Personal Relationship with God Bible Study Quick Reference

I have a really awesome daily study bible for women; it is a new living translation bible. I want to share the Study and Reading Tracks that are in my bible, so I have written documents to provide some recommended reading based on the topics that I have seen prayer requested. Please feel free to copy and paste, share, print, whatever… ENJOY!

Personal Relationship with God

·       Genesis 5 says, “When God created people, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them human.” Genesis 5 also speaks about the various chosen men who started human population and how they were fruitful because they had a close relationship with God throughout their life, such as Enoch, who had a very personal relationship with God, and then God took him. ** Reference the hidden and removed Book of Enoch from the bible, it talks about Enoch’s relationship with God and his prophecies based on what God shared with him.*

o   A personal relationship with God means communicating with him as we would any other person in our life that we maintain a relationship with. We must discuss our hurt feelings, disappointments, misunderstandings and joys with God. He likes it when you ask questions and does not mind you revealing your upset with him… because if you are doing these things, it means you are reaching out to him and that is exactly what he wishes for you!

o   STUDY JOURNAL QUESTION: Do we enjoy this kind of closeness with God? How? If not, why? What do we need to build our relationship up with him?

·       Genesis 6 says, Noah was a man favored by the Lord, like Enoch. Why? Because he knew what he needed to do to please the Lord, from having a personal relationship with him. To build a personal relationship with God, we first need to find out what we need to do to please him… far too often, we are simply worried about how He can please us. But scripture tells us that God wants us to be interested and committed to Him and holy living, not just the gifts that He gives and what He can do for us (Prov 8:30). Scripture throughout the bible tells us how to please God. God delights in people who are truthful (Prov 12:22) Living righteous, according to what pleases God is not as hard as some think… He does not expect us to be perfect; he made us imperfect and loves us as so. We can either be a pleasure or a pain to the Lord (as Genesis 6 says, the Lord’s heart was broken by all of the evil deeds of man). It is often hard to be righteous if we are surrounding ourselves with others who do not behave that way. We need to carefully consider who we expose ourselves to when choosing to make a commitment to the Lord. It makes it much easier to live a righteous life if we are surrounded by righteous people.

o   STUDY QUESTION: Do we care more about pleasing ourselves and others than pleasing God? What do your actions display?

·       Isaiah 42 tells us, Only through a relationship with Jesus Christ can you have access to God, the creator of the universe. We must know and understand Jesus in order to build a relationship with God. Isaiah 42 says, “Look at my servant Whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, and I am pleased with him. I have put my spirit upon him. He will reveal justice to the nations.” John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is the way to having a relationship with God. He is also the man that Christian morals and principles are based upon, so if you have not read about the works of Jesus Christ… how can you mimic those actions? Isaiah 42 tells us that His servant “will be gentle, will not shout or raise his voice in public, will not crush those who are weak or quench the smallest hope, he will bring full justice to those who are wronged, he will not stop until the truth and righteousness prevail throughout the earth?” (42:20 says, “You see and understand what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear, but you don’t really listen.” – Do these qualities describe you? -

o   We are servants of God, just as Jesus was. We are chosen by God, just as Jesus was (1 Peter 2:4) John 17:24 tells us, “You loved me even before the world began.”

o   Do you know who Jesus really is? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you really understand the things He did or you’ve just heard stories?

o   God says he strengthens his servant, I want to get my strength from the Almighty, how about you?

·       Luke 15, tells us that God allows us to have the choice of sinning and turning away from him or choosing to be righteous and obey him. He respects us and gives us the dignity of choice. GOD does NOT punish us for not obeying his laws. Sin is EVIL in nature and has negative consequences, which is the whole reason that God wants us to make the most of our life and do what is right and good! Luke 15:7 says, “Heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God, than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed.” 15:10 “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents!”

o   Living life in a rebellious manner to God’s laws is wasting your life because it takes away good from your life and brings distress. True repentance for sinful ways leads to forgiveness. Any time we are walking with God and we slip up and do something sinful, we need to recognize it, repent with true sincerity in our hearts (trying not to do it again) and he will ALWAYS forgive us. God will never ignore you or turn you away!

o   Have you felt like you are lost trying to find your own way through life? If so, consider letting God drive… do the things asked of you by God and he will provide strength to you as his servant.

·       Ephesians 1 says, “How we praise God, father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms BECAUSE WE BELONG TO CHRIST.” – If we want blessings from God, we must first be a blessing to him by devoting our lives to serving the Lord by doing good, being obedient servants to Him. Ephesians 1:8 says, “He (God) has showered his kindess on us along with all wisdom and understanding. God’s SECRET PLAN has been REVEALED to us and it is centered on Christ designed according to his good pleasure.”

o   What is God’s Plan? Eph. 1:10 “And his plan is, at the right time to bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and ON EARTH.” “Furthermore, we have received and INHERITANCE from God, for he chose us FROM THE BEGINNING and all things happen just as he DECIDED LONG AGO.”

o   God Saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, who he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.”

o   Eph. 1:16, “ I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called.” 1:19, “I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him.”

o   When we are tempted to think that God is not fair, we have to remember that God only does what is good. So when you think he is being unfair it is because he loves you infinitely and has chosen something much better for you.

Spiritual Encouragement with the Supernatural Works of the Holy Spirit

Today, I am beginning the writing of my first book and blog. After much thought about writing a biography and sharing my experiences, I have decided that I need to share with people all the things that God has done for me. I have realized, through much conversation and prayer, that it is my testimonies about God’s intervention in my life that has had the most profound effect on others. I am so open about my faith and reliance on God that I have friends and acquaintances who consistently look to me for spiritual uplifting. When they are looking for a lift in spiritual passion, they always say to me, “Tell me something that God has done in your life recently.” What they really mean when they say this to me is that they want to hear a supernatural story about God’s intervention. It cannot just be any story that involves a prayer and an answer, but rather a story that is absolutely UNDENIABLY the Lord’s supernatural works in my life… The kind of story that you cannot explain any other way than to admit it was God’s hand at work! I have so many of these stories because I have journalized them throughout the years so that I could flip back through the pages of my journal and feed my spiritual passion by remembering all that God has done for me. It is spiritual food and uplifting for me and I want to share it with others as well.

Journalizing and writing began when I was young, but my documentation of God’s works in my life did not occur until I had my first child, at age 18. When I became a mother, my father bought me a Mother’s Devotion Journal, so that I could rely on God and include spirituality in my parenting. When I first received the journal I was so excited, but I had absolutely no idea how important it would become. We always remember the special circumstances that occur in life whether they are a time of great joy or profound sorrow, but just remembering them is not enough if we really intend to use our experiences for something more. Recording our experiences, our daily life, by journalizing allows us to capture the feelings, emotions and thoughts that occur during that time period. Looking back in my journals allows me to remember with great detail what I experienced with emotions included. Reading the pages again and again makes me appreciate where I am in life and gives me motivation to move towards better things. Most importantly, the pages in the journals remind me that I am never alone in life, no matter what is happening, God is always right there! It reminds me of how many times I have been at the depths of despair and He has seen me through to brighter days! It continuously reminds me that I need to TRUST IN GOD 100% to escape the worry, anxiety and sadness of life’s negative experiences.

My Spiritual Journey Begins (My Walk With God)

The Lord is so amazing! He never forsakes his people. He always fulfills his promises. Trust in the Lord and put all your faith in Him and you will see AMAZING works in your life. I am only 29 years old and I have seen so many blessings from God in my life and the lives of others that I feel like I have lived 100+ years!

Each of us has a story to tell, some more intriguing than others, some sadder than others and some more of a success story. I have always wanted to tell my story, but I was unsure what to say, how to say it and questioned whether or not anyone would really want to hear it. When I focused on trying to write my life story and how to portray the life lessons involved, it seemed like I could never really put it into words. But I was looking at it the wrong way, I was making it harder than it needs to be, I was leaving out the most important part, God.

Since I was a teenager, maybe younger, I have enjoyed writing. I was always doing some kind of writing whether it was letters to family and friends, poetry or journalizing my day. I have saved many of these letters, journal entries and poems throughout the years. I decided that rather than trying to write and publish an official biography, with proper English and grammar usage, I would just use my various writings to compose my story.

My life has not been exceptionally hard in comparison to others, but it has not been the picture perfect life either. I have been through enough trials and hardships to be able to tell a few stories and lessons learned in my short, almost, 30 years. More important than the lessons learned or the actual experiences of my life is the wonderful works behind the scenes, the works of God. My faith has been solid since I was old enough to remember. I have always had God in my heart, but it was not until I was in my late teens and early twenties that I really began to understand what God was really about! I am going to write my story based on the Spiritual perspective that I have now in my life, rather than trying to recant the mere experiences that I have been through. I am giving God all the Glory in this blog, as it is He who has made me who I am today!

This blog is intended to make people think about God. It is intended to raise questions about whether or not life is just a sequence of coincidences. It is made to give others a spiritual uplifting and hope in reading what God has done for me in my life. And I hope that when you read my blog, you decide to walk some of the paths that I have taken and find your own way to the wonderful works of God in your life. If you have not already done so, pick up a notebook because when you read this blog, you will want to journalize as I have and document God’s wondrous works in your life!