GOD'S ORIGINAL PLAN FOR US: A LIFE OF JOY, PEACE AND SECURITY

God loves you and wants you to experience peace and life—abundant and eternal. The Bible says ...

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." —John 3:16 (NIV)

"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." —Romans 5:1 (NIV)

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." —John 10:10 (NIV)

Why do most of us struggle to find the abundant life that God planned for us to have?

THE PROBLEM: WE HAVE LOST OUR CONNECTION TO GOD

God created us in His own image to have a life of peace and joy. Part of the way we bear His image is that we have a will and freedom of choice. God didn't create us to be robots, blindly carrying out His commands. He wants an intimate relationship with us, one built on trust. Our connection to God was lost when the first humans doubted His motives and chose to go their own way. Though we still bear God's image, the disobedience of our first ancestors is carried deep in our DNA. This results in separation from God. The Bible says ...

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." —Romans 3:23 (NIV)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." —Romans 6:23 (NIV)

We try to reestablish our connection to God in many ways, hoping our good deeds will somehow outweigh our faults. The trouble is, sin is a condition of the heart. Our efforts to reach God don't work because we need heart surgery. The Bible says ...

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." —Proverbs 14:12 (NIV)

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." —Isaiah 59:2 (NIV)

No bridge reaches God ... except one.

GOD'S BRIDGE: THE CROSS

There is one way to reestablish our connection with God, a way that He lovingly provided for us— because the truth is, we aren't capable of the perfect obedience needed to bridge the gap. God sent His only son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins, living a life of perfect obedience, dying in our place on the Cross, and rising from the grave. Recognizing our need for God's provision is the first step in reconnecting with Him. The Bible says ...

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." —Ephesians 2:8,9 (NIV)

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." —1 Timothy 2:5 (NIV)

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." —1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." —Romans 5:8 (NIV)

Once we accept our need for God's provision, each of us must make a choice.

OUR RESPONSE: ACCEPT THE GIFT

God has provided the way back to Him, through Christ's sacrifice, but He won't force Himself on us.  The Bible says ...

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." —Revelation 3:20 (NIV)

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." —John 1:12 (NIV)

"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." —Romans 10:9 (NIV)

Would you like to receive Jesus Christ right now and begin a new life?

1. Admit your need (I am a sinner).
2. Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).
3. Believe that Jesus died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave.
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive Him as Lord and Savior.)

I am God's child. John 1:12 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God"

I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. Ephesians 1:3-8"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."

As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. John 15:15"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

I can come boldly to the throne of grace through Jesus. Hebrews 4:14-16"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

I have been justified. Romans 5:1"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"

I am united with the Lord and I am one with Him in spirit 1 Corinthians 6:17"But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit."

I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. Colossians 1:13-14"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

I am complete in Christ. Colossians 2:9-10"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."

I am a member of Christ's body. 1 Corinthians 12:27"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

Above Bible verses taken from the New International Version (NIV). To read the Bible online in multiple versions and languages, visit BibleGateway.com .

I am free from condemnation. Romans 8:1-2"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. Romans 8:28"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Nothing can separate me from the love of God. Romans 8:35-39"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22"Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-4"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

I know that God will complete the good work He started in me. Philippians 1:6"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

I am a citizen of heaven. Philippians 3:20"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ"

I have not been given a spirit of fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind."

I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. 1 John 5:18"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him."

Above Bible verses taken from the New International Version (NIV). To read the Bible online in multiple versions and languages, visit BibleGateway.com .

I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine. John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. John 15:16"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

I am God's temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

I am a minister of reconciliation for God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. Ephesians 2:6"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."

I am God's workmanship. Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I may approach God with freedom and confidence. Ephesians 3:12"In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Above Bible verses taken from the New International Version (NIV). To read the Bible online in multiple versions and languages, visit BibleGateway.com .