In John 14:6 (NKJV), Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” In order to have a relationship with God, I had to go through Jesus.
In the books of Matthew and 1 John, I came across some scriptures that really put the reason why into perspective for me. In Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' “ In 1 John 1:5-6 (NKJV) it states this about Jesus, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. “ If we say we have a relationship with Jesus but do not live our life by walking in His ways, then we are lying and really don’t have a relationship with Him at all!
I also read in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 (NKJV), “…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” 1 John 2:4 (NKJV) states, ”He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Liars will not inherit eternal life (see Revelation 21:8).
I wanted to really know Jesus and I also wanted Him to really know me. I also wanted to practice the truth by being obedient to Him, walking in His light (see Ephesians 5:8-11). 1 John 1:7 (NKJV) states “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Having a relationship with Jesus means that I also have a relationship with God.
I also didn’t want to be judged a liar and I didn’t want to spend eternity away from His presence, punished in everlasting destruction. So, to understand this kind of relationship and lifestyle that Jesus was talking about, I began a more in-depth study of the first two commandments that He deemed most important.
(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
In Search of God’s Commandments...
*NOTE: If you don't have your own Bible or Bible software, there are many electronic ones on the Internet. Here is a link to a FREE one that you can download: http://www.e-sword.net .
The first “commandments” that I came across in the Old Testament were the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5) that were given by God to Moses and the children of Israel. This was God’s covenant (conditions of relationship) with them (see Deuteronomy 4:13). After giving them a quick review, I searched further and found the commandments that Jesus spoke of to His Disciples.
In Mark 12:29-31 (NKJV) Jesus says, “The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Jesus quoted these two commandments from the law that was given to Moses by God in the beginning (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9). The only change made by Jesus was that He added “all your mind” to the first commandment. In Matthew 22:40 (NKJV), the same quote is found, and Jesus says, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." In John 14:15 (NKJV) Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
So, according to Jesus, these two commandments are the greatest and they would support all the other commandments that were given by God. Jesus said that if I love Him, then my expression of love to Him would be in my obedience to God’s commandments (see 1 John 5:3). To really know Him, then I would have to obey, which would be an act of love. God gave us His commandments and His Son, Jesus, so that we would know how to love Him in a close and personal way!
Obedience to show love is truly a contradiction of what our society teaches us on love and relationships. No one wants to commit or submit to each other these days and they want an easy way out if it starts to get difficult. That is why people take the phrase “to obey” out of their wedding vows and people draw up prenuptial agreements! People don’t even take the time to really get to know each other before jumping into relationships. I know, because I have been guilty of this in the past! We see this example of self-centered relationship all of the time in the novels and magazines we read, and the movies and TV shows that we allow ourselves to watch. The scary thing is that our children are being taught the same things, but in an even more blatant and revealing way in this day and age.
(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
The first “commandments” that I came across in the Old Testament were the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5) that were given by God to Moses and the children of Israel. This was God’s covenant (conditions of relationship) with them (see Deuteronomy 4:13). After giving them a quick review, I searched further and found the commandments that Jesus spoke of to His Disciples.
In Mark 12:29-31 (NKJV) Jesus says, “The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Jesus quoted these two commandments from the law that was given to Moses by God in the beginning (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9). The only change made by Jesus was that He added “all your mind” to the first commandment. In Matthew 22:40 (NKJV), the same quote is found, and Jesus says, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." In John 14:15 (NKJV) Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
So, according to Jesus, these two commandments are the greatest and they would support all the other commandments that were given by God. Jesus said that if I love Him, then my expression of love to Him would be in my obedience to God’s commandments (see 1 John 5:3). To really know Him, then I would have to obey, which would be an act of love. God gave us His commandments and His Son, Jesus, so that we would know how to love Him in a close and personal way!
Obedience to show love is truly a contradiction of what our society teaches us on love and relationships. No one wants to commit or submit to each other these days and they want an easy way out if it starts to get difficult. That is why people take the phrase “to obey” out of their wedding vows and people draw up prenuptial agreements! People don’t even take the time to really get to know each other before jumping into relationships. I know, because I have been guilty of this in the past! We see this example of self-centered relationship all of the time in the novels and magazines we read, and the movies and TV shows that we allow ourselves to watch. The scary thing is that our children are being taught the same things, but in an even more blatant and revealing way in this day and age.
(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Monday, November 22, 2004
How do I get to know God?
When I was a teenager, I remember reading through the entire Bible, but it had been a mechanical thing. This time, as I really started to read it for understanding, the words started to come to life and began to reach me in a way that they had never done before. As I read and studied the scriptures, I came to realize that God wants more than me just believing in Him. God truly desires to have a close, personal relationship with me and wants me to understand how much He loves me.
In my experience, all the close, personal relationships that I have had with other people began when we took the time to really get to know each other. Reading my Bible was helping, and as I began to read the book of 1 John, I came across a scripture that explained how to know God. In I John 2:3 (NKJV) it states, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” Ok, so in order to get to know Him, I would have to learn what His commandments were and how to keep them.
Reading a little further, 1 John 3:23 (NKJV) states, “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” Loving one another and believing in Jesus as the Son of God stood out to me as two very important commandments. I knew there were more, so I decided to do a more thorough search of the Bible on all of God’s commandments, starting at the beginning. With the computerized Bible software my parent’s had given me, I started my search.
(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
In my experience, all the close, personal relationships that I have had with other people began when we took the time to really get to know each other. Reading my Bible was helping, and as I began to read the book of 1 John, I came across a scripture that explained how to know God. In I John 2:3 (NKJV) it states, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” Ok, so in order to get to know Him, I would have to learn what His commandments were and how to keep them.
Reading a little further, 1 John 3:23 (NKJV) states, “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” Loving one another and believing in Jesus as the Son of God stood out to me as two very important commandments. I knew there were more, so I decided to do a more thorough search of the Bible on all of God’s commandments, starting at the beginning. With the computerized Bible software my parent’s had given me, I started my search.
(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Friday, November 19, 2004
Why am I on a mission?
After getting past the toddler stage with my children and with the passing of my 30th birthday, I started to contemplate my beliefs. What do I believe and how will I teach my children? It was a hard question for me to answer.
In this world of instant gratification, virtual relationships, and over-abundant beliefs, I wanted to know the real truth. I wanted to discover the truth from something that had stood the test of time. Deep down I believed that God had created this world. No man or chaos could have formed or designed life with such structure and order. Believing in God as Creator, I knew then that only real truth could come from Him and His Word.
As a kid, I believed everything that I was taught in Church, but as I got older, some of it didn't make any sense. I grew up with a lot of people and influences telling me how a Christian should live, but I also saw a lot of contradiction. I wanted to be able to teach my children what I believed and the reasons why I believed that way, without having to say "just because". So, wanting to learn and research the truth personally, I dusted off my Bible that I’ve had since High School, and started to read – my mission had begun!
If you have the same questions and experiences as I do and you are in search of the truth, then I invite you to go on this mission with me – a mission to know and to love God.
In this world of instant gratification, virtual relationships, and over-abundant beliefs, I wanted to know the real truth. I wanted to discover the truth from something that had stood the test of time. Deep down I believed that God had created this world. No man or chaos could have formed or designed life with such structure and order. Believing in God as Creator, I knew then that only real truth could come from Him and His Word.
As a kid, I believed everything that I was taught in Church, but as I got older, some of it didn't make any sense. I grew up with a lot of people and influences telling me how a Christian should live, but I also saw a lot of contradiction. I wanted to be able to teach my children what I believed and the reasons why I believed that way, without having to say "just because". So, wanting to learn and research the truth personally, I dusted off my Bible that I’ve had since High School, and started to read – my mission had begun!
If you have the same questions and experiences as I do and you are in search of the truth, then I invite you to go on this mission with me – a mission to know and to love God.
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