Spiritual Corner

God First, Family Second, Career Third

Mary Kay believed in living life with the priorities of God first, Family second and Career third. As a follower of Christ myself, I would love to help you know the Lord Jesus personally in your heart! I am here to pray for you, answer any questions and invite you to our church if you are local to the Harrisburg, PA area.

Resources to grow deeper in your faith and know Jesus personally in your heart

Recommended Reading List
bibleplan.org/plans/new-testament-in-a-year/

Joni's Church LCBC (Lives changed by Christ)
lcbcchurch.com/

Read the Bible Online
http://www.biblegateway.com

If this is your first time trusting Jesus, I'd love to continue the conversation with you!

Ephesians 2:8-9
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things e have done, so none of us can boast about it.

2 Corinthians 5:21
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sins, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Romans 10:9-10
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Fo for it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

4 Steps to Knowing God Personally

1. God loves you and created you to know him personally.

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 17:3 – “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

What is preventing YOU from knowing God?

2. Man is sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know him personally or experience His love.

Man is Sinful – Romans 3:23 – “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Man was created to have fellowship with God. However, all of us have broken God’s law (The 10 Commandments) on many occasions. We all stand guilty before a Holy God.
Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death” (spiritual separation from God).
What we ultimately receive as a penalty of our sin is eternal separation in hell. But God provides an alternative....

3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally
and experience God's love.

He Died in our Place

Romans 5:8 – “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
If a judge declared you guilty of something and declared your punishment was $100,000, the court wouldn’t care who paid the $100,000 just so long as the debt was paid in full. You would then be free from charges and future penalty. In much the same way, Jesus took the death sentence for our sin upon Himself when He died on the cross! He paid our debt.

He Rose From the Dead

I Corinthians 15: 3-6 – “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...”
The Good news is that Jesus is alive and was resurrected from the dead which proves He holds the power over death. We don’t worship a dead or powerless god.

He is the ONLY way to GOD

John 14:6 - “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”
It sounds pretty exclusive because it is. Men try to come with all kinds of other options, but God only offers one solution & one way to Himself that cost Him the very death of His son on a cruel cross.

4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love.

We Must Receive Christ

John 1:12 - “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”
It is an individual decision we must all make. God died for the whole world, but its our choice to receive it. God doesn’t “send people to hell” – we choose. Will we accept or reject His gift?

We Receive Christ through Faith

Ephesians 2:8 & 9 – “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.”
It won’t be our own “good” deeds outweighing our bad that will earn us favor with God. It certainly is nothing we’ve done, but totally from God’s generous hand that we receive the gift of Salvation.

When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth

John 3: 3 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Just as we are born physically into this world and have a “birthday”, so we must have a point in time where we consciously & humbly receive God’s gift of salvation to us. Thus, we are “born again” spiritually and receive eternal life!
Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him.”

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 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 our will.

I freely acknowledge that I have not lived up to the perfect moral standards of a holy God.
I understand that my wrongdoings must be attuned for to satisfy the demands of God's justice.
I herby soundly reject the self-atonement plan
I humbly ask that Christ's atoning work be applied to all my wrongdoings

You can receive Christ right now by praying a prayer something like this. (He’s not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude & genuineness of your heart!):

Dear Jesus,

I need you. I admit I am a sinner and need your gift of salvation. I ask you to forgive me of my sins (past, present, and future) and make me the kind of person you want me to be. I thank you for your promise of forgiveness & eternal life.