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http://www.jesussaves.cc/relationship.htm
How to have a Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ
When you venture forth in the Way of Salvation Jesus wants to be your best friend. When you decide to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and savior (get "saved", "born again", "redeemed" wink you take the first step on the journey.
Click here if you would like to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal Lord and savior.
Friendship
When you have a personal relationship with a person what would you expect?
* To spend quality time with each other
* To trust each other with heart-felt needs
* To forgive when you hurt each other's feelings
* To be honest
* To communicate (letters, notes, email, telephone)
* To be there in the tough times
How much more of a friend is Jesus to us than any human?
He promised to never leave us nor forsake us.
Joshua 1:5 "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave your nor forsake you."
He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 "There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down His life for his friends."
Praying with Jesus
Having a personal relationship with the Son of the most high God is very similar. In order for our relationship to be very good we have to communicate with Him. This is what prayer is all about - talking with Jesus. Jesus is our go-between with God the Father. He petitions God for our needs. In the Old Testament people had to see a priest, who would intercede for the people to God. Now that Jesus has died on the cross for our sins He is the one who goes to God for us. He is just a prayer away.
"The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord." - Hebrews 8:1, 2
In fact, Jesus is always with us. In Matthew 7:7 the Bible says, "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." He just wants us to ask. In the Bible he says, "Knock and it shall be opened, seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be done unto you."
Just as you would communicate with someone you really love on earth, you should spend time talking to God every day.
Psalm 63:6 "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night."
You can pray in a church, kneeling, or with your hands folded; however, Jesus hears you regardless of where you are or what your physical position is. Prayer is simply talking to Jesus.
For guidance on how to pray click here to see our Prayer page.
These are a few scriptures on prayer.
James 5:13 "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray."
Luke 22:40-42 "On reaching the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you will not fall into temptation.' He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.'"
Matthew 14:23 "After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray."
Psalm 32:6 "Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found."
I Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (We might add, that this is not blind belief, but faith that has been generated from God.)
Reading the Bible
He also sent us one of the most special gifts on earth, a personal love letter. Love is more than mushy romance. The Bible is God's special book just for us in which He tells us about Himself. God had a choice to put us on earth and not give us any instructions. But in His mercy, He chose to give us a manual for life. The answers to all of life's problems can be found in the Bible. You may not understanding everything as written, but the basic principles are there. The more you pray and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and ears the better you will understand the Bible as you read it.
Praise and Admiration
When your friends do something admirable you give them praise. "Great Job," you might say. "I think you are wonderful." "Thank you for being my friend."
God is worthy of praise. He has done so many things for us that if everyone on the face of the earth were to praise God 24 hours a day we still would not have enough time to praise God adequately.
In the good times and in the bad times in our lives we acknowledge God's sovereign hand when we praise Him. Sometimes we don't feel like telling God that He is good. In fact, we get mad at Him and want to rebel. Yet, God is holy. There is nothing evil or bad in Him. When we get upset or mad we are reacting out of our own expectations or ideas of what we think God should be doing. The Bible is full of scriptures extolling the praise of God and telling us to lift His name up in praise. Do a scripture search today and begin praising you friend, Jesus Christ.
Walking in Forgiveness
Jesus says that He can not forgive our sins if we do not forgive those who sin against us. Part of having a personal relationship with Jesus is understanding that we will make mistakes, we will sin and others will offend us.
In Matthew 18 Jesus says that we are to forgive seventy times seven. This does not mean that we count up each time someone wrongs us because that would not be true forgiveness. Nor does it mean that we have to forget when someone sins against us. It means that we forgive and never hold it up to them again.
Psalm 66:17-19 says, "I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer."
The longer we serve the Lord the greater the friendship. He is the dearest friend a person can have. He is always present, always caring and loves us with an unfailing love. Look in the Bible Concordance and search the scriptures for good reading about Jesus Christ and how you should respond to the love of God.
 Lunar Goddesss · Mon Jul 04, 2005 @ 06:14pm · 0 Comments |
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