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How to Know God Personally

What does it take to begin a relationship with God? Devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? Become a better person so that God will accept you?

You may be surprised that none of those things will work. But God has made it very clear in the Bible how we can know Him.

The following principles will explain how you can personally begin a relationship with God, right now, through Jesus Christ...

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Principle 1:

God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.

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God's Love
"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." ¹

God's Plan
[Christ speaking] "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" [that it might be full and meaningful]. ²

Why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life? Because...

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Principle 2:

All of us sin and our sin has separated us from God.

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We Are Sinful
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ³
We were created to have fellowship with God; but, because of our stubborn self-will, we chose to go our own independent way, and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

We Are Separated
"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God]. ⁴
This diagram illustrates that God is holy and people are sinful. A great gulf separates us. The arrows illustrate that we are continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through our own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion -- but we inevitably fail.

The third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf...

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Principle 3:

Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through Him we can know and experience God's love and plan for our life.

 

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He Died in Our Place
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ⁵

He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." ⁶

He Is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.'" ⁷

This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

It is not enough just to know these three principles...

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Principle 4:

We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

 

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We Must Receive Christ
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." ⁸

We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." ⁹

When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him." ¹⁰

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for your sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. You receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

These two circles represent two kinds of lives:


Which circle best describes your life?
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?

The following explains how you can receive Christ:

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer

Prayer is talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, then you can pray this prayer right now and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?

Yes, I just asked Jesus into my life »

I may want to ask Jesus into my life,
but I have a question I would like answered first »

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(1) John 3:16 (NIV); (2) John 10:10; (3) Romans 3:23; (4) Romans 6:23; (5) Romans 5:8; (6) 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; (7) John 14:6; (8) John 1:12; (9) Ephesians 2:8,9; (10) Revelation 3:20

Adapted from Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws and Would You Like to Know God Personally, by Dr. Bill Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.

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Biblical Temple Exhibit In His Backyard

Alec Garrard, 78, has dedicated a massive 33,000 hours to constructing the ancient Herod's Temple, which measures a whopping 20 foot by 12 foot. The pensioner has hand-baked and painted every clay brick and tile and even sculpted 4,000 tiny human figures to populate the courtyards.

Historical experts believe the model is the best representation in the world of what the Jewish temple actually looked like and it has attracted thousands of visitors from all over the globe.

But Mr. Garrard, who started the elaborate project in his 40s, says his masterpiece will not be finished in his lifetime.

"I've always loved making models and as I was getting older I started to think about making one big project which would see me through to the end of my life," he said.

"I have an interest in buildings and religion so I thought maybe I could combine the two and I came up with the idea of doing the Temple.

"I have been working on it for decades but it will never be finished as I'm always finding something new to add."

Mr. Garrard, from Norfolk , spent more than three years researching the Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans 2000 years ago and deemed to be one of the most remarkable buildings of ancient times.

He then started to construct the amazing 1:100 scale model, which is now housed in a huge building in his back garden.

"Everything is made by hand. I cut plywood frames for the walls and buildings and all the clay bricks and tiles were baked in the oven then stuck together," he said.

Mr. Garrard sculpted and painted 4,000 figures, measuring just half an inch and all wearing their correct costumes.

Visitors come from all over the world to see the model and Mr. Garrard provides binoculars so they can see all the details.

"I personally know all the top archaeologists from Jerusalem and I've had experts from the British Museum visit," he says.

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US Government:

The Quran is holy, the Bible is garbage.

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Malaysia: Bibles treated as controlled substances

Malaysia: Christians protest policies that treat distribution of Bibles as if they were controlled substances

by Marisol

That is exactly how Malaysian authorities are proceeding: the content of the Bible is now a controlled substance. Which is easier to score in Malaysia nowadays -- hydrocodone or a shipment of Malay-language Bibles?

Once again, Qur'an 29:46 does say "Our Allah and your Allah is One, and unto Him we surrender," but it is a talking point for Islamic proselytizing, and a one-way line of discourse in a manner in which a non-Muslim would be prohibited from preaching to a Muslim under Islamic law.

The intention of this Islamic supremacist game is twofold: first, as always, there is the general desire to remind unbelievers who's boss. But if Malay-speaking Christians relent and cede their right to the name of God in their own language, it will also make it that much easier for Muslims to portray them as polytheists, creating excuses for further hostility and oppression.

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Lawrence O’Donnell mocks God and Bible

"The book of Revelation is a work of fiction describing how a truly vicious God would bring about the end of the world. Now, no half-smart religious person believes the book of Revelation anymore. Those people are certain that their God would never turn into a malicious torturer and mass murderer beyond Hitler’s wildest dreams."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Is Washington forming a new Aristocracy?

by Ralph Weber

Captain John Smith was one of the first leaders in the settlement of Jamestown, in the Virginia Colony. After the killing winter of 1609 when only 50 of the 600 settlers survived, Captain Smith encouraged farming with a famous admonition taken from the New Testament (II Thessalonians 3:10): “He who does not work, will not eat.”

According to Wikipedia: He gave the name New England to that region, and encouraged people with the comment, “Here every man may be master and owner of his owne labour and land… If he have nothing but his hands, he may… by industrie quickly grow rich.” His message attracted millions of people in the next four centuries.

I believe this was the moment of conception of America, for on this day was borne the dream, the belief, that by our own labors we may create our own success. Many of the early settlers left the aristocracy [1] of England because the system of aristocracy, and elitism [2] led to mediocrity, and was a hindrance to success, and ensured the only the very few in the ruling class, and their friends would succeed. Captain Smith singlehandedly shattered aristocracy in America.

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