Tag Archives: personal relationship

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Conquering Loneliness

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Psalms 25:15-22

I know the pain of loneliness. I was the only child of a single mother who had to work long hours to support us. My adult life has been marked by periods of emotional isolation as well. However, the Lord has never abandoned me to these feelings.

God desires that all people feel connected to Him and to each other. And in fact, we can be quickly comforted when we respond wisely to loneliness.

The first step is to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But simply believing He exists isn’t enough. The Lord created mankind for fellowship, which is why a relationship with Him gives people a sense of oneness. The love of Christ forces loneliness out of the lives of God’s children.

Second, we must admit that we’re lonely. Some Christians incorrectly think they shouldn’t be susceptible to normal human feelings. But nothing in the Bible says we won’t endure emotional isolation. Not only men like David and Paul but even the Lord Himself knew the ache of feeling deserted (Psalms 25:16; 2 Timothy 4:16; Matthew 26:40; Matthew 27:46).

Finally, we should develop godly friends. These are the Christian brothers and sisters who will laugh, cry, and empathize with us. Above all, believers need friends who will continually point them to God and pray over them.

We can’t deny feelings of loneliness, nor can we run from them. A person who seeks ways to escape such feelings only broadens the gap between the Lord and himself. There is just one way to close the chasm and conquer loneliness—by drawing near to the Lord.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – How do I accept Jesus as my Savior?

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Do you want to know God?

Do you yearn to experience the Lord’s comforting presence, power, and wisdom? That’s good, because God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you forever.

The problem is . . .

. . . one thing separates you from a relationship with God—sin. You and I sin whenever we fail to live by the Lord’s holy standard. In fact, Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Furthermore, Romans 6:23 explains that the penalty for sin is death—separation from God in hell forever. No matter how hard we try, we cannot save ourselves or get rid of our sins. We can’t earn our way to heaven by being good, going to church, or being baptized (Eph. 2:8-9).

Understanding how helpless we are because of our sins, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to save us.

Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life, and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Rom. 5:8). Three days later, He rose from the dead—showing that He had triumphed over sin and death once and for all.

So how can you know God?

It all starts with accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ provides a relationship with the Father and eternal life through His death on the cross and resurrection (Rom. 5:10).

Romans 10:9 promises, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you have not yet begun your personal relationship with God, understand that the One who created you loves you no matter who you are or what you’ve done. He wants you to experience the profound depth of His care.

Therefore, tell God that you are willing to trust Him for salvation. You can tell Him in your own words or use this simple prayer:

Lord Jesus, I ask You to forgive my sins and save me from eternal separation from God. By faith, I accept Your work and death on the cross as sufficient payment for my sins. Thank You for providing the way for me to know You and to have a relationship with my heavenly Father. Through faith in You, I have eternal life. Thank You also for hearing my prayers and loving me unconditionally. Please give me the strength, wisdom, and determination to walk in the center of Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer, congratulations!

You have received Christ as your Savior and have made the best decision you will ever make—one that will change your life forever! Please let us know by emailing us at decision@intouch.org so we can rejoice with you.We know you will have questions about your new relationship with Jesus, and we want to help. Begin your new journey with God by clicking here to learn more about your new relationship with Him.

 

Related Resources

Related Video

How to accept Jesus as your Savior

How do you accept Jesus as your savior? Romans 10:9 promises, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you have not yet begun your personal relationship with God, understand that the One who created you and loves you no matter who you are or what you’ve done. (Watch How to accept Jesus as your Savior.)

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Make It Personal

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You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do. —John 15:14

In today’s verse, Jesus tells us we are His friends if we obey Him. In the following verse, He says He no longer calls us His servants, but His friends. Clearly, He wants a personal relationship with us and He wants us to get personal with Him. He proves this by the fact that He lives in us. How much more personal can anyone get than to live inside another person?

If God had wanted a distant, businesslike, professional relationship with us, He would have lived far away. He might have visited occasionally, but He certainly would not have come to take up permanent residence in the same house with us. When Jesus died on the cross, He opened up a way for us to get personal with Almighty God. What an awesome thought!

Just think about it: God is our personal friend! If we know someone important, we love to have an opportunity to say, “Oh, yes, that person is a friend of mine. I go to his house all the time. We visit with one another often.” We can say the same about God if we do our part to fellowship with Him, listen to His voice and obey what He says, and stay in His presence every day.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – How do I accept Jesus as my Savior?

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Charles Stanley

 

Do you want to know God?

Do you yearn to experience the Lord’s comforting presence, power, and wisdom? That’s good, because God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you forever.

The problem is . . .

. . . one thing separates you from a relationship with God—sin. You and I sin whenever we fail to live by the Lord’s holy standard. In fact, Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Furthermore, Romans 6:23 explains that the penalty for sin is death—separation from God in hell forever. No matter how hard we try, we cannot save ourselves or get rid of our sins. We can’t earn our way to heaven by being good, going to church, or being baptized (Eph. 2:8-9).

Understanding how helpless we are because of our sins, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to save us.

Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life, and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Rom. 5:8). Three days later, He rose from the dead—showing that He had triumphed over sin and death once and for all.

So how can you know God?

It all starts with accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ provides a relationship with the Father and eternal life through His death on the cross and resurrection (Rom. 5:10).

Romans 10:9 promises, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you have not yet begun your personal relationship with God, understand that the One who created you loves you no matter who you are or what you’ve done. He wants you to experience the profound depth of His care.

Therefore, tell God that you are willing to trust Him for salvation. You can tell Him in your own words or use this simple prayer:

Lord Jesus, I ask You to forgive my sins and save me from eternal separation from God. By faith, I accept Your work and death on the cross as sufficient payment for my sins. Thank You for providing the way for me to know You and to have a relationship with my heavenly Father. Through faith in You, I have eternal life. Thank You also for hearing my prayers and loving me unconditionally. Please give me the strength, wisdom, and determination to walk in the center of Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer, congratulations!

You have received Christ as your Savior and have made the best decision you will ever make—one that will change your life forever! Please let us know by emailing us at decision@intouch.org so we can rejoice with you.We know you will have questions about your new relationship with Jesus, and we want to help. Begin your new journey with God by clicking here to learn more about your new relationship with Him.

 

Related Resources

Related Video

How to accept Jesus as your Savior

How do you accept Jesus as your savior? Romans 10:9 promises, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you have not yet begun your personal relationship with God, understand that the One who created you and loves you no matter who you are or what you’ve done. (Watch How to accept Jesus as your Savior.)

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Jesus, the Perfect God-Man

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Charles Stanley

John 20:30-31

People’s attitudes toward Jesus Christ tend to fall into three categories. First, there are some who don’t believe He is God. They reject, diminish, or ignore His character and lifesaving work, claiming He was simply a good person. Second, there are some who intellectually acknowledge Jesus is God’s Son but have no personal relationship with Him. Third, true followers believe Christ is Savior (Rom. 10:9). Through genuine faith, believers are made part of His family.

Ephesians 2:1-2 says that before salvation, we all are spiritually dead and living according to our sin nature. Those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus remain in that state. But when a person places faith in Him, spiritual birth takes place; he or she is made alive in Christ and becomes a new creation who is no longer to live according to the flesh (John 3:3; Eph. 2:5; 4:24).

Our position in the Lord affects everything about us—attitudes, emotions, conversation, and conduct. The ungodliness of our culture no longer fits who we are. As believers, we are to grow in Christlikeness, embracing ideas, thought patterns, and activities that please God, while rejecting all others.

Jesus is the perfect God-man, who willingly took our sins upon Himself and experienced divine wrath in our place. God accepted His death as full payment for our sins, and He raised Jesus from the dead to a position of divine glory (Eph. 1:20). His Spirit now lives within us. So understand who Jesus Christ is, and let that knowledge strengthen your commitment to be like Him.

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Charles Stanley – God Calls in Various Ways

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1 Samuel 3:1-21

When you hear the phrase “call of God,” what comes to mind? Many people assume it refers only to God’s call upon the lives of professional ministers. This could not be further from truth. The Lord issues no fewer than four specific calls to every single believer.

First, we are given the call to salvation. This is how God establishes a personal relationship with us. Today’s passage shows the poignant way in which God introduced Himself to young Samuel. He also reveals Himself to each of us in the wonders of nature all around us (Rom. 1:20).

Second, all believers experience the call to sanctification (Lev. 11:44). This is the Father summoning His children to experience godly living. Sanctification can be defined as being set apart—or made holy—for the purposes of God.

Third, every Christian receives the call to service. Scripture clearly reminds us that all believers—not just pastors and full-time missionaries—are called to serve the body of Christ and to spread the good news of salvation; each of us was “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). This means we all have specific and important tasks to accomplish.

Fourth, we all have the call to account- ability. The Bible teaches that each of us will one day stand before our Lord and give an account of our life. This is not something to fear if we are presently seeking to walk in His ways. Rather, it will be a time of great reward and rejoicing.

Make no mistake—our loving Father still speaks to His people. As you read His Word today, ask Him to make His call in your life clear.

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Charles Stanley – How We Don’t Get to Heaven

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John 3:1-17

If asked, “Why should you go to heaven?” most people will answer very sincerely that the basis of their acceptance by God is the fact that a) they are pretty good or b) they aren’t sinful and therefore don’t deserve to be condemned. This is a prevalent theological fallacy in our world today. As a young man, I attended three different churches before somebody told me the truth about salvation.

In reality, it doesn’t matter what kind of a person you are—the issue is the simple truth of God’s Word. The misguided idea that we can earn salvation has devastating implications. For one thing, if you could enter heaven based on your earthly merits, Jesus’ death at Calvary would have been totally unnecessary. And if that were the case, it would follow that God the Father made a terrible mistake in sending His Son to a cruel death. What’s more, if salvation were possible apart from Jesus Christ, then you’d be able to have a personal relationship with God apart from Jesus Christ as well.

We must not distort God’s great love for us by using faulty theology. We are forgiven solely on the basis of Jesus Christ’s incredible sacrifice—which comes from a place of unconditional love. If we base our salvation on anything else, we destroy the cornerstone of Christianity.

It’s important to learn Scripture well enough to discern truth from false teaching. Many people go to churches that claim, “God loves everyone, so you’ll be okay if you just do your best.” If that were the case, Christianity wouldn’t be symbolized by a cross, because Calvary would have been a mistake.

 

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A Saving Faith – Charles Stanley

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Matthew 7:13-29

The greatest tragedy that can befall someone is to think he’s saved, only to discover after death he’s not. We’d all liketo believe the claims of those who say they’re Christians, but Jesus gives a harsh warning because He knows many will be deceived. They’ll sit in churches week after week, professing that Jesus is the Son of God, but will never really enter into a personal relationship with Him.

Intellectual faith isn’t the same as saving faith. It’s not enough to know facts about Jesus or to believe He died and rose again. Even demons believe that (James 2:19). Salvation involves more than knowing: it requires trusting that Jesus paid the penalty for your sin, receiving His forgiveness, turning away from old sinful ways, and entering into a relationship with Him. What matters is not what we say with our mouths, but what we mean in our hearts.

Although you probably won’t understand all that happens at the moment of salvation, when Christ becomes your Savior, He also becomes your Lord. As the Master of your life, He then has a right to govern what you do. His Holy Spirit takes up residence within you when you are saved, and that means you will change. He continually works to remove sinful attitudes and behaviors, replacing them with His spiritual fruit (Gal. 5:22-23).

We recognize a person’s salvation not by his profession but by fruit. If you’re truly saved, your character will become more Christlike over time, and your desire will be to obey Him. This does not mean you’ll never sin or stumble, but the overall direction of your life will be one of obedience.