Beginning Your Journey of Joy - Finally, Love and Acceptance for Women (and Men, too!)
Author: Bill & Vonette Bright

These four principles are essential in beginning your journey of joy.


PRINCIPLE ONE:

God loves you and created you to know Him personally.


God's Love: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John
3:16).

God's Plan: "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 10:7-10).

What prevents us from knowing God personally?


PRINCIPLE TWO:

People are sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him
personally or experience His love.


People are Sinful: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3:23).

People were created to have fellowship with God; but, because of our own
stubborn self-wills, we chose to go our own independent way and fellowship
with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active
rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

People are Separated: "The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from
God] (Romans 6:23).

God is holy and people are sinful. A great gulf separates the two.
People are continually trying to reach God and establish a personal
relationship with Him through their own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion but we
inevitably fail.


The third principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf...


PRINCIPLE THREE:

Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through Him alone
we can know God personally and experience God's love.


He Died in Our Place: "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He Rose from the Dead: "Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was
raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter,
then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1
Corinthians 15:3-6).

He is the Only Way to God: "Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth,
and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).


God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ,
to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our
sins.


It is not enough just to know these three truths...


PRINCIPLE FOUR:

We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; then
we can know God personally and experience His love.

We must Receive Christ: "As many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name"
(John 1:12).

We Receive Christ through Faith: "By grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works
that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

When we Receive Christ, we Experience a New Birth: (Read John 3:1-8).

We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation: [Christ speaking] "Behold, I
stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting
Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He
wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to
have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of
our will.

There are two kinds of lives:


Self-Directed Life

Self is on the "throne", making decisions. Christ is outside the life
Interests are directed by self often resulting in discord and frustration

Christ-Directed Life

Christ is IN the life and on the "throne", guiding your decisions.
Self is yielding to Christ, & interests are directed by Christ, resulting
in harmony with God's plan


Which life best represents your life? Which life would you like to have represent your life?


The following explains how you can receive Christ:

You Can Receive Christ Right Now By Faith Through Prayer
(Prayer is talking with God)

God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with
the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for
dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life
and receive You as my Saviour and Lord. Thank You for
forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of
the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want
me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of you heart?

If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as he
promised.


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 Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would
come into your life. 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: (1John 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.


Feelings Can be Unreliable

You might have expectations about how you should feel after placing your
trust in Christ. While feelings are important they are unreliable indicators of
your sincerity or the trustworthiness of God's promise. Our feelings change
easily, but God's Word and His character remain constant. This illustration
shows the relationship between fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in
God and His Word) and our feelings.


Fact - a chair is strong enough to support you.

Faith - You believe this chair will support you, so you sit
in it.

Feeling - You may or may not feel comfortable in this chair,
but it continues to support you.


The promise of God's Word, the Bible, not our feelings, is our authority. The
Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His
Word.

Now That You Have Entered Into A Personal Relationship
With Christ

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; 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).


Continue Your Journey of Joy

To continue your journey with helpful Bible Studies and answers to
common questions about becoming a Christian, please go to: http://www.journeyofjoy.com/biblestudies/index.html

If this article has been of help to you, you may fill out the form on this website: http://designet-pro.com/journeyofjoy and write or email us your questions or request free literature.






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Bio: Bill and Vonnette Bright have contributed numerous articles and mentored hundreds of men and women over the past 50 years through a movement called Campus Crusade for Christ. Websites associated with them and this movement are: (in Canada) http://www.crusade.org (for women, in Canada) http://www.christianwomentoday.com in the US) http://www.ccci.org



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