimes God may speak to us in an audible voice.  My father was in WWII and was stationed in Italy.  My father did not speak much about his years in the war.  I have heard this from many others because the war was difficult for them to process.  But one thing I remembered him talking about was one night his unit was preparing for the coming of the Germans into the hills.  They were told to take cover wherever they could.  So, my father and his friend went into a barn thinking it was safe.  While he was in the barn, my father said he was praying, and then all of a sudden he heard his name and the words:  get out of the barn now!  He told his friend, we have to get out of the barn and into the house NOW.  He told his friend but his friend would not move, he said I am staying here in the barn where it is safer.  My father said I am going into the house.  And within 5 minutes a bomb fell in the area and destroyed the barn and his friend.  He never told that story without crying and thanking God for His protection.

The relationship that God wants to have with us is rooted in love. John 3:16 is the perfect example of God’s perfect love for you: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. No other verse in the Bible summarizes God’s relationship with humanity and His ultimate love for us. It tells us that the love God has for us and the extent of that love is so great that He sacrificed His only Son on our behalf. God’s love for us inspires our love for God.

Many of us have heard someone say “I want to be close to God” or “I feel far from Jesus” or have even said some of these things ourselves.  We say these things because we have been led to believe our relationship with Jesus is based on proximity – a sliding scale of near and far based on faithfulness of our spiritual devotion. But a relationship with Jesus requires more than just being close with Him. Jesus longs to become perfectly one with you. God takes residence in us, invites us to die to ourselves and become a new creation in Him. He invites us into an intimate relationship with Him: union with Christ. Union with Christ refers to relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ. There are countless passages throughout the Bible that reveal that believers are joined in Christ: We are the branches and Jesus is the vine (John 15:5); Jesus is the head and we are His body (1 Corinthians 6:15-19); Christ is the foundation and we are living stones in the foundation (1 Peter 2:4-5). Nothing is more basic or central to knowing and enjoying God than union with Christ. It’s at the heart of our Christian faith. Jesus Christ is dwelling in us and because of this, Jesus is available to us anytime and in anyplace because we believe.

God desires to welcome you into His eternal family as His glorified child. It’s important that you make it a priority to grow in your relationship with Him. Having a personal relationship with God begins the moment we realize our need for Him, admit that we fall short as sinners, and in faith receive Jesus Christ as Savior. As soon as we become children of God, we receive the Holy Spirit, who will begin to work on our hearts. Include God in your daily life. Pray to Him, read His Word daily and reflect on verses in Scripture in an effort to know Him better. Trusting in God to get us through each day and believing that He is the true sustainer of life is how we can not only begin, but also sustain a personal relationship with Him.

Sometimes it is hard to hear God’s voice because we are listening to public opinion and to many other popular voices.  Some listen to their own feelings, desires, passions and their own choices.  Sometimes people listen to every wind of doctrine that comes along.   Then there are others who listen to only new revelations or some wild experience someone has had.  Some listen to psychics, read horoscopes, Ouija boards and tarot cards and join wiccan groups.   Some listen to those who tickle their ears and tell them only what they want to hear and what is pleasant to consider. 

But God is looking for those who are listening for His call.     Are you one of them?