Beginning Your Journey of Joy - Finally, Love and Acceptance for Women (and Men, too!)

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 begotte
Son,nthat whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have ete
al life" (Joh

3:16).

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

What prevents us from knowing God personally?

PRINCIPLE TWO:

People are sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Himnpersonally 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 ownnstubbo
self-wills, we chose to go our own independent way and fellowshipnwith God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of activenrebellion 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 personalnrelationship with Him through their own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion but weninevitably 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 alonenwe can know God personally and experience God's love.

He Died in Our Place: "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in thatnwhile 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 wasnraised on the third day according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter,nthen 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,nand the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (Joh
14:6).

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

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

PRINCIPLE FOUR:

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

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

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

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

We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation: [Christ speaking] "Behold, Instand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, Inwill come in to him" (Revelatio
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 Henwants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of Godnand that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough tonhave an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act ofnour 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 frustratio

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, resultingnin harmony with God's pla

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 Prayern(Prayer is talking with God)

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

Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You forndying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my lifenand receive You as my Saviour and Lord. Thank You fornforgiving my sins and giving me ete
al life. Take control ofnthe throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You wantnme 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 henpromised.

How to Know that Christ Is In Your Life

Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelatio

3:20, where Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He wouldncome into your life. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you knownthat God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and
His Word.)

The Bible Promises Ete
al Life to All Who Receive Christ

"The witness is this, that God has given us ete
al life, and this life is in His
Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of Godndoes not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in thenname of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have ete
alnlife: (1John 5:11-13).

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave youn(Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives innyou and that you have ete
al 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 you
trust in Christ. While feelings are important they are unreliable indicators ofnyour sincerity or the trustworthiness of God's promise. Our feelings changeneasily, but God's Word and His character remain constant. This illustrationnshows the relationship between fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust i

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 sitnin it.

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

The promise of God's Word, the Bible, not our feelings, is our authority. ThenChristian 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 thingsnhappened, including the following:

1. Christ came into your life (Revelatio
3:20 & Colossians 1:27).
2. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
3. You became a child of God (Joh
1:12).
4. You received ete
al life (Joh
5:24).
5. You began the great adventure for which God created you (Joh
10:10; 2
Corinthians 5:17; and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you thannentering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like tonthank 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 shallnlive by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust Godnincreasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:

G--Go to God in prayer daily (Joh
15:7).

R--Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11) - begin with the Gospel of John.

O--Obey God moment by moment (Joh
14:21).

W--Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19, Joh
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 witnessn(Galatians 5:16, 17; Acts 1:8).

Continue Your Journey of Joy

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

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