A New Life
Do you feel remorse about the way you have lived your life?
* * *
Did you once have many hopes and dreams,
But now find yourself with only disappointments and regrets?
* * *
Do you sometimes feel that God is punishing you?
* * *
If you answered yes to any (or all) of the above questions,
then you must understand that there is hope for you.
God is fully able to reach you with His healing grace and His cleansing power.
Furthermore, He desires to reach you.
He desires to give you His peace, His joy, His power, and His love.
He desires to give you a new life.
It does not matter that you have repeatedly sinned against Him, for He will forgive you.
It does not matter that you are burdened with pain, remorse, and regret,
For He will lift you beyond it.
It does not matter that you deserve to be punished,
For He has borne the punishment for you.
In the following study, you will learn how to enter into joyful communion
With your Savior and your God.
You will also learn how to grow in this relationship
And to claim the boundless riches that are yours because of God's great mercy and grace.
Remember: God is fully able and longs to deliver you,
Regardless of your present circumstances or your past life.
Please understand this.
Sin-sick and burdened souls (like myself) have come to Him over and over again
Since this world began,
And He has always healed and restored them
When they approached Him in sincerity and in truth.
If you are tired of trying to make it on your own
And are willing to let the Almighty begin to work for you,
Then He can and will give you a new life.
Trust Him to do this for you.
You Can Have a New Life!
* * *
A Future and a Hope
I remember reading a story once that illustrated a very important point.
The story told of the day the devil held an auction in order to sell to his demons
All the devices he had used to tempt sinful mortals.
Almost every device that went up for bidding was shiny and new,
And it was apparent that these devices had hardly been used by the devil at all.
This was true of all the devices except the last one.
This last device represented the temptation that the devil had found
To be the most successful in securing his prey.
It was very worn, and it was obvious it had been put to much use.
The bidding soared higher and higher as the demons in attendance
Recognized the value and power of this temptation to lead souls to ruin.
At one point a bystander asked what this temptation was.
He was told,
"It is the temptation to despair."
Now you must understand, reader,
That all of the devil's temptations culminate with the temptation to despair.
In other words, all of his other temptations are merely devices that he employs
In order to get you to the point where you believe that your case is hopeless.
Once he has you believing this, he knows he has you secure in his grasp.
What you must understand, therefore,
Is that regardless of how sin-sick, polluted, and desperate you know yourself to be,
God longs to forgive you and to restore you.
He longs to give you hope.
Furthermore, He is fully able to do this, for He has all power at His command.
There is only one thing that you must do: Trust Him.
Now you might say, "I could never trust God to deliver me.
I have made too much of a mess of my life."
Guess what?
I once said that, and God has delivered me!
Furthermore, I know many others who once said that as well, and God has delivered them!
If God has delivered all of us (and He has),
Then what makes you think He cannot deliver you?
Remember: All of us thought exactly what you might be thinking.
That is, we all thought that God could never deliver us.
We all thought that we had made too much of a mess of our lives.
But God did deliver us—every one of us.
The lesson each of us learned along the way is this:
God is in the business of restoring messed-up human lives (like ours!).
Yes, God is in the business of doing this.
He delights to do this.
And He will do this for you if you will simply let Him.
Tell me, reader, why would you think that God would not do this for you?
Do you think He has no power to do this for you?
Do you think He has no desire to do this for you?
Do you think that you are too sinful?
Or too hopeless?
Or too depressed?
For Him to do this for you?
If you are thinking any of these thoughts, then I can assure you that you are wrong.
You might say, "How do you know I am wrong?"
I say, "I know you are wrong because I have finally come to the point in my life
Where I choose to Listen to God's Word.
And His Word says, quite clearly, that God desires to prosper you,
To restore you,
And to give you hope."
Please understand, reader, that listening to God's Word is the indispensable key
That will allow you to know God's thoughts toward you as well as His will for your life.
This is what you must begin to do.
You must begin to Listen to His Word.
God speaks to you through His Word.
He communicates His Will for you through His Word.
He enters into joyful communion with you through His Word.
Clearly, then, it is of the utmost importance that you Listen to His Word.
In the remainder of this lesson we will be listening to what God's Word says to us
About His thoughts toward sinners like you and me.
Specifically, we will be listening to what His Word says about His desire to give us
A Future and a Hope.
* * *
You will remember that we began this lesson by noticing
That all of the devil’s temptations culminate with the temptation to despair.
What this means is that the devil does everything that he can to get you and me
To the point where we will believe that our cases are hopeless.
Never forget that this is the way that the devil operates.
I will state it once again:
The devil does everything he can in order to get you and me to the point
Where we will believe that our cases are hopeless.
Now the way that the devil does this is the same for every person.
First of all, he leads us on, step by step, in a path of pride and self-sufficiency.
In other words, he leads us in a path
Where we believe that we can make it on our own without God.
He doesn't care what we do in this path;
The important concern for him is simply this:
He seeks to attract our attention to something in this world
So we will live our lives without looking to God for guidance and direction.
When our own way has resulted in disaster (as it always does—sooner or later),
And we have hit rock bottom,
The devil then presents our sinsick and polluted lives before us and says,
"You are too great a sinner for God to help you."
"Nothing in your life will ever change."
"Your case is hopeless."
"You are destined to live a life of misery and then rot in hell."
Once again, I will ask you never to forget that this is the way that the devil operates.
He works to lead us on, step by step, down a path of ruin
Until he has us feeling so desperate and so far from God
That we believe our cases are hopeless.
The important point you must understand is this:
If you are feeling this sense of hopelessness,
Then you can be sure that it is from the devil, not from God.
I repeat:
A sense of hopelessness is from the devil, not from God.
God always seeks to inspire you with courage and with hope,
Never with discouragement and despair.
Please understand this: God seeks to inspire you with hope.
Now you might ask,
"How can I be sure that God wants to inspire me with hope?"
Listen to His Word:
“I know the plans I have for you,
Says the Lord,
Plans for welfare and not for evil,
To give you ... A Future and a Hope.”
(Jeremiah 29:11, RSV)
And, again, listen to His Word:
“Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health,
Even as your soul prospers.”
(3 John 2)
So this point is settled, right?
Please understand that you cannot say,
"Yes, but . . . "
There are no "buts."
The Word of God is just too clear in this area:
God desires to prosper you.
He desires to give you a future and a hope.
We have listened to God's Word, and His Word is very clear.
Therefore, the issue is settled.
* * *
Now you might say, "But I have lived an awful life,
And my sin has separated me from God
And from the hope and the prosperity He desires to give me.”
It is certainly true that sin separates us from God (see Isaiah 59:2),
But what is God's solution to this?
Listen to His Word:
“If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 John 1:9)
Here God promises that He is faithful to forgive us our sins if we simply confess them to Him.
Again, listen to His Word:
"Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God.”
(Jeremiah 3:13)
Once again, we see that all that God asks is that we simply humble ourselves
Enough to acknowledge that we have sinned against Him.
Then we must simply ask for His forgiveness.
If we ask this with a contrite heart that is truly sorry for having committed sin
(see Psalm 51:17),
Then His Word says that He is faithful to forgive us.
In fact, the Word of God says that He will take all of our sins
And cast them into the depths of the sea (see Micah 7:19).
Once again, we have listened to God's Word,
And, once again, His Word is very clear.
Therefore, the issue is settled.
But you might say, "I know that God promises to forgive me,
But I have sinned greatly,
And my heart still condemns me."
Listen to His Word:
"If our heart condemn us,
God is greater than our hearts
And knoweth all things."
(1 John 3:20)
Do you understand what the Word of God is saying here?
It is saying that God is greater than our hearts.
This truth should be obvious to all of us,
But it is a truth that we often lose sight of
During those times when the devil accuses our consciences
And brings up our past sins before us.
The devil knows that if he can get us to believe the testimony of our sinful hearts
Rather than the testimony of God's Word,
Then he will be able to convince us that we are hopeless sinners whom God cannot forgive.
The truth, however, is precisely as the Word of God states it.
God is greater than our hearts,
So we must take the testimony of His Word above the testimony of our feelings.
I repeat:
We must take the testimony of God's Word above the testimony of our feelings.
I hope you will never forget the previous statement, reader,
For it will be a safeguarding principle that will keep you settled and secure
In your future experience with God.
Certainly we all know how easy it is to be swayed by our feelings
And to treat them as true indicators of our condition.
The truth of the matter, however, is that feelings can be very misleading.
This is because our hearts are (as the Word of God says),
"Deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked."
(Jeremiah 17:9).
For this reason, we cannot always trust the feelings or the impressions
Of our sinful and changeable hearts—
However forceful or convincing they might seem to be.
We can, however, always trust the Word of the Living God,
And His Word says that God forgives us when we confess our sins to Him,
So you must believe this—regardless of the testimony of your feelings.
You should understand that God's Word also says the following,
"It is God that justifies.
Who is he that condemns?"
(Romans 8:33, 34)
This passage of Scripture is saying that God is Someone who justifies.
It then goes on to ask, "Who is he that condemns?"
Actually, the Bible reveals to us in other passages who it is that condemns.
Do you know who it is?
It is the devil.
The Bible refers to him as the "accuser of the brethren,"
And it says that he "accuses" us "before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10).
It is important that you understand that all condemnation is from the devil.
I repeat,
All condemnation is from the devil.
God never condemns.
On the contrary,
He always justifies and forgives.
Now if you find that you do not feel justified and forgiven
Even after you have confessed your sins to God openly and sincerely,
Then please understand that this is because the devil has gotten a foothold in your heart
Because of all the years you allowed him to have his way with you.
He is doing all that he can to make you feel sinful and condemned,
And he is doing this in a last desperate attempt to convince you
That you are not forgiven and justified by God.
You must realize that this feeling does not affect your status before the Almighty.
His Word says that you are forgiven and justified, so you must believe this.
(You must believe it.)
I can assure you, reader, as one who has been through all this myself,
If you will simply persist in believing the testimony of God's Word
And refuse to believe the testimony of your sinful heart,
Then you will soon be ushered into a rich experience
Where you will have a glorious sense of your pardon and acceptance with God.
This is what you want, right?
Understand and believe that this is what God wants as well.
And He will bring it to pass if you will simply trust Him and His Word to you.
You might wonder how God is able to justify wretches like you and me you
In the face of the devil’s true accusations against us.
The answer is this: when you confess your sins to God,
You’re really confessing your need of a Savior.
You’re confessing your need of a perfect life that you don’t have.
God’s Son, Jesus Christ, lived that perfect life in your behalf,
And God gives it to you as a gift if you simply confess your need of it.
As you grow in your spiritual life of trusting God and listening to His word,
You will understand and experience more and more that Jesus is everything to you.
You will find that He is always faithful (Hebrews 13:5).
Truly, He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
Once again, the issue is settled.
* * *
But you might say, "But I believe that God despises me."
Listen to His Word:
“Behold, God is mighty,
And does not despise any.”
(Job 36:5, RSV)
It is a lie of the devil that causes anyone to believe that God is capable of despising someone
It is the devil who is capable of despising.
In fact, the devil despises everyone.
He despises you, and he despises me.
He will thus do anything to destroy us.
The Bible says that he was a “murderer from the beginning,
And has nothing to do with the truth,
Because there is no truth in him."
It also says,
"When he lies,
He speaks according to his own nature,
For he is a liar and the father of lies"
(John 8:44, RSV)
You can be sure that the devil knows that the best lie for him to try to get us to believe
Is that we are so sinful that God hates us.
Never believe this.
Never.
If you find this thought entering your mind at any time,
Then you can be certain it is not prompted by God.
Rather, it is a lie of the devil.
Always understand this.
It is a lie of the devil.
The Bible is very clear from beginning to end that the essence of God is love (see 1 John 4:8).
And since God is an eternal being, is also clear that His love endures forever
(see Psalm 107:1).
Clearly, a being whose very essence is everlasting love
Is not capable of hating anyone at anytime.
On the contrary, a loving Creator like this would love and care for all of the beings
That He has created (as He does),
And He would long to save them for His eternal kingdom.
Once again, the issue is settled.
* * *
But you might say,
"But I have done so many terrible things; my life has become like a curse to me."
Listen to His Word:
“The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you,
Because the Lord your God loved you.”
(Deuteronomy 23:5)
You must understand that God is fully able to do this.
He has done it for me, and He has done it for countless others as well.
He can take the darkest stain in your life and turn it into a blessing
That will abound to His glory.
You might say, "No way."
But think of this:
If you are now in a state of hopelessness and despair
Because of the sin of your past life,
The pollution of your heart
And the unpromising nature of your present circumstances,
Then imagine how your testimony would inspire hope and courage in others
If you would allow God to deliver you from this.
Would not this alone turn the curse into a blessing?
Please imagine this to be true
(because God will make it true!).
Imagine yourself feeling completely restored,
And imagine yourself giving a testimony to others
About how low you once were,
And how completely renewed you now feel.
It will happen.
Trust God to fulfill His Word to you.
But you say,
"I have wasted so many years--my life is over."
Listen to His Word:
“I will restore to you the years that the locust have eaten, . . .
You shall eat in plenty,
And he satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you.
(Joel 2:25, 26)
Do you understand what God is saying to you in this passage?
He is saying that He will restore to you the wasted years that you have squandered.
Once again, I can truthfully testify that He has done this for me and for many others.
He will do it for you as well.
"How will He do this," you ask.
First of all, He will do this by giving you such peace and joy
That you will find yourself lifted above all the remorse and regret
That now burden you about the shameful and unproductive years of your past.
(This is so essential--and God will do it!)
Second, He will give your life meaning and direction.
He will guide you into a fruitful path,
And you will find yourself so utterly fulfilled by the sense of purpose
That He will give to your life
That you will actually find yourself living a brand new life.
(God will this for you!)
It will be as if the wasted years had never happened.
Finally, God will renew your strength.
He will restore your youthful vigor.
Do you believe He will do this for you?
He has done it for me, and I know many others for whom He has done it as well.
Listen to what His unfailing Word says:
“Bless the LORD, O, my soul,
And forget not all His benefits,
Who forgives all your iniquity,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the Pit,
Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
Who satisfies you with good as long as you live
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
(Psalm 103:2-5)
And, again, listen to His Word:
“Let his flesh become fresh with youth;
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.”
(Job 33:25, RSV)
Now the one thing from your youth
That you can be sure God will not allow you to retain is the shame.
This He will cause you to forget.
(Praise the Lord!)
How do I know this is true?
Listen to His Word:
“Fear not, For you shall not he ashamed:
Neither be confounded;
For you shall not he put to shame:
For you shall forget the shame of your youth.”
(Isaiah 54:4)
Let me ask you something, reader:
Is there any other reason that comes to your mind
That causes you to believe that God will not or cannot restore you?
If there is, then I can assure you that if you will just search the Word of God for yourself,
Then you will find a promise of the Almighty that reveals to you
That your "reason" is not really a reason at all.
I must emphasize that I had reached a point in my life
Where I had probably a hundred reasons why God could not restore me.
I was as hopeless as a hopeless person can get.
(Believe me, I was hopeless.)
But when I began to search the Word of God as for hidden treasure,
I found something I thought I could never find, namely,
Hope.
I also found life, the very life of God,
And this life of God immediately began to renew all the deadness in my soul
And inspire me with courage and strength.
I eventually realized that any "reason" I could give as to why God could not restore me,
Well, God had already thought of it!
Furthermore, He had already made provision for it!
Had I sinned? No problem. He forgives.
Did my heart condemn me? No problem. He is greater than my heart.
Was my life a curse? No problem. He could turn it into a blessing.
Had I wasted my best years? No problem. He could restore them.
Amazing . . . but true!
It is true, reader—every bit of it.
And you will find this out for yourself—firsthand—if you will simply allow God
To fulfill His Word to you.
* * *
We have now come to the point in this study where you must learn
A very important lesson.
I will ask you to please read the following very carefully,
As I must initially develop a few points before I am able to state this lesson explicitly.
First of all, you must realize that all of us end up messing up our lives in one way or another.
You must realize also that God is prepared for this.
Actually, He was expecting it all along.
He did not want it to happen, of course,
But there was really nothing He could have done to prevent it
Without imposing His will upon us, and God will never do this.
If we choose to ignore Him and thus do not look to Him for guidance and direction,
Then He will not force Himself upon us.
He lets us walk in the paths of our wayward hearts,
And He hopes that—at some point—we will see the futility
Of trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment apart from Him.
It is usually when we reach a crisis that we finally realize this.
“Why does it take a crisis?" you ask.
Simply because a crisis is what is usually required
To get through to our proud and sinful hearts.
Now when we do reach this point of crisis,
And we think that our lives are over,
God is there to say, "I can fix it."
Please understand this, reader.
God Himself says,
"I can fix it."
Remember, God knows the end from the beginning,
So He is not taken by surprise when our stubborn and arrogant ways lead us to a "crash."
Also, He has all resources at His command.
He could bring a hundred different persons, places, or things into your life
Right now of which you know nothing,
And any one of these could change your life completely.
Now how do I know that God can fix even your life?
Listen to His Word:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
I will build you up again And you will he rebuilt, . . .
Again you will take up your tambourines
And go out to dance with the joyful.
(Jeremiah 31:3, 4, NIV)
I hope you will not respond to that passage of Scripture the way I did
When I was in my state of hopelessness (although I will completely understand if you do).
I remember that my sister wrote this passage of Scripture on the front page of a Bible
That she gave to me, and she emphasized how this was God's promise to me.
I recall saying to myself, "No way.”
Now please believe me when I say that I could write volumes of material
About how hopeless and depressed I was at this time,
But the point that I wish to make is this:
God fulfilled this promise to me in spite of my initial unbelief.
I see now that He did this in answer to the prayers of many others in my behalf.
And guess what?
I am praying for you!
I pray for everyone who reads this study!
I also know many others who are praying for you as well!
(I have asked them to pray for those who read this study!)
So I know that God will answer our prayers in your behalf
In the same way He answered others' prayers in my behalf.
The end result of all this is that God will answer our prayers and fulfill His Word to you
If you simply do not resist His working in your life.
He will draw you with His lovingkindness (as He did with me).
He will build you up again (again, as He did with me).
And you will find yourself going out one day to "dance with the joyful"
(as I do—though I once thought that this would never be possible).
We have now covered everything necessary in order for you to learn
The important lesson of this study.
Are you ready for it?
Here it is:
If you believe that you have messed up your life in one way or another
(or possibly in all ways),
Then you can choose one of two options,
And the choice you make will determine the entire direction and destiny
Of the rest of your life.
I will repeat this statement because I believe that it is of utmost importance:
If you believe that you have messed up your life in one way or another
(or possibly in all ways),
Then you can choose one of two options,
And the choice you make will determine the entire direction and destiny
Of the rest of your life.
Now your options are these:
You can moan and groan and gripe and complain
About all the stupid and boneheaded things you have done in your life,
Or you can
Trust God.
Do you see clearly that these are your two options?
Please understand, reader, that the issue is no longer that you have messed up your life,
Because Someone has pledged Himself to fix it for you.
Furthermore, this Person who has pledged Himself
To fix it for you is none other than . . . God!
The only issue now, therefore, is this:
Will you admit that you need help, and will you let God help you?
I will state once again that the issue is not that you have messed up your life,
Because God Himself has pledged to fix it for you.
You must merely trust Him enough to let Him have His way in your life
Without resisting Him.
Please allow me to mention something:
If you will trust God and not resist Him,
Then you will have a new life (a new life).
It's that simple.
God will rebuild and restore you completely,
And you will one day find yourself going out to "dance with the joyful."
This may seem impossible to you (as it once seemed impossible to me),
But you must remember that "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).
Please allow me to mention one more thing:
If you will not trust God, and you choose rather to resist His almighty love and power,
Then you will retain your old, messed-up life,
And you will be destined to moan and complain for the rest of your days.
So, what will you do?
Will you trust God?
Will you let Him give you a new life?
This is the issue, friend.
This is the only issue.
You must trust the God who created you.
You must let Him fulfill His Word to you.
Remember,
Trust and don't resist.
Or, as many say,
Let go and let God.
* * * *
As you think about the many promises of God we have studied in this lesson,
Please understand that you must begin to claim these promises
As if they were made to you personally (because they were).
You must not think of them as promises that God is making to someone else.
Rather, you must think of them as promises that He is making to you (because He is).
Please understand this.
Every promise that we read is a promise God is making to you.
And always remember that God has fulfilled every one of these promises in my life
And in the lives of many others.
None of us was any more worthy than you are,
Yet God fulfilled His Word to each of us.
Trust that He will do this for you as well.
As you meditate on these promises and on the great love and mercy of God,
You will begin to sense a new creative power working in you.
This power is nothing less than the uncreated life of God,
And the Bible refers to this life in you as the "Holy Spirit."
The Bible also makes it clear that this life in you is that of a Person.
Now if you will allow Him, this Person of the Holy Spirit
Will overrule every other influence that now holds you in bondage,
And He will become the governing force in your life.
To be "quickened" (as the Bible says) by the Holy Spirit
Is to live a life that is free from the enslavement of fear and lust.
It is a life of joyful communion with God in which one enjoys security and peace
"Without dread of evil" (Proverbs 1:33, RSV).
There are many important lessons of faith that you will need to learn
Before your joy in God is made full,
And I will warn you now that you will probably stumble and fall
Many times as you are learning these lessons.
Furthermore, there will almost certainly be times
When you will become battered and bruised.
I tell you this beforehand so that you will not become discouraged
When you encounter difficult times.
Always remember that whoever sets out to trust the Lord fully will encounter trials.
They are simply a part of the growing process.
Just be sure to understand that God will be with you
Through every one of the trying times that lies ahead.
As His Word says,
“Be strong and of good courage;
Be not frightened, neither he dismayed;
For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9, RSV)
Trust Him to be with you always, because His Word says that He is.
And never forget that God's great purpose in your life from this time forward
Is to make you strong in your faith and trust in Him.
And He will surely do this for you if you let Him.
Truly, you will come forth as gold.
To summarize this lesson study, then, I will once again emphasize that
God does have plans to prosper you.
He does desire to give you a future and a hope.
He does desire to forgive you and to restore you.
It does not matter that you have sinned against Him.
It does not matter that your heart condemns you.
It does not matter that your life has become a curse to you.
It does not matter that you have wasted what you consider to be the best years of your life.
It Just Does Not Matter.
God still desires to prosper you.
He still desires to give you a future and a hope.
And He will . . . if you simply trust Him.
Listen to His Word:
“Behold, I am the Lord, The God of all flesh;
Is anything too hard for me?"
(Jeremiah 32:27, RSV)
You Can Have a New Life !
* * *
Where Do You Go from Here?
At this point, you may be asking yourself questions like the following:
1. "How do I get this new life?"
2. "How will God make it happen?"
3. "Where and when will He begin?"
1. With regard to the first question, the answer is this:
You get a new life by simply receiving the promises of God.
You will soon discover this is equivalent to receiving His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. With regard to the second question, the answer is this:
God will make it happen one step at a time,
And as you take each step in the path He opens before you,
He will reveal more and still more of His glorious plan for your life.
You must trust Him in this area.
You must trust His promises to you and thus believe that He has your best interest at heart
And will work "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).
Do what He gives you the strength to do today,
And the tomorrows will begin to look brighter and brighter.
3. With regard to the third question, the answer is this:
God will begin here and now.
That is, He will start to work with you right where you are,
And He will begin just as soon as you cry out to Him
For deliverance, guidance and restoration.
Once again, you must trust Him.
Also, you must receive everything in your daily pathway as coming directly from His hand.
You must receive it without murmuring and without complaining.
He will supply the strength for you to do this,
And you will begin to experience a greater and still greater sense of His peace and rest
As you surrender to the ordering of His providence
And receive everything cheerfully from His hand.
You are the clay in the hands of the all-knowing and all-loving Potter.
Abandon yourself to His almighty working, and you will not be disappointed.
He will bring you forth as conqueror.
Other important points are these:
1. As you grow in your new life in Christ, you will begin to experience God
Drawing you to spend time with Him in Bible study and prayer --
Especially during the early morning hours.
Spending time with the Almighty during this time each day
Will result in a deep and fulfilling relationship with Him,
And this relationship will brace you to meet the various trials
Of each day with stability and strength.
2. You will also experience God drawing you to know His Son,
The Lord Jesus Christ, in an intimate and personal way.
Ask God to draw you into a strong personal relationship with Jesus as you spend time
Praying and reading about His life in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
You will soon know the mighty Lord Jesus as your Savior and your Friend.
3. You will soon begin to hunger for fellowship with other godly men and women
Who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and
And who study His Word on a regular basis.
Ask God to guide you in this area, and know that you can trust Him to lead you
To just the right fellowship of believers that will help to make you strong in His strength.
4. You will probably find it helpful to read good Christian books
That were written by individuals who have spent much time growing close to the Lord.
You will learn many invaluable lessons from these Christian men and women,
And these lessons will help you immensely in your walk with God.
Again, ask the Lord to guide you in this area.
Some books that I would highly recommend are the following:
- The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life and The God of All Comfort by Hannah Smith
- Steps to Christ and The Desire of Ages by Ellen White
- Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray
5. Finally, you must always remember to Trust God.
Though your sinful heart will suggest a hundred reasons
Why He cannot or will not help you,
Still, you must trust Him.
This alone—trust in the almighty and saving power of God—will see you through
Every circumstance and every difficulty.
Keep Praying.
Keep Trusting.
Keep Believing.
"For I know the plans I have for you,
Says the LORD,
Plans for welfare and not for evil,
To give you A Future and a Hope."
(Jeremiah 29:11)
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You Can Have a new Life !!!