Enjoy a Relationship With the One, True, Living God

We should start with the definition of faith. What is faith? Faith is generally defined as a sure belief in the truth and faithfulness of a person, idea or thing.

In Christianity we believe, by faith, that God exists, that he is alive and active in the world and that through God’s only Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit we can live with hope. We believe that there is one, true, living God and that he represents himself to us in three forms—-Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We also believe that every person is born in sin—that is, that each person must find relief from selfishness, evil and corruption by means of Someone outside of themselves. Our sin is so great that the only way to pay for it was through the death of Jesus Christ. He is the only one who could bear the burden of every sin and come back to life after giving himself for all of humanity. Our faith rests in the love of God extended to all people who will believe through that sacrificial death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of this our sins can be forgiven. There are some core Scriptures that teach the truth about us and about God.

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)

Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.”  (John 14:6-7)

God longs for us to be in a personal relationship with him and sin separates us from him. Since Jesus Christ has already given himself for us, what is our part?

Step One

We need to admit that we are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. This may be a difficult step to take because you feel you have lived a good and decent life. No matter how good we live our lives, they can never cover the deceitfulness that is in each human heart without God. Or perhaps you know that you have done some terrible things and you know that you need someone to get you out of the messes you are in. Then forgiveness is available for you, too. Wherever you are between the range of goodness to evil—God’s love is always extended to you.

Step Two

We need to ask God to forgive us of our sins. This may or may not be a simple step for you. If you feel that you cannot be forgiven, then one tiny drop of faith in God’s love can help you pray a simple prayer. If you feel that you don’t need to be forgiven, but you still have a vast emptiness inside…perhaps you do need forgiveness. And having one tiny drop of faith in God’s love enables you to pray a simple prayer.

Now, I invite you to pray.  If you have no words here are some you can pray:

Jesus Christ, I admit that I am a sinner in need of God’s love. Please forgive me of my sins and make me able to be in right relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.

           

This may be a difficult step for you and you may not be quite ready for it. So, there are two important things you need to know. God’s love and grace are available for you at any time in your life. You can pray to be forgiven at any moment. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) You do not have to get your life straightened out to have a relationship with God! The grace, love and power of God is what will enable you to straighten your life out. It may not happen overnight, but you can have victory over the things that bind you to hatred, guilt and sorrow—while knowing you have been forgiven.

Step Three

You must repent. To repent means that you turn away from sin and head toward God instead of your own selfish desires or evil.  This may take some practice, so just plan on that. In the act of repentance, you will need to do some helpful things to put your mind and behavior toward God.

• Pray daily for God’s help.
• Find a good Christian church who will support and love you in your walk. Be sure that they are a church who studies God's Word and acts the way the Bible teaches.  
• Get a Bible and start reading! Find a version of the Bible that you can easily understand. 

If you have prayed that prayer today, you have made a very good choice, one that you will learn is the best decision you have ever made. May God bless you as you walk with The Word!

If you have not made this choice today, I want you to remember something very important: God’s love and grace is available to you at any time in your life!

A relationship with God is like a relationship enjoyed with a beloved human being—except that God’s love is perfect, never-failing and always available. I know it is because I have had that vital relationship for many, many years.

© M. R. Hyde

New and Different Persons Acts 9:1-19

God is in the business of transforming people into new and different persons. Some transformations are slow in coming, not because God wants it to be slow, but because the person or persons are slow in the uptake. This was not the case in the life of Saul recorded in the New Testament. Saul was, by his own account, one of the premiere young Jewish leaders in the region. He had been taught by the excellent Jewish scholar and teacher Gamaliel. His rank in the religious world must have been high, because he was able to obtain permission to pursue and imprison Christians from none other than the high priest. He was zealous and dedicated, a rising star.

We must not mistake Saul for a rebellious pagan sinner. He was none of that. He was a defender of the one, true God who had chosen to work through his forefathers Abraham, Moses, Elijah and all of the prophets. He defended God, if God needed defending. And he did his level best to protect the faithful from heresy.

A particular heresy was his ardent passion. This was the heresy that Jesus of Nazareth had been proclaimed by many as the fulfillment of the promised Messiah. Saul put feet to his opposition of this new travesty in the religious community. He targeted the people of The Way who had succumbed to this heresy. In Acts 7 we can read that he was actually present at the stoning of the first Christian martyr.

Having obtained permission from the high priest to go hunt down heretics in Damascus, he set out on his journey. Damascus was anywhere from a four to six days walk from Jerusalem. Who knows what was racing through Saul’s mind? Did he obsess on the memory of Stephen’s accusatory speech? Did he ruminate over Stephen’s declaration that he saw the Jesus Christ, the Son of Man (7:56), standing at the right hand of God? Was Saul’s zeal so strong that nothing could keep him from his targets in Damascus?

Saul’s zeal was strong, by any measure, but there was One whose zeal was stronger—the person of Jesus Christ.

Read Act 9:1-9.

Damascus was in the Roman province of Syria. Saul’s zeal was driving him further out to try to quell the rising tide of this heresy. So, he did not lack courage to push out into an area that had a few of the Jewish faithful that might be unduly influenced and harmed by the spread of such wrong information and to seize those who were perpetrating this betrayal of the true faith. He was stopped cold by none other than Jesus himself.

Why did it take this kind of encounter to lead to the transformation of Saul? We may not know all of the answers. But, understanding where he had come from, and how powerful he was becoming, Jesus chose a direct confrontation. Jesus was not only defending himself to Saul, but he was also defending his followers. His disciples, now many thousands and counting, were not just followers but, indeed, the very parts of his body—the Church. When someone persecutes a believer, they are also persecuting Christ! And Jesus Christ takes that very seriously. So, he intersected Saul directly on that road. He revealed himself in a way that many do not experience. He identified himself and his Church. And at that point, Saul believed in Jesus Christ. This was a sudden and complete transformation.

Jesus Christ was also concerned about the transformation of those who were with Saul. Imagine the group that was with him—temple guards with chains and whips, fellow zealots riding the coattails of that powerful zeal and ready to grab hold of the heretics. They heard a sound, they knew something supernatural had happened, but they did not hear what Saul was confronted with. What were they to do but help him up and get him to a secure location? How was God working in their hearts for their transformation as well? The Biblical record does not articulate their conversions. But can’t we imagine that some, if not all of them, accepted the Gospel truth at some point in their lives?

There was yet another transformation that was important.

Read Acts 9:10-19.

Ananias was a Christian living in Damascus. When did he become a Christian? We don’t know, but it could have been while Jesus was ministering on earth. Might Ananias have traveled down to Galilee while Jesus was teaching or did he hear the full Gospel when the Apostles were preaching in Jerusalem? What we do know is that he was so in tune with God that he was able to receive a vision. In this vision he is given a very specific task in the Kingdom of God. That task is hard to reckon with.

Isn’t it wonderful that in the Bible we see people wrestling with obedience? Isn’t it great to see that people in the past had open dialog with God without fear of reprisal or rejection?  What a great and patient God we have!

Ananias really needed some further transformation, didn’t he? His fear needed to be transformed into courage. His ignorance needed to be transformed into truth. His reticence needed to be transformed into obedience. And the great joy is that he allowed this to happen. This transformation was so complete that Ananias not only went to the house where Saul was staying, but he entered it, and then further still, reached out and laid hands on the man who could have easily slapped chains on him! God does not need us to carry out his will, but he wants us to participate with him in it. What transformation happens when the obedient participate is God’s great work!

When both of these transformations took place, everyone in that house—the homeowners, perhaps even the temple guards and other zealots—saw two transformed people. One could see the whole fulfillment of the Law in Jesus Christ and experience the infilling of the Holy Spirt. And the other could see the power of God transform even the most frightening of men.

God’s love is hard after every person who will follow him through Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The one, true living God, in three persons, wants to exhibit his transforming power all over the world to make new and different persons.

In the great choral work, Four Letters of St. Paul by Paul Christiansen, there is a great piece called “Be a New and Different Person” which encapsulates the reality of the great work of God in song. If you can ever hear it, you will experience the joy and enthusiasm of this reality in song. In the meantime, here are the words.

Be a new and different person filled with his love and filled with his Holy Spirit,

With a freshness and a newness in all the things you think and in all things you do.

So be new!

Throw off your old and evil nature and the things you used to do.

For you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to you.

Be a new and different person, filled with his love and filled with his Holy Spirit,

With a freshness and a newness in all the things you think and in all things you do.

So be new!

Don’t you realize that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit?

Don’t you realize that God lives in you?

Don’t you realize that you were made in the image of God?

Don’t you realize that you are made in the image of God?

Be a new and different person, filled with his love and filled with his Holy Spirit,

With a freshness and a newness in all the things you think and in all things you do

So be new!

-Four Letters of Paul: Be a New and Different Person – Paul Christiansen

Prayer:

Oh, God, will you continue to transform me and help me to know how to pray for those who need to be transformed in You?

Amen

M.R. Hyde

Copyright 2019