God yearns for His creation to get close to Him. The first step which is the life-changing step for the rest of your life is asking that Jesus, His son comes into your life (heart, as it is into your most inner being), through the gift of Salvation. The next step is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is accepting the complete form of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The last step is being baptized in water, showing you are willing to wash away the old man (sinner) and to be cleansed by the pureness of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
When you ask Jesus to come into your life and to forgive you of all your sins of the past, present, and future, this opens the door of Heaven to you with life everlasting. When you have a relationship with Jesus, you are allowing Him to help you with the steps in life that you have to take, which is very awesome, when you do. Some people lose out on this because they feel if you truly give your life over to Jesus that He is taking away who you are. However, instead of taking who you are away, Jesus is adding abundance, love, joy, and a peace that passes all understanding within you, that once you fall in love with Christ you will find the goodness of God. This feeling you have is indescribable by words. God sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, so we could feel this love.
John 3:16-21 (NKJV)
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Jesus took all of the sins of mankind and sacrificed Himself by dying on the cross at Calvary, so we didn't have to make any sacrifice for our sins that we commit, giving us freedom from sin and death!
Jesus knows us inside and out, He knows our talents, what we are good at, therefore knowing what direction our life needs to go. If you listen to what the Bible says and do not take it out of context, by jumping around the Bible trying to make the scriptures say what you would like them to say, instead of what God is saying. You must always read every chapter completely, so you know what God truly wants and how His wisdom works. There are many ministers, who like to jump around the Bible, so they can make their own point across, instead of what God is actually saying, they are not listening to God nor our guidebook, the Bible, that was given to us for our walk with Him. If you jumped around any book as much as people do the Bible, you would never know what the story is about or what the author is trying to say, this is the same if you do this with the Bible.
To get close to God is to know His word. How you really know and understand the Bible is through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Spirit was promised to us by Jesus before He ascended into Heaven to be with His Father. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and there are some that are saying that He was only here until the apostles died then left. If this were true we would be calling God a liar, as there are more miracles that happen every day, and I know for a fact that if God's Spirit wasn't still here there would not be any miracles, healing, and the world would be in total chaos. Jesus said that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If you decide you don't want the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, you are still saved and your name is forever written in the lamb's book of life, however, you are missing out on more understanding, with the peace and love that God has for us and it's a free gift, you just need to accept God entirely. The powerful authority that the Holy Spirit gives to you will make you stronger in so many ways. He is our comforter, our strength, our peace, our freedom, our wisdom, and much much more! We can pray with authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, hear God's voice, having more faith than we could ever imagine doing, what Jesus showed us to do throughout the Gospels.
The next step that is important to have a relationship with God, is Baptism by Water. What this does is takes away the old man by having Christ wash Him away in the water and then taking on the new person you are in Christ when you come out of the water. It is symbolization and commitment to God that you will serve Him with all that you are. I was so blessed when I was baptized with water, as it gives you such a clean feeling inside and out. This is something that everyone needs to experience, to feel the peace of God all over you and to feel how much He loves you.
Matthew 3:13-17 (NKJV)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
To be really close to God after you have taken the steps to your new life in Christ, take the time to spend with God every day. You do this by reading the Bible, praising Him, praying to Him, singing to Him and most of all thanking Him. You will grow closer to Him and see that your life is changing, without much effort on your part, as you love God and love who you are becoming in Him. Remember, He yearns to be with you and give you the blessings in life that are meant for you.
Making God your Father will be the most important decision you could ever make. He loves us unconditionally and beyond our comprehension, so much that He gave His son to die for us so that we may be with Him in heaven. What more is there for us to ask of God, that He has not already done for us? If you want to get close to God do these steps and your life will be the best that it ever could be.
May God bless you this Easter Weekend as we all remember what His son, Jesus did for us by His obedience in His Father. Praise the Lord, He has Risen!!
留言