It's been said that how you view God determines the course of your life. Meaning, the way you view God determines where you position Him in your life. His position in your life determines the amount of access He has in your life. His access determines the freedom He has to be God in your life. So basically, your freedom to experience God at work in your life is predicated upon how you view God.
Many of us limit God based upon our perception of Him, our need for Him and how we've encountered Him in our lives before. We view God as someone who wants us to follow religious rules and keep tradition. But what we miss is the practicality of developing a relationship with God. God is relational. Which means you can only begin to understand Him by forming a relationship. God is good! God is loving!
Mark 12:30 AMP reads:
"and you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
and with all your soul (life),
and with all your mind (thought, understanding),
and with all your strength.’"
We are to love God with the whole of who we are, center our life around His principles, develop His way of thinking and consider Him always, and place Him above our talent, advantages, skills, effort, and privileges.
You love God with the "whole of who you are" by first allowing Him to show you who you are, fill the void in your life, complete you, and transform your way of thinking. Upon getting to know yourself and getting knew who He is, you'll find yourself centering your life around who God is, His principles, His love, and His purpose for your life. You will begin to understand why you were created, the character of God, and how He values you and others. Some things, at this point, will begin to shift (your perception, how you handle situations, the way you talk to people, etc) You will then begin to develop His way of thinking, loving, and His character. You will consider your ways to make sure they reflect His ways (you will think about your actions and the effect of them). You will so easily honor Him above what He's privileged you to have (strengths: gifts, certain advantages, maybe you have a dad but someone else doesn't, maybe you grew up well taken care of because your family had enough money so you never went without, maybe you play sports really well, etc) and depend solely on him for what you don't have (maybe you don't know your mom or dad or both, you grew up in a rough neighborhood, you never learned how to get along with others properly, no one ever taught you how to love yourself, you have no self-respect, you aren't the best student in school because you don't know how to apply yourself, etc).
You love God with the "whole of who you are" by first allowing Him to show you who you are, fill the void in your life, complete you, and transform your way of thinking. Upon getting to know yourself and getting knew who He is, you'll find yourself centering your life around who God is, His principles, His love, and His purpose for your life. You will begin to understand why you were created, the character of God, and how He values you and others. Some things, at this point, will begin to shift (your perception, how you handle situations, the way you talk to people, etc) You will then begin to develop His way of thinking, loving, and His character. You will consider your ways to make sure they reflect His ways (you will think about your actions and the effect of them). You will so easily honor Him above what He's privileged you to have (strengths: gifts, certain advantages, maybe you have a dad but someone else doesn't, maybe you grew up well taken care of because your family had enough money so you never went without, maybe you play sports really well, etc) and depend solely on him for what you don't have (maybe you don't know your mom or dad or both, you grew up in a rough neighborhood, you never learned how to get along with others properly, no one ever taught you how to love yourself, you have no self-respect, you aren't the best student in school because you don't know how to apply yourself, etc).
Amazing thing is, as you develop a relationship with God, you'll begin to love the very things that you hate about your life because God changes our perceptions and softens our hearts. He assures you that "I knew you before I formed you in the womb. Yes, I formed you and placed you in your mother's womb. You were not in that family by accident and you went through everything that you went through for a purpose, which is the purpose I have created you for. I have made it so that all things will work for the good, for the better, if you allow it to. Life does not happen TO you but FOR you because I have the power to turn it around. Experiences in life, good and bad, benefit you by teaching you lessons and sharpening your character."
It's not until we can enjoy God just because He's God, and not for what He can do, that we begin to experience God. As you constantly have an encounter with God, you undergo a transformation. How do you develop a relationship with God? Spending time with Him, talking to Him, asking Him for advice, telling Him how you feel, about yoyr day, and what you like and don't like, in return He'll tell you His thoughts, His likes and dislikes...and before you know it, you've grown to like Him so much so that you begin to care about things that He cares about and those things that hurt Him, begin to hurt you. You'll begin to trust Him with the things that have hurt you over the years, you'll begin to invite Him into your heart. Before you know it, you're in love and you're making decisions with Him in mind. You're considering His feelings, considering His thoughts, considering His love for you...and it actually feels pretty darn good. Now you maybe thinking "I've never been in a relationship like THAT! THAT'S a fairytale!" Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not a fairytale. It's very real because God is a REAL God.
With God, life makes sense and life is better. Without God, life seems to swallow us up and we constantly wonder "why am I even here?" We're lost. We need someone to save us, we need a Saviour. Think about your life...aren't you ready to be saved?
If you've read this post and you're saying, "I don't know God but I want to know Him. I need Him to save my life" then you are in the right place to receive Him. Right where you are! Go somewhere by yourself and speak aloud: "I believe that Jesus is Lord and that he died on the cross so that I will be saved from my sins. He rose on the third day so that I may have a free and abundant life."
If you made this confession, HALLELUJAH! GLORY TO GOD!!! HEAVEN IS REJOICING OVER YOU!!! GOD IS SMILING IN YOU. HE SAYS, "MY CHILD, WELCOME HOME! WE HAVE SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT!"
If you made this confession, HALLELUJAH! GLORY TO GOD!!! HEAVEN IS REJOICING OVER YOU!!! GOD IS SMILING IN YOU. HE SAYS, "MY CHILD, WELCOME HOME! WE HAVE SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT!"
If you're already a follower of Christ but you say, "I don't have a relationship with God. I never knew how to really do that." My prayer for you (and for you who just received Christ in your life!) is that God refreshes you and that you give Him the access to your life that He rightfully deserves. That you begin to understand the depth, width, and height of God's transforming love and that you lose your life so that you'll live freely for Him. I pray that you experience God in a new way and that He is free to be your God. I declare in the name of Jesus that you are free, whole and full in every area of your life and that God's will be done in your life. In Jesus name, AMEN.
Until next time,
I LOVE YOU!
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