To be able to know God personally, we need to understand a few things.

STEP 1

GOD'S PURPOSE FOR US:

A life lived in His abundant provision, joy, peace and life with Him after death

God loves each one of us, and it is His will that we should experience peace and also eternal life!

Jesus said: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10 verse 10

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5 verse 1

"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 verse 16

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1 verse 3

STEP 2

THE PROBLEM:
SEPERATION

God created us to enjoy fellowship with Him, and also to enjoy life. He never forced us to love and obey Him, instead He gave us a free will and freedom of choice.

The first man and woman made a choice to disobey God and to follow their own free will. The consequence of this was separation from God. Genesis 3 verse 9 "But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" Today we still do the same and as a result, find that we are separated from God.

The Bible says É

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3 verse 23

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

Throughout all the ages people tried to bridge this gap, and get back to God... but without success.

What happens if we die and we do not know Jesus Christ?

The Bible says É

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
Matthew 25 verses 31 - 34

Matthew 25 verse 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25 verse 46

Jesus is the ONLY answer to this problem. He died on a cross, He was resurrected from the grave (death) and took all the punishment for our sin upon Himself, and in so doing formed the bridge, closing the gap between God and us.

The Bible says É

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for all men ... " 1 Timothy 2 verse 5 & 6

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5 verse 8

We believe that Jesus died for our sins and put our trust in Him and receive Him as our Lord and Saviour.

The Bible says É

Jesus speaking: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3 verse 20

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God" John 1 verse 12

How do we begin a new life with Jesus Christ?

If there is a real desire and a longing in your heart to know God personally, the good news is that it is possible. He knows what the desires of our hearts are!

If we:
acknowledge that we are sinners
confess our sins
are willing to turn away form our sins
believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us and that He was raised from the dead
talk to God (through prayer) and invite Him to come into our lives and hearts by His Holy Spirit.

Example of how to pray:

(First, read it through to find out if you are ready to pray this prayer.)

Dear God,

I realise I am a sinner, and I understand today that I need You to save me - I want to be reconciled with You. Please forgive me! I want to turn away from my old way of living into a new life with you. I thank You Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for me. Please come into my life today and make me clean so that I can stand forgiven – a brand new person – before the before the Heavenly Father.
Thank you, Lord!
Having found You as my Saviour and Lord, I can see that there in nothing I can look back to that can ever compare with You. Lord Jesus, I thank You today that I am now Your child, and You are my Saviour, and my Lord.

Amen.

(If you are ready, you can read it again and make it your personal prayer.)

If you have prayed this prayer and you would like to talk to someone, feel free to contact us at this email address!

This could be the start of an exciting NEW LIFE with GOD for YOU!