Series: Bridges
"...God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6).God is always there. He doesn't just go away, then come back to check on how we are doing. He's always there. The starting point in our life with God is to realise that He is there. At the beginning of the day, throughout the day and at the end of the day, we must be conscious of His presence with us. When we realise this, the whole day will be different! Read Psalm 139:1-10*.
These three gifts are:Many people struggle all their lives trying to qualify to be accepted by God. Some people struggle with unworthiness, guilt and failure. But the Christian message has wonderful news! We are not trying to become righteous in God's sight - God gives His own righteousness to us as a free gift! We are not trying to earn eternal life - God gives us eternal life as a gift! We are not trying to become good enough so we can have God's Spirit in our hearts - God gives us His Spirit as soon as we open our hearts to Him. It's all a package deal. When you were born into God's family, these three things were God's birthday presents to you. They are now your starting point every single day.
- Righteousness - Read 2 Corinthians 5:21*
- Eternal life - Read John 3:16*
- God's Spirit - Read Ephesians 1:13*
The Bible describes the two main kinds of roots we can have:
Ingrown roots: "This is what the Lord says: 'Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives" (Jeremiah 17:5-6).
Roots into God: "But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8).The Christian life isn't just a Sunday experience. It's a daily experience. Every day we get to know God better. Every day we can draw on special strength to face life with God. Every day we grow in the image of God, becoming more and more like Jesus Himself. God does not want weekly Christians. He wants daily Christians.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:6).
"Jesus answered, '...Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). Read also Colossians 3:16* and James 1:21-22*.
However - if you do get into difficulties with sin, God has made a wonderful promise to you. Read 1 John 1:9*. This means that you don't ever have to allow anything to get between you and God. Just ask God to forgive you and He has promised to cleanse you. You can also talk to the minister of your church. Part of his responsibility is to help you in any area where you may be having a struggle.
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Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures quoted in these studies are from the
New International Version of the Bible, & copy; New York International Bible
Society, used by permission. Other versions referred to are: KJV (King James
Version), NKJB (New King James Bible), TLB (The Living Bible), Amp (The
Amplified Bible) and The Message. All versions used by permission.
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