https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tROrKQrBsJs

Discovering Jesus

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart. – Ecclesiastes 3:11

GOD DESIRES A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU!

Have you ever wondered why you carry the deep-seated longing to be known, loved, and accepted? Have you ever felt the need to belong? All of us have. It’s what makes us human. God knows these emotions because they originated in Him. He wants to share life with you.

God’s desire for a relationship is the basic, underlying meaning of life. We were made to know Him and be known by Him. God loves you. He created you uniquely, and there is no one else like you. You’re no accident. Sin, shame, and guilt block our way to Him and keep us from feeling His nearness. Pride and jealousy, our original sins, are the enemies of God’s love. What we passively allowed into our world aggressively took over, keeping us from knowing God’s heart. Like sheep without a shepherd, we lost our way, forgetting our purpose.

This is the reason that God sent his Son Jesus to earth. To restore a relationship that was lost. Jesus is called the “Great Shephard”, and now we can follow him, having a personal relationship with God once again. To understand how to begin a relationship with Jesus, think on these four words.

LOVED
LIFE
LOOK
LEAD

You Are LOVED by GOD!

This is difficult for many people to understand or believe. But the fact remains, you are passionately loved by God. You were created to have a relationship with God.
When we read the narrative of Jesus in the Bible, we see the story of a Man on a mission. This mission was necessary the moment Adam fell because Adam’s sin brought immediate separation from God and His creation.

Think about this: The moment God confronts Adam and Eve about their sin of eating fruit from the forbidden tree – not a year later, a month later or a week later- not even one hour later, but right at the moment – God shared His plan to make things better, to restore what was stolen, to repair what was torn apart. Such an immediate response was made out of a posture of love. And the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, is bathed in the love of God.

“For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17 ESV

This is undoubtedly the most well-known verse in the Bible. Christ-followers and non-Christ followers alike have heard this short 26-word verse. And while it may be a familiar passage, it is also the bedrock to understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus gives LIFE

When we accept the love of God into our lives, we receive much more. Jesus tells us the reason he came to earth was to give us new life. Not just any life, but an abundant life.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have LIFE and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 ESV

Jesus shares that salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life only come from one source: Jesus Christ himself. He said this to his friend Martha, ‘I am the way and the truth and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6). While the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, Jesus comes that they may have life and have it to the full. This is a common way of insisting that there is only one means of receiving eternal life.

In man’s pursuit to find hope and happiness, there are many other options out there – other religions, other leaders to follow. But Jesus calls all of these thieves and robbers. ALL other ways lead to loss, death, and destruction. It is Jesus, alone, who gives life and brings restoration – beginning with the life that was cut short or cut off in the Garden of Eden. Not only does He offer life, but the quality of that life is also described as ‘Life to the full’! Over and above, more than enough. And that, my friends, is GOOD NEWS!

LOOK at and Believe in Jesus

So what does a person need to do to receive this abundant life, and live with the love of God? This is a great question! Jesus was asked the same thing by a group of his followers.

Jesus told them this:
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who LOOKS on the Son and BELIEVES in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40 ESV

We need to SEE Jesus for who he is, and place our trust in him. To look upon Jesus and Believe in Him means to experience, encounter him…to have an experiential encounter with Jesus that you walk away from knowing something is now different.

Mankind is to look to the Son, the One God has sent, and believe on Him for salvation. Those that do, scripture says, will have eternal life. This means trusting wholeheartedly in Jesus alone for eternal life. This is Good News!

The Holy Spirit will LEAD you.

When Jesus ascended back to heaven, he did not leave us alone. He sent the Holy Spirit to help us in our new life. Jesus said it is a good thing for us to have the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment… But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will (lead) guide you into all the truth. John 16:7-8,13 ESV

The word convict means to convince of error or sinfulness. We now have the Holy Spirit working in our life to guide, direct and lead us into a new and right way of living. The Holy Spirit is also called our Helper, our Advocate, and our Comforter. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you. Listen to his still small voice as you navigate your new life in Christ Jesus. This is another demonstration of God’s love for us. God so loved the world that he gave Jesus to give us life, and the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us. This is Good News!

Become His follower today.

God’s spirit, through the life of Jesus, was restored to you. He is available to you as a helper, teacher, comforter, and friend. You have access to a true relationship with God, and in this place of intimacy, your life has a purpose. He will lead you to experience new life. All who believe in Him are called children of God. Pray to Him, and let Him lead you.

Become His follower today. Accepting Christ is a personal decision that is made between you and God. The words are yours and God knows and hears your heart. See an example prayer below:

Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending your Son to die for my sins. I have a past that is far from You. I turn over my sin, guilt, and shame to you today. Come into my life and become a daily father, teacher, and friend. I mark today as a turning point for my new life in You. I love you, Jesus. Amen.