Understanding That There Is Only One True God
It is important to first understand that there are many religions out there telling people about their god. Some even go to as far as to claim that all of these gods are the same thing and it does not matter how you come to god. However, it DOES matter because many of these religions are the invention of man to justify his own behavior. In fact, there is only one true God.
The Bible makes it clear, over and over again, which god we should serve:
“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” Isaiah 44:6
“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,” Isaiah 45:5
“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:22
One of the main reasons America faces the problems it does today is because we have abandoned the one true God who led our forefathers in the establishment of this great nation. Instead we have replaced God with a sloppy imitation in various forms. These false gods let us believe and do anything we want and never warn us of the consequences of our behavior.
Once you realize that there is only one God, you need to understand that He not only desires that you believe in Him, but wants you to establish a relationship with Him.
Know God
The second step involves getting to know the God who wants to save you.
Do you feel that God is some far off being that does not have any time for someone like you? There is a simple explanation for that. You feel a sense of distance from God because of the sin in your life. The Bible tells us that sin separates us from God.
“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Isaiah 59:2
As you consider your ways, you will begin to realize that you are the one who has screwed up your life. There is no one else to blame. It is easy to blame the corrupt executives, the greedy labor unions or the self seeking politicians. Sure, there are part of the overall problem, but you are not responsible for their behavior. They will ultimately have to answer to God about their own behavior. You must realize that you must take responsibility for the decisions that you are making about your own personal circumstances.
Once you accept responsibility for your bad decisions, you can begin to humbly cry out to Him and ask for His forgiveness. He is an awesome God who has provided a way to not only forgive us but have our sins washed away.
Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Your sins can be washed away once and for all! As you cry out to Him for forgiveness, you will begin to notice that the wall of separation between you and the Lord will start to crumble and your relationship with God will begin to be restored.
In order to begin you quest to know Him, you must meet the One who is responsible for removing your sins, Jesus Christ. God, the Father, sent His only Son into this world in order to die on the cross for our sins.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Many people do not realize that Jesus and God are one and the same. Take a look at some scripture verses that explain the Deity of Christ:
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
John 8:58
How could that be unless He was more than just a good teacher?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:1-3
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John1:14
There are many more scriptures that prove the Deity of Christ. Many people have tried to ignore or deny His deity, but the facts of history prove otherwise. If you want to get to know God, you must get to know Jesus Christ.
In John 14:6, Jesus said this about Himself, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Do you want to get to know the Father?
Do you want to know which way you should go?
Do you want to know what is true and what is a lie?
Get to know Jesus.
Do you want to experience life; I mean an awesome and wonderful life?
Get to know Jesus.
The way to get to know Jesus is amazingly simple. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and dine with him, and he with Me.
He is knocking at the door of your heart right now. Open the door and invite Him in. You know you need answers that only He can help you with. Let Him come into your Life so He can begin to have dinner with you. He will begin to lead and guide you, if you will just give Him a chance.
He has the answers; answers to the questions plaguing your life, such as;
- Life is so full of chaos, how can I get some peace?
- I am about to lose my job, how will I pay the bills?
- They are going to take my house away, where will I live?
- My husband has left me, what do I do?My kids are out of control, how can I save them?
He has the answers to all your problems and He promises to walk with you through them. But you must first deal with your decayed spiritual house and answer the most important question of your entire life:
If you were to die, even before you finish reading this post, are you going to heaven or are you going to die in your sins and end up in hell?
Jesus did not just come to help you with your mortgage. He came to die on the cross in order to pay the price for your sins. If you don’t let Jesus pay for your sins, you will. Without payment of your sins, you will spend eternity completely separated from God.
Jesus said in John 8:24, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Hell is a real place that is reserved for the Devil and his demons. It was never intended for us. However, to those who choose to go their own way and follow the prince of this world (Satan), they will end up in Hell with him forever.
“And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10
However, to those who choose to go their own way and refuse to receive Jesus as God’s plan of salvation, they will end up in hell with the prince of this world (Satan) forever.
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:8
Before you start to make an excuse for yourself and say you are not that bad, you need to take a moment and get real; you are that bad. All of us are that bad.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23
We are not talking about whether you believe in God or not. Satan believes in God. We are talking about whether you have turned your life over to Christ.
Losing your home or your job is only the beginning of your problems. If you do not repent, cry out to God for forgiveness, and ask Jesus to come into your life, you will have an eternity of bad things happening.
The good news is that you do not have die in your sins.
The prophet Isaiah explains the plan of God for you, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
It all starts with Jesus and will end with Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
If you really want to deal with your problems, you must turn to Jesus Christ.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:9-10
Make that decision right now that you are ready to give Him your life and that you do not want to go any further until you understand who God really is. Making this choice to follow Jesus will be the new beginning that you have been searching for.
Simply talk to him with a simple prayer like this:
“Lord, I need to know you. I’ve messed up my life and I need your help. Please forgive me and come into my life. Amen.”
If you prayed this, or something like it, and meant it, the separation between you and your Savior is gone. You are ready to start building a new relationship with Him that will last throughout eternity. Once you have taken this step of faith, you are ready for step three – learning how to walk with God.
Walk with God
Many well meaning Christians may tell you that all you have to do is say a simple prayer and then you can resume your former ways without consequences. The truth is, once you give your life to Him, He owns you. He bought you with the price of His shed blood at Calvary. Once you pray for forgiveness, He wants to take your life and turn it into a life that grows to be more like Him, one day at a time. The theological term for this is sanctification. As you begin to walk with Him and have dinner with Him, He begins to change you.
You will need to remember that the One who created you knows what is best for you. You will learn to trust Him.
Here are simple guidelines that will help you develop a relationship with Him:
- Pray
You need to spend time with Him every day. Talk with Him and ask Him questions. Tell Him what is troubling you. He already knows everything about you, but He gets great pleasure from simple conversations and it allows Him the opportunity to enjoy His creation.Over time, you will learn to hear His voice clearly. You may want to start with the model prayer that Jesus has given us, The Lords Prayer, which can be found in Matthew 6:9-13.
- Study The Word Of God
The Bible is your instruction manual. It is how your faith in Christ will grow. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”As your faith increases, the sin in your life decreases. Your faith builds strength that enables you to conquer your weaknesses. The more you take the Bible seriously, the more you will overcome life’s trials and problems.
- Be Water Baptized
The Bible tells us that once we give our life to Him, we are to get baptized. There are many reasons why we need to get baptized, and as you study His word you will learn about them.Initially, you need to understand that it signifies that you are choosing a new way of life. It is an act of obedience and an integral part of your decision to follow Jesus and His commandments.
- Establish Friendships With Other Christians
Find Christians who have made a decision to follow Christ. Fellowship is vital as you will begin to help each other grow. This is why you need to find a good church. Associate with others that will lead you into a closer relationship with God.You will notice that you will start to feel uncomfortable with some of your previous behavioral patterns. You must be willing to break away from them. Find new Godly friends. I must warn you, however, not everyone that goes to church has a relationship with Jesus, nor are they concerned about doing what our Savior has asked us to do. So choose your friends carefully.
- Worship
Once you have been born again, you are able to truly enter into real times of worship. The Bible tells us that we are to worship God in Spirit and truth. Worship is not just going to church and singing some hymns; it is a time where you build an intimate relationship with your Savior.There are two types of worship; individual and corporate. Individually you can begin to worship Him in the privacy of your own home or car. Just start singing praises to Him and before you realize it, you will be worshipping Him in a very personal way.
Corporate worship is important as there is power that is produced which will result in the manifest presence of God for the entire group. As you minister to Him, He ministers back.
Share Your Faith
This is usually referred to as witnessing or evangelism. Whatever you want to call it, you need to start telling others about the decision you have made to follow Christ.
You can start out by simply telling them your story on how you decided to follow Christ. As you begin to study His word, you can start sharing scriptures with them. Speaking the Word of God produces faith, whether they are looking for God or not. You may have the privilege of leading others to Christ, which is the most thrilling experience of all.
I believe that this is the most important step once you give your life to Christ. It has been my experience that those believers who do not actively share their faith with nonbelievers end up becoming cold and dry. Jesus commanded us to do it, even though over 95% of professing Christians admit that they never share their faith (see Matthew 28:18-20).
The large percentage of Christians who choose not to share their faith is a main reason why America is falling apart. If you want to learn more about personal evangelism, continue looking over our site: executinghisword.com.
Those who obey their Lord and start sharing their faith rarely lose their zeal and appreciation for their Savior. Furthermore, the Bible tells us that, “he who wins souls is wise.” In today’s world we need all the wisdom we can get. As I see it, if you do not win souls, the opposite must be true; you become unwise; in other words, stupid.
Be Baptized in the Holy Spirit
When you commit your life to Christ, He has a gift for you that will help you become the witness He has called you to be.
When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into you life. You now have God, the Holy Spirit, residing inside of your inner spirit. This is what the apostle Paul refers to as the “Mystery of the Gospel,” which is; Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27). This is the point in your life where the light bulb comes on and you finally see who Jesus really is.
But there is more about the Holy Spirit then many Christians understand. Jesus told his disciples, before He ascended back into heaven, that they should wait for an experience with the Holy Spirit that literally immerses you in His Spirit, like having an entire ocean of water poured over you. This gift from Jesus is referred to in the book of Acts as “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”
This is what it says in Acts 1:4 and 8;
“And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, which He said, “you have heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now……but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and Judea and Samaria, even to the remotest part of the earth.”
The purpose of this experience is to empower you to be His witness.
Once you receive this gift, as you share the gospel with nonbelievers, you will begin to see “signs and wonders” follow your testimony. There is much about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that you will need to learn about which cannot be covered in this introductory book. There are many, in the church, that are skeptical about this experience and do not believe it is for Christians today. There are many more that have taken this gift, started using it for their own personal purposes, and turned it into a circus, or even worse, a cult. I suggest that you read the book of Acts in its entirety, with an attitude of expectancy and willingness to receive all that the Lord has for you.
Scripture quoted from the Bible is taken from the English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Portia Cato says
Very inspiring igniting truths from the Word WHO COULD MISS THIs GREAT SALVATION!