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Part 2
TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.“- Psalm 34:8
Only the Lord can truly satisfy you. He created man to walk with Him. God desires to have a relationship with you. He can and will reveal Himself to you in an extraordinary way. God says that the human soul or spirit is like a vessel or a cup. He desires to fill that vessel with His presence. The Bible says that in His presence is fullness of joy. We were made to be filled with God. The Bible tells us that God desires to come and live in us. He promises to be our God and our Father and we will be His people. Once you have tasted of the Lord's presence you will never be the same again.
YOUR SIN HAS SEPARATED YOU FROM GOD
“But your iniquities have come between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing.“-Isaiah 59:2
Before you can experience this wonderful fellowship with God you must first be willing to deal with the sin in your life. Sin is when you break God's law. The 10 commandments are a summarized version of God's law. God is holy and His law is holy. He must uphold His law for the benefit of all the universe. Imagine if our judges let crime go unpunished. We would soon have total anarchy on our hands and nobody would be safe. We must uphold the law for the good of all.
Some people say that God is good and therefore will never punish their sins, but the truth is, because God is good He must punish all sin. We would certainly not think that a judge was a good man if he let murderers go free; how much more should God, being good, punish all sin.
The Bible tells us that the penalty for sin is eternal death in a place called hell. Hell is not a continuous party like some think. Hell is a terrible place of suffering and I do not want to see anyone go there.
Are you good enough to escape hell? The Bible says if you keep the whole law and yet offend in one point you are guilty of it all. We can understand that. Imagine if a man who was stealing money from his work decided he would spend part of his time doing good deeds. Perhaps he helped elderly ladies across the street or something similar. Would these kind acts change the fact that he was a thief? No they would not. If he tried to use the fact that he helped ladies across the street to argue his innocence in a court of law, he would not get very far. Despite this obvious truth, many think that if their good outweighs their bad on judgment day God will pronounce them innocent. He will not.
Have you ever broken God's law even once? Have you kept all the 10 commandments? Have you ever lied, cheated, stole, lusted, hated, envied, been selfish, created a false God, or any other such thing? If you have broken just one of these you are deserving of eternal death! How can this be!? Let me explain:
Let's say you walk up and slap me in the face. What would happen?-probably not too much. At the very worst, I might call the police. They would probably talk to you, settle you down, and then send you home. But now let's say that while you are at home you become increasingly more angry. You decide to down to the police station. Once there you hide behind a bush and wait for the police officer that dared to try and settle you down. When he comes out the front door you jump from behind the bush and slap him in the face. Now, what will happen to you? No doubt, you will go to jail. The act you committed (a slap in the face) was the same, but the penalty was greater because of whom the crime was committed against. Let's take the scenario a step further. While you are in jail, you decide it is the presidents fault since he is the one in charge. After being released you proceed to the White House to slap the president in the face. How far do you think you would get? You would probably not get very far. In fact you would probably be shot and nobody would feel that you were dealt with unjustly because it is a very serious offense to slap the president. Now in light of all this let me ask you, what should be the penalty for slapping God in the face? God's authority and power can not be measured. He makes the president look like an ant in comparison. He is eternal, all knowing, all powerful. He is the awesome, majestic, holy, wonderful creator of all the universe. Words can not express the value of this incredible being we call God. If the penalty ascribed to a crime is equal to the person to whom the crime is committed against and God is eternal, then the only just penalty for sinning against God is an eternal penalty. Maybe you ask, “but when have I slapped God in the face?“ Is it not a slap in the face when we ignore God's law and do our own thing? Is it not a slap in the face when we refuse to love and obey the God who gave us life; when we even deny His existence? The Bible says that God wrote His law on our hearts. We all know right from wrong. God has given us a conscience and this is what makes us different from animals. We were created in the image of God. The knowledge of God is made manifest through the design of creation. We are totally without excuse, and some day we must give an account for our life here on earth. No matter how hard we try to hide from this fact it does not change the reality of it. We stand guilty of slapping a holy creator in the face. Who can deny this is true? Does not your own conscience bear witness that this is indeed fact? Is there then any hope for us? Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes! “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” - John 3:16
THERE IS A WAY FOR YOU TO BE FORGIVEN
“But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.“ - Romans 5:8
God is merciful and wants to forgive all those who have broken His law. However, He can not just do so just because He wants to anymore than we could just let all murderers go free. God can only forgive sins based on certain conditions and only when it is in the best interest of all concerned.
That is why Jesus came and died on the cross. While Jesus was on the cross He was paying the price for your sin. The cross not only displayed to the whole universe how much God loved man but also displayed the great extent to which God would go to uphold His holy law. Jesus was God in the flesh and He took your punishment on the cross. Now God can forgive the sins of those who will repent and put faith in Christ. His law will still be upheld and justice is served.
If you will turn form sin and embrace Christ's death as a substitute for your punishment you can be forgiven. Once you are forgiven the wall of separation can be removed and you can enter into a personal, intimate relationship with your creator.
GOD WANTS YOU TO GIVE HIM YOUR HEART
“Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord; for I am married to you...“ - Jeremiah 3:14
“For your maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name; and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.“ - Isaiah 54:5
“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.“- 2 Corinthians 11:2
“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another-to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.“- Romans 7:4
God designed marriage to be a picture of our relationship with Him. When you look at a healthy, Christian marriage, you see what your relationship with God should be like. The husband loves, cherishes, honors, protects, defends, and provides for his wife. He is even willing to lay down his life for her if need be. Likewise, the wife loves, honors, and submits to a godly husband's loving protection and guidance. On their wedding day, both parties looked each other in the eye and said sincere, loving, covenant vows of commitment. They promised to be loyal and faithful to each other through the good times and the bad, for better or worse, 'til death do them part. They gave each other their hearts and set their affection on each other and each other alone.
That is what marriage is all about, loving commitment. That is what God wants from you. He wants you to give Him your hearts. He wants you to look into His wonderful face and pledge loving, sincere, vows of loyal commitment. He wants you to set your affections on Him and to love Him above all else. This is the easiest way to describe a true Christian, they are those who have married themselves to Jesus Christ.
Many people today only want to date Jesus. When you date somebody you get all the thrills and excitement of a relationship but avoid the price of commitment. Sad to say for those people, Jesus is not coming back for a girlfriend; He is coming back for a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle.
Imagine that a man goes up to a woman whom he hopes to marry and asks, “My dear do you love me and will you marry me?“ She replies, “Honey, you know I love you. I really do and I really want all of your blessings. I want all of your money, your protection, your good name, and your big fancy house too. But you know, I love many others too, and after all I am only human, you really can't expect me to be faithful. Ah! but I have a plan. I can live in your house on Sunday and Wednesday and during those days you can shower me with blessings but the rest of the week I will run with my other lovers.“ What would this dear man say to such an offer? It is horrible to even consider. Of course he would loudly declare his disgust and say, “No!“
We are truly horrified at such a picture and yet do not many treat God in the same fashion? They say, “God, I want all your blessing, I want the thrill of feeling your presence. I want to live in heaven forever. I want you to bless and protect me. But God, I am only a human and you can't expect me to be faithful. I will go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays but the rest of the week I will run with the world.“ What will God say to such a proposition? The answer is clear. He will say depart from me I never knew you. When my wife and I got married all that she had became mine. Her possessions, her time, her plans for the future, all of these things became a part of the marriage. She doesn't have a married life and a single life separated from each other. So when we come to God all that we have, are, and ever hope to be becomes His. We are bought with the precious blood of Jesus. Our lives are not our own.
However, when my wife and I got married all that I had became hers as well. When we get married to Jesus all that He has becomes ours. Praise God. The Bible says that we become partakers of the divine nature and that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
NEW CREATION IN CHRIST
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.“ -2 Corinthians 5:17
“Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.“ -John 3:3
“He (Jesus) came to his own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become sons of God, to those who believe in His name.“ -John 1:12
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.“ -Romans 8:11
Praise God! Jesus did not stay dead but on the third day He rose up forever triumphant over death. Jesus has made this same resurrection power available to us by His Holy Spirit. When we repent and give Him our hearts He comes to live in us and we become partakers of eternal life. Eternal life is not something you receive when you go to heaven. Eternal life is Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life.“
When we receive Christ all our sins are forgiven. The slate is wiped clean and we become as innocent as new born babies. He gives us a great love for holiness and truth. He begins to change us from glory to glory. We become more and more like Him. He not only forgives us for our sins but delivers us from the power of sin. We are able to walk in Holiness. Praise God! What an awesome salvation.
Well I hope this article has made clear to you what you must do to be forgiven of your sins, saved from the wrath to come, and restored in your relationship with the God who gave you life. He is there with you today wherever you are. He is calling out your name. He is pleading for you to receive His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is saying will you marry yourself to me? Will you give me your heart? Will you forsake all to walk with me? Look at the blood I shed for you. Who else loves you as much as I? I loved you enough to give up my life for you. Come to me and I will give you living water to satisfy your longing soul. I will protect you now on earth and from the wrath to come. When you stand before the Holy Father and He asks you, 'Have you kept my law?“ and all you can say is, “No Father I have broken all your commandments“, I will be there. I will come and take you by the hand and say, Father, this one is with me. He married Himself to me. My blood has paid His price.“ Then the Father will turn to you and say, “Enter into the joy I have prepared for you!“
If you would like to receive Christ you can pray something similar to this right now. Father I come to you today. I acknowledge my sin. I have broken your law. I have broken the 10 commandments, the law of love, and the law of my conscience. (Now you can confess specific sins that the Holy Spirit brings to mind) I now choose to turn from my sin and embrace your truth. I believe that Jesus was the Son of God. I believe that He died for my sins on the cross. I believe that He rose form the dead and is alive right now. Jesus, I give you my heart today. I pledge a vow of commitment to you. I marry myself to you. Please come into my heart and live in me by the Holy Spirit. Empower me now to love and serve you forever. Thank you Father for making me your child. In Jesus name Amen.