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Blogs by Laura Davis
What Does God Expect From Us? 5/4/2008 1:11:58 PM
Do you ever wonder what it means when someone says, "I have accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour?" On the face of it, it sounds kind of silly don't you think? Don't get me wrong - I dont' think it's silly to accept Jesus as my Saviour - far from it! I just think the term is odd. It's like saying: I have made Jesus my personal butler, or I've made Jesus my personal accountant! It just sounds weird to me - but maybe that's just me.
I CAN'T make Jesus my personal anything! I can't make Him do what I want. It's not His will that needs to be changed, it's mine. Do you understand what I mean? In my last blog I talked about faith and three beliefs that resulted in my trusting God as a child.
I believed God was there.
I believed God loved me.
I believed God listened to my prayers.
These beliefs were instilled in me as a child. They required an action on my part, the action of trusting, or quite simply, faith. As the years went by, I came to the realization that while I believed God was real and knew about Him - I didn't really know Him. So, how does one know the God of the Universe? And how does one know what He expects from us? How do I know He loves you? He sent His Son to die for you. Why did He have to die for you? Because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). You can't have sinful people in Heaven - it's a holy place. But, if you look up that verse I just quoted, you will see that the rest of it says this: "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." What a great promise! Jesus not only redeems us from our sin, but He promises us eternal life too! What a deal! So what is required of us? Again, it's not going to take a genius to figure this one out - it requires action on our parts. The first action might be hard for some, but without it you will never really know the Lord.
Surrender to His will
It took me ten years to realize that I needed to get down on my knees and just as Jesus offered Himself up for me on the cross to redeem me from my sins, I needed to offer myself up to Him. Every area of my life needed to be relinquished to Him. Why? Because if I'm in control of my life, than I'm not walking the path God has chosen for me and I'm not following His plan and purpose for my life. I need to be willing to let God use me as He sees fit, no matter what that is - complete surrender. I know it sounds scary, because as humans we naturally want to be in control, but your relationship with God will not grow, if you don't make that first step of surrendering. Or as some may say, "Make Him my personal Lord and Saviour."
Daily Bible Study
God left us a handy little book that has been preserved throughout the ages. It's called The Bible and believe it or not, the answers to some of life's most perplexing questions are found in this wonderful book. The Bible is my handbook for life. It's an invaluable tool from God on how we are to live and what God expects from us. So, if you aren't sure about God - read His book, He wrote it for you.
Daily Prayer Time
When you have found out what God is like (by reading His book), try talking to Him. He is always there ready to hear from you. Why? Because He loves you! Besides, how do you get to know your friends? You talk to them! You spend time with them!
Daily Quiet Time
Finally, make sure you spend time listening. If you aren't quiet you'll never hear what God has to tell you. You'll never experience those moments when you can feel His presence. You can't just know ABOUT God, you have to make an effort to get to KNOW Him. Then you can say you know Him in a personal way, because then He is your Lord, your Saviour and He is your best friend.
