Ten Things You Need To Know About God

Ten Things You Need To Know About

GOD

by

Dr. Steve Holder

1

1. He loves you. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Yes, God actually loves us. Isn’t that amazing? The Creator of the universe actually cares about us, and he loves us so much that he sent His only begotten Son to die for us, so we can be forgiven and live forever with Him. I don’t know about you, but that really impresses me.

2. He wants to have a relationship with you. Another thing that impresses me is that the God of the universe wants to have a relationship with me. And He wants to have a relationship with you also. Will you let Him? Will you allow God to have a relationship with you? He won’t force Himself on you. He won’t push His way into your life. He just gently calls out to you. He’s calling out to you right now – through this e-book. He is calling you to come to Him. Will you accept His invitation? Will you be a friend of God? There is an old hymn that says, “softly and tenderly Jesus is calling.” That’s the way He is. He calls softly and tenderly to you. We each have a choice to make. We can choose to have a relationship with Jesus or we can harden our hearts and go our own way. Hopefully you will make the right decision and choose Jesus as your friend. You can never have a better friend than Jesus. After all, He is God.

2

3. Sin will prevent you from having a proper relationship with Him. But there is something that gets in the way of a relationship with God. That is sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” In other words we have failed. We have not lived up to our true potential. We have let God down. We have tried to live without Him and He doesn’t like that. He loves us too much. Remember, He wants that relationship. He wants it a lot.

What do sinners do that keeps us from God? Proverbs 6:16-19 - These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Now, let’s take a look at some of these things. We need to know what can affect our relationship with God.

3

a) First of all, there is the proud look – in other words “pride.” God hates pride. In James 4:6 it says that “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So pride can cause God to resist us, and if He is resisting us we certainly can’t have a relationship with Him. I don’t want God to resist me. I want Him to embrace me and give me grace.

b) Next on that list is “a lying tongue.” God hates it when people tell lies. We can’t expect to have a good relationship with God if we are liars. What does scripture say about liars? In Revelation 21:8 it says that liars will have their place in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. That’s Hell. You can’t have a relationship with God if you are in Hell and He is in Heaven. c) Next on the list is “hands that shed innocent blood.” In other words “violence.” God hates violence. He wants people to get along and be nice to one another. God wants us to love each other. If we love each other we won’t be shedding innocent blood.

d) Next on the list is “a heart that devises wicked imaginations.” In other words, cold-hearted people who are always planning wicked deeds. These are people who live for revenge and carrying out their own personal kind of justice. They have no mercy and they do not forgive. They are an abomination to God. Unless they repent and come to Jesus they cannot have a relationship with Him – and will eventually end up in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. They will be turned into Hell.

4

e) Next on that list is “feet that are swift to run into mischief.” Some people can’t wait to get into mischief. Trouble is their middle name. They live for drama and risk-taking. They actually enjoy living life on the edge. Many of these people bounce in and out of jails all their lives. They never learn. They just rush into mischief time and time again. God hates that. If you are living like that it will prevent you from having a relationship with Jesus Christ. f) Next on the list is “a false witness that speaks lies.” Have you ever been lied about? Of course you have. We’ve all had people lie about us and to us many times. God hates lying. Now, we mentioned lying previously, but this is a particular kind of lie we are dealing with right now. This is talking specifically about ‘a false witness.’ In other words, making up lies about someone to hurt them in some way or cause them problems. This is like someone deliberately trying to ruin the reputation of another. God hates this so much. This is an abomination to our Lord. It will prevent you from having a relationship with Jesus. g) Last on the list is “sowing discord among the brethren.” This means going out of your way to cause trouble between two people. You may call this “instigating.” Some people just love to cause trouble between others. I’ve worked with people like that in the past. They would go from person to person saying things like, “You wouldn’t believe what so and so said about you.” “Are you going to let him get away with that? God hates all these sins, and they all prevent a person from having a relationship with God. We need to be willing to let go of these things and allow God to cleanse our heart. Now, I’m not saying we have to clean up our act before we can come to Jesus; what I’m saying is that we need to be willing to let Him change us. We can’t stop sinning on our own. We need God to help us live right.

5

4. God hates sin because it prevents that relationship. That’s why there is punishment for it. In Psalm 9:17 it says that the wicked will be turned into Hell. That is the ultimate punishment for sin. If someone refuses to have a relationship with Christ on this earth God will not force that person to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. That person will go to Hell to be eternally separated from the presence of God.

5. God made a way for you to get forgiveness for your sins. God made a way for you to escape the penalty of sin. There is a way for you to be forgiven. God loves you so much that he made arrangements for you to be saved. I assume you’ve heard of the cross. I hope you’ve heard that Jesus (the Son of God) came down from Heaven and lived a sinless life, and then died on the cross for our sins. He took our place and shed His own precious blood so you and I can be forgiven. Yes, God made a way for you to be forgiven. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. God made it very simple. All we have to do is put our trust in Him and confess Him as Lord of our life.

6

6. God offers Salvation as a free gift. Ephesians 2:8,9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is a gift. God gives it to us freely. We don’t have to earn it. In fact, we can’t earn it. It only comes from God, and He grants it freely to all who will accept it. Isn’t that awesome? It saddens me when I hear of someone saying, “When I get my life straightened up I will turn to Jesus.” Folks, that is backwards thinking. We don’t get our lives straightened up and then come to Jesus. We come to Jesus first and let Him fix us. He will do the straightening. He is the great fixer – not us. If we did it we would have something to boast about. If we could earn our salvation we could pat ourselves on the back and say, “Hey I saved myself.” But, we can’t say that, because we can’t save ourselves. It’s a God thing from start to finish.

7

7. Jesus is coming again, and has prepared a home in Heaven for us. John 14:1-3 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Jesus is talking to His disciples here. He reminds them that they can take comfort in knowing that He is coming again. He says, “You believe in God; believe in Me.” In other words, I am God, you can count on Me. He said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions…, and I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again.” Folks, we can count on it. Jesus has prepared Heaven for us. If you are a born again saint of God you can rest assured that Jesus is coming back for you. Are you looking forward to it? I am. Come quickly Lord Jesus, come quickly.

8

8. God wants us to bring others to Heaven with us. God loves us all, and He does not want anyone to go to Hell. That’s why all Christians should tell others about Christ. If you have been forgiven and set free then why not tell others about our Lord?

9. God wants us to be happy while we are on earth. Ecclesiastes 2:24 - There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. 10. God will never desert you. He is always with us. We can depend on God to always be there with us. No matter what we go through He will always be by our side. Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Life is uncertain. We never know what the day will hold for us. Sometimes pain and suffering come our way, but God is always right there with us. If we have Christ in our life we can always call on Him to help us.

9

You may contact the author at [email protected]

Or visit website at www.SteveHolder.com

Copyright 2009 - Steve Holder This document is meant to be used for evangelism purposes. You have permission to send this file to whomever you wish by email. You may print it out for personal use. Permission is not granted to mass-produce or sell.

10