Notes and Bible Verses:
(1) Revelations 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
(2) A sample Believer’s Prayer: Darling Jesus, I want You in my life. I open my heart to You. Please come and live in me. I believe and accept that You are the Son of God Who died for to set me free. I believe that You rose from the dead on the third day and that You are alive. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and teach me Your Word. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
(3) Romans 10:9-10 – ‘that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’
(4) John 3:1-5 - There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
(5) Luke 3:21-22 - 21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
(6) Genesis 3:1-7 - Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
(7) John 4:24 - God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
(8) Genesis 2:7 - And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
(9) Romans 1:20 - For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
2. Know God – Know the Truth
Christianity is all about a relationship with God and that is what makes it unique. Christianity is all about God Who created the Universe and holds time and space in His hands and you. It has nothing to do with rituals, places, objects, attire, literature or lineage. It is about you and God having a walking-talking relationship.
In Chapter 1 we discussed what we need to do in order to pave the way for a walking-talking relationship with God. The next most important thing is to know God. I am not talking about reading the Bible cover to cover (although I greatly encourage it) or become the champion of the Bible Quiz. It is not good enough to know about God – yes it is important but it is more important to know Who God is.
Who is God? God is love(1). Short and simple; God is love. These words encompass everything that God is. He does everything He does, because He loves - it is His nature.
I do understand that there are some who find it difficult to believe that God loves them because of the many negative circumstances that they have experienced in their lives and some of the sinful things that they themselves have done. Also, some can’t imagine that God actually loves people because of all the chaos and destruction that they see in the world today. There are instances that we cannot explain why certain things happen but there is also a reason as to why the world is so chaotic. We will discuss this in Chapter 3.
Yet, it is often possible to believe that God loves other people but it is very difficult to accept that God loves me. I believed that God loved people. I never doubted it. However, even after becoming Born Again and getting to know God as God Emmanuel – God Who is with me, I still found it difficult to digest the fact that God loved me particularly. I knew that He loved others but found it hard to believe that He could love me because I knew who I was, what I had done, thought and said, I knew that I had nothing to offer Him. I couldn’t comprehend that He would love me when there was nothing He could get from me in return. The world that I know does not work that way. You have to give twice as much to get twice as little and God’s system of giving expecting nothing in return was quite alien to me.
I often used to tell the Lord, ‘If I were You, I’d never love me’. Even after becoming a believer (being Born Again), I struggled for many years unable to accept the love of God. ‘What have I done to deserve it?’, ‘When there are so many others who are much better than me, why me?’ are the kind of thoughts that floated around in my mind. My focus was on me and all my shortcomings. Many believers go through this. Even after having a powerful encounter with God, some still fall into the trap of doubting God’s love for them. By all means, it is a trap – a trap set by the devil himself. In fact, this is the trap that the devil or satan will set for many believers as the end draws near so be alert and guard yourself.
In a walking-talking relationship with God, the focus is not on you. It is on God. He is the base, the beginning and the substance of a relationship that has no end, limit or bounds. God loves you as you are(2), even before you’ve asked Him to forgive you, even before you are aware of His existence, even before you are born physically and spiritually(3). Even if your earthly parents don’t love you, God does(4) and the knowledge of His love for you will fill you up(5). There will no longer be a void in your heart or an empty place in your life because He is sufficient.
The knowledge of God’s love for you is a weapon in your hand. The devil’s ultimate goal is to steal our souls and he cannot do this if we are connected to God. He needs to pull us away from God in order to achieve his goal and he knows that he cannot deter God’s love for us, so he does everything in his power to make us doubt God’s love. God’s love is our life line and the minute we let go of it, we are in great danger and let me tell you why. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden and this time let’s focus on the sin and what happened as a result.
In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned, they died spiritually. God is a Spirit and in order to commune with Him, we have to be alive in spirit. So, ever since that first sin came in between God and man, God’s plan was to restore that relationship between Himself and us.
God is just – the sins that have been committed must be atoned for. In the Old Testament, people brought various offerings of animals to the temple and the animals were offered to God as a sacrifice and atonement for their sin(6). Death is the punishment for sin(7) and we all deserve to die because we are sinners(8). At the Garden of Eden, man exchanged his holy nature for a sinful nature by giving into sin. If you and I were to atone for our sins, we will not be able to bare it and neither will we be sufficient. But because of the love that God has for us, He offered Himself up as payment for all the sins of the world. God left the splendor of heaven and came to this world as a man; Jesus. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit of God and born of a woman’s womb. Jesus is God and man at the same time. Jesus is God in bodily
form. God in His holiness was sufficient to pay that price that all of us put together could never pay.
When God paid the price, He bought back our right to spiritual life which we lost by committing sin in the Garden of Eden. So, Jesus holds within Himself the right to be alive in spirit. When we allow Jesus into our hearts, He brings with Him that right to be alive in spirit. This is salvation and salvation comes through Jesus Who is God become Man. Our right to be alive in spirit is eternal. Our physical bodies are temporary but our spirits are eternal. Therefore we call this eternal life. When the sins are paid for, sin has no claim over us and therefore we are free from spiritual death.
In order to access this gift of eternal life, we have to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. The gift is given free to anyone who wants it. Now this is the tricky part. We must first believe that God’s gift is for us. But then the question arises; ‘why would God give me such a gift when I have done nothing to deserve it?’. It is true you and I have done nothing to deserve it but here again, the focus is not on you and me but it is on God. The gift is given because God loves us. It is His nature to love us. Remember, God is love.
So if you’ve been finding it hard to believe that God loves you as you are, well now you know that He loves you because that’s Who He is – you can be the best person on earth or the worse person on earth but He will still love you and He died for you too. It’s not about who you are but it is about Who He is.
Now, here’s the catch, you have to stubbornly believe that God loves you. You have to believe it no matter what circumstances surround you. Believing that God loves you is your key to victory because Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love. Unless you believe that God loves you, you will never be able to reap the benefits of salvation. If you and I doubt God’s love, we doubt Jesus and we doubt salvation.
God is love and He loves you. Yes, there are trying circumstances but He loves you. He will put all things in order for your good(9) and He will walk with you through your trials (10). Remember why trying circumstances come into your life in the first place. They come to make you doubt God’s love for you because that is the only way they can separate you from God and try to steal back your soul. Whatever happens, never doubt that God loves you because He does. He loves you and He delights in you as you are. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
The truth is that God loves you. No wonder Jesus says ‘the truth will set you free’(11) and this is the very truth that satan will try his best to make you doubt so that he could hold you captive. Know the Truth.
Notes & Bible Verses
(1) 1John 4:8 - He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
(2) 1John 4:19 - We love Him[a] because He first loved us.
(3) Psalm 139:13 - For You formed my inward parts;
(4) Psalm 27:10 - When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me.
(5) Ephesians 3:18-19 - may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
(6) Read Leviticus Chapter 22 for more information.
(7) Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(8) Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
(9) Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.]
(10) Isiah 43:2 - When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you, when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you
(11( John 8:31-32 - Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
3. Know Where Your Citizenship Is
There is so much chaos in the world. Death and destruction is everywhere. Some blame God for all the chaos or accuse Him of just watching and doing nothing to change it. Some question the existence of God too. I am sure you’ve heard this phrase before, ‘if there really is a God, how could something like this happen?’ Well, there is something fundamentally wrong with this line of thinking. God is not the author of chaos but of order. The devil is the author of chaos.
Both man-made and natural disasters are escalating and expanding in terms of the destruction and devastation they cause. There are various viruses and illnesses that are surfacing. You will also see increasingly that the innocent suffer while the unjust thrive. ‘Where is justice?’ is another common question. How come perpetrators of terrible crimes walk free when a child who stole a bun from the market place because he was hungry is sent to a juvenile prison? It all seems so unfair. Why is this? It is because this is how it is on Earth. This is how the ruler of the earth operates. This is his law. Who is the ruler of earth? He is satan the devil(1).
The Earth is satan’s camp and we who are children of God and echo God’s nature are aliens to the system that prevails on Earth. In satan’s system, good is punished, bad is rewarded. Chaos is welcome and order is rejected. Satan’s system is the exact opposite of God’s system. But if God created the world, how come the devil now controls it?
This question takes us back to the Garden of Eden. God created the world and gave it to man and placed man in a position of authority over the world and everything in it(2). But when man sinned, man opened a door way for sin to enter into God’s perfect world where satan otherwise had no legal right to enter. Satan in the form of a snake went to those who held authority over the world in order to trick them and get them to lose a bit of that authority and dominion to him. His plan worked. Adam and Eve and all the generations after them relinquished our rightful authority and dominion over the earth to the devil.
What does the Bible say about satan? Satan kills, steals and destroys(3). Isn’t that what we see everywhere on earth – death, loss and destruction?
When I became Born Again, I felt God’s presence in my life but my circumstances didn’t change automatically like I expected that they would. Make a note of this; God does not promise you a trouble free life. As long as you are on earth, the devil will do everything in his power to separate you from God, his main strategy is to burden you to the point that you doubt God’s love for you and even God’s existence. The devil wants you to move away from God. But God’s burden is not heavy on you(4).
Sin gives birth to sin(5). When we sin, (if we don’t go to God immediately, repent and ask for forgiveness) we are drawn to commit more sin, It has a snowballing effect. And the farther we get away from God and the longer we stay away from Him, the more prone we are to commit sin. When we give into this, we become a citizen of earth, ruled by the ruler of the earth, the devil.
Those of us who choose to follow God cannot and should not expect life on earth to be simple. It is so not because God is not there or He has abandoned us but it is so because we are living on the enemy’s territory. We are essentially like fish out of water. Our citizenship is in heaven(6). The ruler of this world has no intention of being nice to the children of his Enemy. In heaven, we are like fish in water because we are where we are supposed to be.
Don’t expect life to be easy because it won’t but with God on your side, you can overcome anything. Right now you may feel like prey being hunted by the devil but as you grow in the Lord, you will be the hunter and the tables will turn. This is what God put you on this earth for. It is to reclaim what is rightfully yours.
Know that your citizenship is in heaven and that this is a temporary abode. A walking, talking relationship with God is the key to overcoming the trials that the world will throw at you. With God, there is no other outcome but victory.
Notes & Bible Verses
(1) Ephesians 2:1-2 - And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, i
n which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience
(2) Genesis 1:26-28 - Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[b] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
(3) John 10:10 - The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
(4) Mathew 11:28-30 - Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
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