Teach Me How To Love
A common theme among my blog posts is to have a relationship with God. Many of you are maybe wondering how?!
First, let’s start with what God is not. God is not a God who delights in punishment. God has been depicted as this mean, strict God who if you get out of line, you’re going to Hell and there is no coming back. Here are some scriptures showcasing that God is forgiving and merciful:
Jonah 3:10 (NLT): “When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.”
Psalm 86:5 (NLT): “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.”
Hebrews 8:12 (NLT): “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
Psalm 145:8-9 (NIV): “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”
God is also not a God who wants to stop all your fun. God is a parent to all of us and just like any good parent, His rules are for our benefit. The benefit is spending eternity in Heaven with Him. The only way we can get to Heaven is if we live like Jesus on Earth. This stipulation is synonymous with you not being able to have fun until your room is cleaned or your homework is done. Furthermore, we have to remember that this world belongs to God. Genesis 1:1 (NLT) says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Therefore, just like with human parents, we can’t do what we want in God’s house without consequences. Therefore, we can’t live how we want to live in the world and expect to make it to heaven.
Moreover, the rules God sets for us are to keep us safe like a parent telling a child not to touch a hot stove. He tells us not to lie, not to commit adultery, not to serve idol gods and not to commit other sins because He knows that these sins can lead to a wicked lifestyle that can take you away from Him and ruin your chances of entering Heaven if left unrepented. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, God is concerned about your entire being – body, mind, soul and spirit. He wants your entire being to be as healthy and as pure as it can be. As I grow deeper in Christ and learn more about His word, some of His reasoning for wanting us to not participate in certain activities makes sense. (I’ll probably do a blog post on that concept later.)
Now, that you know that there is NO sin that you can’t come back from and that God is just doing His role as a loving Father, let’s talk about how you can develop a relationship with Him.
Prayer. I’ve seen posts and heard people confess that they do not know how to pray or that they do not know what to say in prayer. Prayer does not have to be this formal conversation where every word has to be just right. Instead, pretend that God is your best friend and you need to talk to Him. Tell Him what’s been going on, what’s been troubling you, what you’re thankful for – EVERYTHING! Unlike humans, God will never get tired of you or get too busy to talk to you. If you’re still unsure exactly what to say, the Lord’s Prayer, which can be found in Matthew 6:9-13, is a good outline.
Read the Word. I remember growing up, I knew of two Bible versions – the King James Version and the New King James Version. I had absolutely NO idea what was being said. My aunt told me to pray for understanding, but even with that, I still only understood a few passages. After a few failed attempts to read the Bible, I gave up altogether until I was watching an online sermon and realized I understood the passage the preacher was preaching from. It was that day that I discovered the New Living Testament (NLT) version. I immediately went out and brought me a copy of the Bible and reading was a lot better. Now, if I haven’t mentioned it before and if you haven’t picked up on it by now, I’m a nerd. I like to highlight texts. I like to know the backstory to information. I like to look at maps and all of that. As a birthday gift, my best friend gifted me with the Life Application Bible, which includes character profiles, commentary on scriptures, maps and more. It helps me to understand the Bible way better than I would have understood it than without it. There are several Bible versions out there, including New International Version along with several Bibles that offer commentary, notes and other study materials. Find the Bible best for you and start reading!
Worship. Music is powerful. It is a way to give God praise, thanks and so much more. God gave us a voice and we should use it to exalt Him. If you need suggestions on Christian artists to listen to, here are a few of my favorites:
Anthony Brown
Jonathan McReynolds
Mali Music
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Tye Tribbett
Mary Mary
Kierra Sheard
Kirk Franklin
Maverick City Music
King & Country
Jekalyn Carr
Koryn Hawthorne
Lecrae
Jor’dan Armstrong
J. Monty
KB
Cece Winans
TikTok also has some great suggestions as well.
As I mentioned in another blog, God desires relationships with us. Just like we want to be under and in our person’s skin, God wants to spend that much time with us too. So, make time for Him. Set out time to pray, read His word and listen to Gospel/Christian music daily. If you can, try to find a sermon or a spiritual podcast to listen to. The more you consume of something, the more that something will come out of you. Therefore, the more time you spend with God, the more God will be present in you and the more people will see a change in you.
