75999.22010.308 Develop the Relationship

How to Know That Christ is in Your Life

Did you receive Christ into your life?

According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you?

Christ said that He would come into your life and be your friend so you can know Him personally. Would He mislead you?

On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)

The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ

“The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13).

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5).

You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.

Now That You Have Entered Into a Personal Relationship with God

The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened, including the following:

  1. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20 and Colossians 1:27).
  2. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
  3. You became a child of God (John 1:12).
  4. You received eternal life (John 5:24).
  5. You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.

To enjoy your new relationship with God…

Suggestions For Christian Growth

Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. “The righteous man shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:

G – Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).

R – Read God’s Word daily (Acts 17:11) begin with the Gospel of John.

O – Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).

W – Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8).

T – Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).

H – Holy Spirit – Allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8).

Fellowship in a Good Church

God’s Word admonishes us not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together…”(Hebrews 10:25).

Several logs burn brightly together, but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians. If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited.

Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

47111 How to Invite Jesus into Your Life

To invite Jesus Christ into your life, you place your faith (trust) in Him for the forgiveness of your sins and allow Him to transform you into the person He wants you to be.

When you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead, God will forgive all of your sins, and the Holy Spirit will come to dwell in you. Your old self will be considered dead with Christ. You will be spiritually born again as a new creation in Christ.

You can invite Jesus into your life by expressing your faith directly to God through prayer. Simply pray the following words. But remember, it’s not the words you say but the attitude of your heart that is important.

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for all my sins—past, present, and future.
Thank you for giving me eternal life, which you made possible by your death and resurrection. I receive you as my Savior by faith and desire you to be Lord of my life.
I give you the right to make me into the kind of person you want me to be.”  

If you have invited Jesus Christ into your life, begin laying a solid foundation for your new relationship with God.

Key Verse

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

More About…

How to know God personally

Why Jesus is the key to salvation

Your life has a purpose

Become More

Read the series, “Laying A Solid Foundation” and become more confident in your new relationship with God.

47113 How to Experience God’s Love

God loves you unconditionally and eternally because God is love. God’s love is always being poured upon you lavishly. He designed you to live in a love relationship with Him. You can accept His love.

When you don’t experience His love even though you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your unconfessed sin and unrepentant heart are often major barriers between God and you in your relationship.

Repentance is to turn back to God from disobedience to obedience. You can use the five prayers of repentance. When you turn to God, the Holy Spirit will bring you back to the truth of God’s unchanging love for you. More and more you will be able to live in awareness of His love for you. Rather than working toward a place of feeling loved, you will be living from a place of being loved.

Key Verse

“The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.” (John 14:21)

More About…

“Love Relationship with God”

“Choose God’s Love”

“Unconfessed Sin and an Unrepentant Heart”

“Five Prayers of Repentance”

“Sin and God’s Love”

Become More

Become more aware of His love for you. Read the series “Forever Loved”.

47114 How to Experience God’s Forgiveness

God’s forgiveness will truly set you free. If you are seeking God’s forgiveness, the good news is that He has already forgiven you in Jesus Christ. To experience His forgiveness, you simply need to receive it according to His promise.

God promises that His forgiveness is yours from the moment you place your faith (trust) in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and allow Him to transform you into the person He wants you to be.

Repentance is the act of receiving God’s forgiveness that is already granted to you. You can use the five prayers of repentance. Just like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24), your heavenly Father’s forgiveness is eagerly waiting with its arms wide open for you to return to Him (repentance).

You may be struggling with God’s forgiveness because you don’t feel you deserve it.

Nobody deserves God’s forgiveness. He forgives you not because you deserve it but because Jesus died on the cross to earn forgiveness for you. God forgives you because He loves you.

Forgiveness is an act of love. That is why the Lord commands us to forgive one another, just as God in Christ also forgave us (Ephesians 4:32).

Key Verse

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

More About…

“Forgiveness”

“Five Prayers of Repentance”

“Forgiveness Jesus’ Way”

“Forgive One Another”

Become More

Watch the video series on “Experience God’s love and forgiveness” (See videos)

31054 Develop the Relationship

It is the most exciting event in your life to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior. God instantaneously transferred you from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of his Son and gave you new life in him! You are born again and have become a new creation in Christ!

You are now in a new relationship with God!

The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened, including the following:

  1. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20; Colossians 1:27).
  2. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
  3. You became a child of God (John 1:12).
  4. You received eternal life (John 5:24).
  5. You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.

Be Sure You Are in Christ

At the time of conversion, some people have a significant emotional or spiritual experience. Others don’t. Even those who have had a dramatic experience realize that those emotionally charged moments don’t last forever.

This is not to discount your experience. In fact, in the Old Testament, God commanded the people of Israel to remember what God had done in their midst. We can always look back to our past experiences to remember God’s power, love, goodness, and grace.

How can you be sure that you now belong to Christ?

God and His Word

First and foremost, we look to God. Knowing that God is love and is faithful, we can be confident in Him, His holy character, and the trustworthiness of His words. We place our faith in God and His word.

It is God’s Word (the Bible the written Word and Jesus the living Word) that we trust and that forms the foundation upon which our Christian faith stands.

In fact, Jesus says that God is honored when you bear much fruit by remaining in Jesus and having His words remain in you (John 15:7-8).

If you ever doubt that God is in you or that God unconditionally loves you or that you are saved in Christ, go to the truths in the Bible to reinforce your faith in Him. Never listen to a voice in your head that tells you that God doesn’t love you or that you are not worthy of his love. Based on the Word of God (Bible), that is simply false. In those cases, you need to keep affirming the truth of God’s Word that God’s love for you is unchanged and unconditional.

“The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13)

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5).

You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.

The Holy Spirit

The mark of true Christians is that the Holy Spirit dwells in them.

At the time of your decision to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior or at the time of water baptism, you may have a memorable experience with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

While our personal experience is helpful, we do not rely on our emotions or experience to judge what the Word of God clearly states.

The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father at the request of the Son to be forever with every believer in Christ (John 14:16).

All believers in Christ receive the Holy Spirit the moment they trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but we are also commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). The fullness of the Holy Spirit is not automatic. This is also an act of faith, for it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Scriptures teach us more about the Holy Spirit. You will read more about the Spirit-filled life NEXT.

So, you have the Word of God (Bible) and the Holy Spirit of God to assure you that you belong to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As you develop your relationship with God and grow it deeper and stronger, you will live the abundant life Jesus promised.