Personal Relationship? Part 3

Ok...time to tackle part 3 of the "how" involving a personal relationship with God, the creator of all things. The first two parts are archived here and may access them to your left underneath my goofy picture! (not my normal smile...I was laughing...that is why you can't see my eyes)

The third key part of the foundation is self sacrifice. Let me share an example of this between two individuals. When I moved back to Jonesboro in April of 2005 my neighbors, and good friends, came over to help us pack a U-Haul at about 9pm. Little did we know that it would take us until 4am to finish loading the truck. That is 7 hours of packing! I was beat but it was my house. Our neighbors had no obligation to help us; especially that late. They had to work the next morning at 8am. Yet, they knew we could use the help offered to without hesitation. That was a huge sacrifice; one that I will never forget.

Example number 2. Last summer a couple that I am good friends with opened up their spare bedroom for me to sleep in for two weeks. I was going through a trying time and needed a place to crash for awhile. They would stay up and talk and listen to me. I felt like I could rest there. They will never know what their prayers, listening ears, and trusted advice has, and will always, mean to me.

Personal sacrifices, great or small, are very important. They are investments into the lives of others. They tell the other person that your need or life is more important than their own. They make impacts that last a lifetime.

Well, God made a sacrifice for you with an impact that will last an eternity! His sacrifice is the ONLY reason we can even have a personal relationship with him. As a holy, just God he cannot be in the presence of sin. It disgusts him. That creates a big problem for us. Although he loves us unconditionally, we are not worthy to be in his presence, much less worthy to have a personal relationship. Good news: he fixed the chasm between us and him. The cross that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died on has bridged that chasm. The actual cross itself did not fix the problem but the shedding of Jesus' innocent blood on that cross did fix it. You see, Jesus was God's sacrifice to bring us back to him. The only perfect man to ever live, the God-man, 100%God, 100%man, God the Son, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for you and for me. Let me tell you...that was enough to reconcile us back to God.

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

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

So, what are we to sacrifice to God? Well, specific things to sacrifice are really between you and God. On a grander scale God does request us to give him our whole life!

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27

God is not interested in half-hearted service, lukewarm Christianity, or church "players." He is looking for devotion and sacrifice. And he wants us to be joyful in the laying down of our life for him. Again, God desires most to bring glory to his name. And we can most glorify him by denying our desires that fall out of his will and living for his will and his glory.

Nathan

Personal Relationship? Part 2

In the last post we discussed the first part of the foundation to a deep personal relationship with anyone...whether it be your family, friends, or God the Father. The first part of the foundation was trust. No one would call a relationship deep or personal if they don't even trust the individual enough to share their thoughts, struggles, joys, and passions. It takes trust in relationships with other people; therefore, much more so with God. Review the previous blog (just below) for more discussion on why a personal relationship with God is vital to your current situation and your eternity. Remember, God longs to have a relationship with His children.

As we try to tackle the "how" of having a personal relationship with God let's look at another common characteristic of personal relationships that is as important as trust. Time together brings about knowledge of one another; increasing the depth of the relationship. Think about your best friend...could be your dad, mom, sibling, or someone you hang out with all the time. Whomever that person is how often a week or month do you spend time with them in conversating, corresponding, or enjoying their company? Hopefully, it is often. Even if they are far away email, facebook, myspace, and other internet sites allow for you to keep in touch from virtually anywhere. Most people would concede that time together with others creates a deeper bond between you and that individual.

Guess what, it works the same way with God. There are different ways to spend time with God; all of which are important.
(1) Conversate with God. Talk to Him. That is commonly referred to as prayer. Tell Him verbally how you feel--even though He already knows you voicing it to Him pleases Him and blesses you. You don't have to have your eyes closed either. Pray in the car, in the shower, while you cook, clean, shop, work, even falling asleep. Prayers are to be reverent but can be conversational as well. Just like with your close friends tell God when you are happy, sad, angry (even if it is Him you are angry with), worried, weary, etc. Do it in reverence but do it all the same. Prayers shouldn't be haughty but heartfelt.
(2) Revere and Relish Him in His presence...

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

God reveals Himself to His children if we would slow down, listen, and be still before Him.
(3) Correspondence. Write out on paper or journal what God is doing in your life. Putting those feelings and thoughts on paper will help you to mature as you express you love, gratitude, and passion for Him. God has left His correspondence with us...His scripture. That is His love letter to humanity. Spend time reading his letter and write some back.

You fill find as you revere, relish, conversate with, and correspond with God that your personal relationship will grow.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah
29:13

These points may seem obvious to some. Still, as Christians we may have many close friendships but feel distant from God because we are not using common sense in deepening our relationship. God is always the one who initiates the relationship first. Now, it is up to you whom He has initiated a relationship with to deepen it with trust and time together.

Have a blessed day.

Nathan

Personal Relationship? Part 1

If anyone has been to a bible believing church they have probably heard that life is all about having a personal relationship with God. But what does that mean? How can you have a personal relationship with the creator of the universe?

First, you have to know that God longs to have a personal relationship with you. We mean more to him than we can possibly fathom. Throughout the Bible the Lord's passion for His people is obvious and humbling. God desires to know you and for you to know Him. While it is hard to understand why such a perfect, holy, and righteous God would pursue those He loves, it is important to accept this as truth.

Let's start simple. What does a relationship with another person require. All solid relationships in my personal life, whether it be with my family or friends, is based on trust. You normally don't open up yourself to someone you do not trust for fear of rejection, safety of feelings discussed, or many other reasons. Yet, once you trust someone it is easier to bear your innermost feelings and build a relationship that transcends the "hey, how are you" level.

The same is true with God. Until you fully trust God is who He says He is you may not have a deep relationship with Him. Still yet, to have a personal relationship with God the Father you MUST have a personal relationship with God the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus' death and resurrection has paid the penalty for the sins of those who put their faith and trust in him.

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we
might become the righteousness of God in Him" 2 Corinthians 5:21

You see, without trust in Jesus a personal relationship with God is impossible.

Deep personal realtionships with others are founded on trust. Let's take it one step at a time. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus and have not accepted Him as your savior to pay the penalty for your sins (which must be paid for by either you or Him); then, you must start there. If you have made a profession faith in Jesus as you savior, and have a personal relationship with Jesus, how would you rate your closeness to Him? Evaluate today how much you trust Him; that he has your best interest in mind(your will Lord, not mine), that He will provide for your needs (daily bread), that He has forgiven you and is preparing a place for you in Heaven. That is the starting point for a truly deep personal relationship; the kind of relationship He longs to have with you.

Have a blessed day.

Nathan

Welcome

Hey all. Welcome to my blog. Maybe I should be saying thank you as well. As I have stated under the title of this blog site "For His Renown" my goal for this blog is to tell others of the Lord and His renown. There may be times that I actually post thoughts dealing with issues outside of the spiritual realm; however, all thoughts are from me and where I am at in life. I am a pretty transparent individual. I guess that can be good and bad, right?

I hope this blog allows you to get to know me better. Some of you may know me very well and others may not know me or have ever met me. Either way I pray you are encouraged, uplifted, touched, or anything else needed by viewing this blog and hearing my inner thoughts. Feel free to post comments as well.

Check back soon. This will be fun!