Friend of God
September 18, 1977. Little did I know that my life would change forever that night. Some friends and I all piled into a van and headed to a meeting in a town about 45 minutes away. Our junior high English teacher had invited several of us attend a crusade and we had approval from our parents. We sang some songs and then took our seats as the speaker told us about having a relationship with our Creator.
I had grown up in church, but a relationship with God? I thought He just gave a list of do’s and don’ts and if I had more good marks than bad marks, I would make it to heaven. The speaker that night revealed Scriptures that clearly demonstrated that to make it to heaven, I needed to accept Jesus as my Savior. At the end of his message, the speaker asked those who wanted that relationship to come forward for prayer. That was the night I gave my heart to Jesus and started my personal relationship with God.
But what does it mean to have relationship with God? I recently attended a writing workshop where I asked a group of other writers what questions they would want answered about relationship with God. They came up with quite a list and I will be writing in future blogs about those questions and some of the insights I have learned through my forty-plus year walk with God and the study of His Word. If you have questions you would like answered on this topic, please comment below or send an email to womanofvalor31@yahoo.com. I would love to hear your questions, and together we can work to find answers.
I like the New Living Translation of Romans 5:11, “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” It seems amazing to me that the Creator of the entire universe wants relationship with me and calls me friend. How do we start that relationship? I made a commitment that September night based on several scriptures. One of my favorites is Romans 10:9, “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.”
If you have not yet taken that step of faith, you can do so today. Just pray this prayer from your heart:
Heavenly Father, I don’t deserve it, but I thank you that Jesus died for me. I repent of my sins and will turn from them and follow you. I receive you as my Savior and ask You to wash away my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your only Son, who came to earth to die for my sins so I can be in right relationship with you. I no longer need to be ashamed of my past, because I am now a new creation in You. The old has passed away and You have made all things new. (I Corinthians 5:17). Thank you, Jesus!
If you prayed that prayer, would you please let me know? I would encourage you to get connected with a Bible-believing church to learn what God has to say in His Word that was written for you.
In coming blogs, we’ll start answering some of the questions about relationship with God. Please send me yours so we can discuss and grow together. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and exploring this amazing relationship we have with our Savior.