Daily Manna from Heaven

FOUR SPIRITUAL LAWS

By Bill Bright

 

Just as there are physical laws that govern the physical universe, so are there spiritual laws that govern you relationship with God.

 

LAW 1

God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.

 

God’s love

“God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” –John 3:16

 

God’s Plan

“I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” –John 10:10

 

Why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life?

 

Because…

 

LAW 2

Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life.

 

Man is Sinful

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” –Romans 3:23

 

Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his own stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

 

Man is Separated

“The wages of sin is death.” –Romans 6:23

 

The third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf…

 

 

 

LAW 3

Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.

 

He Died In Our Place

“God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while 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 was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures… He appeared to Peter, then 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, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” –John 14:6

 

It is not enough to know this three laws…

 

LAW 4

We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.

 

We Must Receive Christ

“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” –John 1:12

 

We Receive Christ Through Faith

“By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast.” –Ephesians 2:8,9

 

When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth

(Read John 3:1-8)

 

We Receive Christ Through Personal Invitation

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him.” –Revelation 3:20

 

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and turning Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of will.

 

Two Kinds of Lives:

 

1. Self-Directed life

          * Self is on the throne

          * Christ is outside the life.

          * Interests are directed by self, often resulting in discord and frustration

 

2. Christ-Directed Life

          * Christ is in the life and on the throne

          * Self is yielding to Christ

          * Interests are directed by Christ, resulting in harmony with God’s plan

 

Which of the above best represents your life?

Which of the above 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 Prayer

(Prayer is talking with God)

 

God knows your heart and is not concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

 

“Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.”  

 

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?

 

If it does, I invite you to pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

 

How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life?

Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said He would come into your life. Would He mislead you? On what authority did you know God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)

 

 

The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ

“God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.” -1 John 5:11-13

 

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.

 

Now That You Have Received Christ

The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of will, many things happened, including the following:

 

·        Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20; Colossians 1:27)

 

·        Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14)

 

·        You became a child of God (John 1:12)

 

·        You received eternal life (John 5:24)

 

·        You began the greater adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)

 

Can you think of anything more than wonderful that could happen to you than receiving Christ?

 

Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you?

 

By thanking God you demonstrate your faith.

 

To enjoy your new life to the fullest…

 

 

 

Suggestions for Christian Growth

Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. “The righteous man shall live by faith.” -Galatians 3:11

 

A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:

 

G – Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7)

 

R – Read God’s Word daily (Acts 17:11) begin with the Gospel of John

 

O – Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21)

 

W – Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 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 witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Act 1:8)

 

Fellowship in a Good Church

God’s Word instructs us not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25).

 

Several logs burn brightly together, but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is your relationship with other Christians.

 

If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

 

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The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

“Do I have to believe in Jesus to be a Christian?” asked a young man whose Russian Jewish background had never exposed him to the Gospel. Having been raised in a home in the former Soviet Union where God was seldom if ever discussed, he had heard about Jesus but didn’t really know how He would fit into Christianity. He wanted to know. How would you answer that question? There are millions of people whose backgrounds are nominally Christian who still don’t understand the relationship between Jesus Christ and Christianity.

“Are you a Christian?” I once asked a man. He thought for a moment and then replied, “Well, I suppose so since I’m not a Muslim or a Jew.” For millions of people around the world, the term broadly defines ethnic and, to a degree, religious roots. We think of countries such as the Philippines in Asia, the United States in the Americas and North Ireland in Europe as “Christian” nations. But painting nations with such a broad, sweeping brush is a generalization which allows a lot of space between the brush marks.

Let’s go back to the question of the young man who wanted to know, “What does Jesus Christ have to do with Christianity?” Would it be more valid to turn the question around and ask, “What does Christianity have to do with Jesus Christ?”

Do you happen to remember the first use of the term, “Christian” or “Christians?” In Jesus’ day, those who followed Him were never identified as Christians. Disciples? Yes, they would have acknowledged that. Peter, Andrew, James and John would have been quite proud to be identified as disciples of Jesus. All great leaders had followers who were known as disciples. But ethnically, they were Jews and proud of their heritage.

It was about 15 years after the church was established before disciples were called Christians, and when that happened, the term was one of derision and scorn. Luke tells us about it, saying that when Barnabas found Saul—later known as the Apostle Paul, “he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year,” writes Luke, “Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.” Then he adds, “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26).

One of the major reasons why the term Christianity should never be used as a term defining a religion is that Christianity really involves a relationship, not simply a lifestyle or a system of beliefs. The creed of the early church stressed who Jesus was and what He did—not what people must say or believe to belong to a church.

One of the earliest statements of belief held by the infant church was Paul’s brief creed found in his first letter to the Corinthians. He put it like this: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

When the young man asked, “Do I have to believe in Jesus to be a Christian?” and he got the answer, “Yes. That’s what it is all about.” He responded, “I’m not yet ready,” but he got involved in a Bible study and began to read the New Testament, something he had never done seriously before.

A few weeks later, he was ready, and confessed Jesus Christ as His personal Savior. Today, he not only has joined a church which he attends regularly, but he sings in the choir and participates actively in sharing His faith with others.

The acid proof of disciples, taught Jesus, does not involve your belief system—though what you believe determines what you do. It first involves your relationship with Jesus Christ, then with others. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples,” said, Jesus, “if you love one another” (John 13:34). It’s still true today.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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