How to get to know God!

SO WHAT’S MISSING?
Purpose, meaning, a reason for living —these are all things we desire and search for in life. But despite our search, we still feel empty and unfulfilled. We each have an empty place in our heart, a spiritual void, a “God-shaped vacuum.” Possessions won’t fill it, nor will success, relationships, or even religion. Only through a vibrant relationship with God can this void be filled. And God is reaching out to us and longs for such a relationship with us. At Christmas, he sent his Son to be born as a human baby —to reach out to us, to do everything necessary to make a relationship with God possible. But before such a relationship can be established, we need to face a serious problem.
THE PROBLEM: SIN
“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, GOD, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be” (Jeremiah 17:9-10).
God’s message reveals that the underlying problem is sin. Sin is not just the bad things we do, but an inherent part of who we are. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. King David once said to God, “I’ve been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born” (Psalm 51:5). Since we are born sinners, sinning comes to us naturally. And every problem we experience in society today can be traced back to our refusal to do things God’s way.
THE SOLUTION: JESUS
“The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us” (Romans 3:22-23).
God understood our problem and knew we couldn’t beat it alone. So he sent his own Son, Jesus Christ, to bridge the chasm of sin that separates us from God. Jesus laid aside his divine privileges and walked the earth as a man, experiencing all the troubles and emotions that we do. Then he was arrested on false charges and killed on a Roman cross. But this was no accident. He did it to suffer the punishment deserved by us all. And then three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death forever!
THE RESPONSE: ACCEPTING GOD’S OFFER
“Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus” (Acts 3:19).
To know Jesus personally and have our sins forgiven, we must believe that we are sinners separated from God and that our only hope is Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, who came and died for our sins. But we must not stop with this realization. We also need to take steps toward confessing and turning from our sins. And we must welcome Jesus Christ into our life as Lord and Savior. He will move in and help us to change from the inside out.
If you are ready to turn from your sins and believe in Jesus so you can receive God’s forgiveness, take a moment to pray like this:
God, I’m sorry for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and ask you to forgive me. Thank you for sending Jesus to be born as a human baby and to die on the cross for my sins. Jesus, I ask you to come into my life and be my Lord, Savior, and Friend. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer and meant it, you can be sure that God has forgiven you and adopted you into his family.