You are made in the image of God. He loves you dearly, you are part of Him. Think about that for just a second — this is the greatest secret of this world. Nevertheless, it is also true that this world is fallen, and therefore it wants nothing whatsoever to do with Him. Yes, that is a fact: this world does not acknowledge its very creator. If it sounds crazy, it’s because it is crazy. It’s why this world is a chaotic, insane place and always will be. Know that in God’s great wisdom, his unbounded love, care, and respect for you his creation, he gave you a perfectly free will: you may do as you choose in this life, you may embrace this crazy world and all of its strange enticements remaining entirely ignorant of your very creator. If you choose to go your own way and never reunite with God, yes, the world will beguile you with its charms and you will have some interesting experiences here and there (BTW, know that you’ll be having your ‘fun’ entirely on God’s dime since it is He who controls your each and every inhale and exhale while He waits patiently for you his child to make the choice to return home to Him). In this state of being, you’ll never give the Lord his due because you won’t want the party — that is, the “me, me, me party” — to ever come to an end because it will be for you the only game in town; it is the one-way path of this world that leads to ruin. But end it will. These transient, wayward adventures will eventually fade, as will your health, your strength, your vitality, and you will never find deep true lasting peace of mind. Worst of all, if you die not knowing Him, God will let go of you forever because you implicitly rejected Him by never bothering to actively seek Him out. There’s no excuse — see the Bible, the book of Romans, Chapter 1. There are tragic consequences to this decision that this world will never make clear to you since it is built on many lies about how things really work according to God’s plan. We can address all of that elsewhere. However, know that today is the day to seek Him since life is fleeting, and no one alive is guaranteed a tomorrow. So…
If you do choose to turn to the Lord and know Him, proceed as follows:
Repent. It sounds very old-fashioned, but it’s super important. It means to turn away from thinking you are the author of everything in your life. Instead, turn your attention towards God and focus on Him. You’ll be shaky and uncertain, but just go for it. He sees your inmost heart and will aid you. This is what humility is: admitting you don’t have all the answers to your life, and then turning your mind, attention, and will towards almighty God.
Now you are in the proper frame of mind to accept what God has already done for you some 2000 years ago: grant you an unspeakably beautiful existence in the eternal Kingdom of God almighty through the life of his Son Jesus Christ! You must now believe in the gospel which is concisely stated in the Bible, 1st Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 3-4:
Jesus died on the cross according to scripture, was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scripture
Put your trust in the above fact — what Jesus the Son of God has done for you — instead of yourself and your own effort. Now, to bring this all home, as sincerely, honestly, and respectfully as you are able, speak to your creator in the following way:
Father God, I know I have been living my life apart from you and have been doing my own thing, I don’t want to do that anymore. Now, I wish with all my heart to walk in a new way by developing a relationship with you and honoring you, my creator. Thank you for sending your son Jesus in to the world. I now choose of my own free will to make your son Jesus the Lord of my life — I now hand everything over to you dear Lord! Thank you.
If you have earnestly done this and reached out for this truth to the very best of your ability, then congratulations! Praise God, you are ‘saved‘*! Dance! Shout for joy! You are free! The entire Kingdom of Heaven is cheering you on! It’s not complicated. It never was. It is a free gift from God because He loves you!**.
So now, if you’ve followed the steps above, you are restored to Him as his child whom he loves! Your spirit, the very essence of who you are, has ‘crossed over’ from waywardness back into safety — the loving bright radiance of its creator! You have embarked on the most exciting journey of any human being! Rejoice! Note that ‘scripture’, mentioned twice in the above verse, refers to the Bible, the God breathed, living testimony of the creator of the universe, and it is a wholly sufficient witness to guide you to the truth. It is the word of God almighty himself! The more you read it, the more you’ll recognize this exciting, life-changing fact!
Find a church in your area that honors the Bible, one that teaches not what they want you to know, but instead, what God himself wants you to know as stated throughout the entire Bible — both the old testament and new testaments. A good church always defers to the Bible over its own human-centric doctrines, rules, and traditions. Don’t think about ‘religion’ per se, think about how you can develop your relationship with Jesus — let him, the person of Jesus Christ, be the central focus of your faith and trust in God. Why? In scripture, it is clearly stated that if you know Jesus as Lord, you then know God the Father as well who, by virtue of his perfection, is far removed from the reckoning of mere mortals. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Think about it: if there were many different ways to reconcile ourselves to God, don’t you think we’d mess it all up somehow? As it is, with this single, clear, true, reliable, perfect way to return to Him that actually works, we still manage to mess it up (!) since far too many churches obscure the clear life-giving truth of the gospel message in favor of their own worldly doctrines which, while they may do much good in the community and assist those in need (fine, good, honorable efforts, no doubt), by diluting the gospel message with their own worldly efforts, they do not produce in a person a rich, new, powerful, transformed life in God. If they would instead keep it simple and stick to the clear gospel message, i.e., 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, which will always lead you to God, the world wouldn’t be in the mess that it’s in because there would be people walking in the perfect love of Christ, the CEO of the universe, instead of their own worldly, contradictory, immature, murky natures. The gospel has to be simple and clear, because as ignorant wayward children, we’ll monkey around with it and mess it up. So, find a good church! If you cannot find a good church near you, there are some terrific online churches. You’re not alone! Pray — ask God for help with this — and He will guide you as his child whom he dearly loves!
What next? The Lord is good, he knows your inmost heart, and he will show you how to proceed. Welcome Him! You were in the world for a long time doing your thing, and you will find that old habits die hard. Be patient and gentle with yourself knowing that things will change as you engage in your walk with Jesus. Know that bad stuff may come at you for a time, but with a newfound patience and perseverance that He gives to you as part of your salvation, you can easily master it — be determined! KNOW that HE is the author and finisher of your newfound faith which is your complete, passionate, unwavering trust in Him, and that you are now His child since you have agreed to His truth having left your ‘truth’ in the waste bin where it belongs. Be as brave as you can, and keep at it! All of heaven cheers for you and welcomes you (for real, this is literally true! (Hebrews 12:1)). KNOW and never doubt that you are very loved and valued by God! This world will be very quick to tell you otherwise. Never, ever listen! There is an enemy of your soul who lies to you, but with Jesus at your side, you can shut that door forever with an new, exciting, abundant life (John 10:10).
Get baptized in water, and also make sure you get baptized in the Holy Spirit which is the mighty power of the Spirit of God which Jesus promised to his disciples when he died and was resurrected: he instructed them to wait fifty days in Jerusalem for the comforter, or Holy Spirit, to come upon them at so called ‘Pentecost’. He will move you to do these things. You don’t have to figure everything out at all at once. Just walk in your newfound faith and trust in the Lord to guide you. You’re in very good hands!
Be joyful! As you move forward as a new creation in Christ, for the first time in your life you will know complete and lasting freedom from all anxiety, hurt, and criticism. The Lord of the universe protects you! He has a deep passion for his children, an inexpressible, rich, unbounded love. You’ll discover he is a zealous defender of those he loves, those who have turned their attention away from the world toward Him, having humbled themselves and come to Him of their own free will. You will have mastery over every aspect of your life as the Lord guides you. Know that it’s not all carefree happy times, life is life and there are pot holes and road blocks you’ll need to navigate, but, you will feel Him encouraging you and know He is by your side showing you the way forward, the Holy Spirit always guiding you to a bright, shining, radiant future no matter what happens in life. Rejoice!!! He will never let go you, his child! Such joy! Such freedom! You’ve finally cracked the mystery of life!!!!! Rejoice!!!!!!!!
*If you cannot do this, or are insulted by it, just look into your heart and see why that is. I discovered the truth in just this way. I was wholly indifferent to the gospel, and when pressed, would probably say it was for uneducated trailer dwellers and know-nothing goody-goods, but I had no real idea why I felt this way. The word ‘saved’ was especially obnoxious to me. However, this line of inquiry into my own dislike of Christianity brought me home. It was eye-opening in the extreme. I had to let go of my pride in thinking I was better than everyone else. You’ll see that the thinking of this world is a hall of mirrors; a cruel, bitter deception which will never let go of you and will conceal who you really are — a child of the Most High!
*If you have done this, you are saved. You will see the kingdom of God when you die, full-stop. The Bible is not like other books. Its promises are perfect and perfectly true and valid. Know that you are a tripartite being: spirit, soul, and body. Your spirit is saved, that is, it has crossed over back to the Father, while your soul and body will need some work to get with the program. You will meet Jesus when you die and not be sent away from the Father for all eternity with those who love the world (Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Romans 8:7)). NO ONE wants to hear this, it is a bitter pill, but it is the truth. Jesus made this entry into heaven possible for you by his sacrifice of himself having fully met the onerous requirements of the old testament for perfection — the law of Moses. No one else has done this from any sect, tribe, tradition, belief system, … , you name it — it’s not even close. He towers over the universe having spoke it into existence (John 1). Never forget it. He is your salvation. The Bible and other believers are important for you now to bring your wayward soul and body into alignment with your spirit.
**Free, but not cheap: it cost the Lord the sacrifice of His only Son, who had to die a terrible death in order that we could be restored. Someone had to pay for the many heartless crimes of humanity. Why? Sounds so medieval you may say. Because God is a God of law, and order, and truth, and justice. If one breaks His laws as all of us have as part of a fallen world that wants nothing to do with its creator, then one necessarily suffers the consequences of that decision having deeply insulted an infinitely powerful, perfectly holy, unspeakably righteous, perfect God — namely, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the old testament. This insult, this treachery, this rejection of Him is in our very essence, buried in our DNA if you will. We were born into it because our forebears didn’t want to be governed by Him. We can’t run or hide from this fact, though many waste their entire lives trying to do just that. Come out from hiding. He sees you anyway and has full knowledge of all that you’ve ever done. Wake up! There is no hiding from God. Accept His free gift of life and live. He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Coming to Him for the first time out of the world can be a little unsettling at first, but, just humble yourself and walk toward Him like a toddler with open arms and He will love on you and gently guide you. Always know God is good, he is not the ruler of this broken world, he only gives out goodness and peace and love, and that we are so very blessed to have such a kind, loving Father!
Able Lion 