Why does God reach out to us?

That is a great question! Many Biblical scholars do studies on why God does certain things and I think sometimes they try so hard to find an answer that makes sense that they miss the big picture! The truth is that God reaches out to us because He loves us.

If you look at the entire Holy Bible, both the Old Testament and New Testament, it tells of God’s unending love for us and how He has constantly looked to have a relationship with us. From the time of Adam and Eve, when God had a perfect relationship with them (until they sinned), God has wanted to have a relationship with us. Why? Because He loves us!

Don’t believe me? How about this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son and whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save it through Him.” (John 3:16-17) Or this: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

The Bible tells so many stories and there are so many examples where God rescues His people, despite their sins. You see, we are the ones who push God away not the other way around. God loves us unconditionally. We’re the ones who put conditions on the relationship not Him.

God is and forever will be there for you. The only way He won’t be able to help you is if you turn away from Him. But, He is always there, waiting patiently for you to come to Him. And the best part is: when you come to Him, He will run to meet you! He won’t make you wait. He loves you that much!!!

If God gave us great things in life, why does he take them away sometimes?

Wow!! That is an amazing question! And it is such a difficult question to answer because the answer can be so frustrating at times. It’s almost like when you’re mom or dad says, “Because I said so…that’s why!”

Let me first start by telling you about the character of God. As hard as it is for us to understand this, God is good all the time. God can do no evil. He’s not like some angry, evil person who delights in watching us suffer. God loves you and only wants what is best for you.

The Bible has many scriptures relating to God’s love for us; in fact, one of the greatest scripture verses is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, and whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God gave us Jesus and what’s really amazing is this: “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners he sent His son to die for use.” (Romans 5:8)

I quote these two verses to show you how much God loves you. One of my favorite Scripture passages is Jeremiah 29:11-13, which reads, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Wow! The Lord of all creation loves us all so much that He wants us all to prosper and to be protected. He also wants to give you a hope and a future.

He also promises us that He will listen to us through prayer! We also know that He loves us deeply and because of that He “knit us in our mother’s womb” and we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13-14) We know that He thinks about us so much and so often that the sheer number would outnumber the grains of sand on a beach (Psalm 139:18).

So then the obvious question is why does He sometimes take away the great things in life? Honestly, I don’t know why. What I do know is that God has a plan that is much bigger than we can even imagine. There is no way for us to fully understand why God does some things because we tend to look at it from only our perspective.

Let’s look at the earthquake in Haiti, for example. It is so easy for us to ask, “Why did God kill all those people?” But, here’s the thing: God didn’t kill anyone. He allowed certain things to happen and He allowed some people to die, but He didn’t set out to kill them. I know it’s hard to understand but God doesn’t kill people, either out of anger or to punish them. He does allow it and He does have a reason for allowing it to happen … we just don’t know why or can understand God’s thinking. God is a “big picture” kind of God and we’re more the “in-the-moment” thinkers and reactors.

Remember though, there were some miracles that occurred down there too. I read a story about a child who was found alive after SEVEN days without food or water. How does that happen??? Even more amazing, they found a 69-year old woman alive after TEN days. How is that possible??? Ten days without food or water??? I can’t even go a day without eating or drinking something. One survivor, who was trapped under a collapsed building, talks about confessing his sins and giving his life to Jesus … only to be rescued within hours of that prayer. Another woman was pinned under a house in a kneeling position and was stuck in that position for FIVE days. She said that during the entire time, THE ENTIRE TIME, she was praying to Jesus. And when they found her and dug her out, she was able to walk into her husband’s arms.

There was an orphanage in a small town called Petion-Ville. Do you know that while every building around the orphanage collapsed, including a building that housed volunteers, the main orphanage did not collapse and every child survived? How do we explain that?

How do we explain any of those miracles? I’m sure there are many more but those are the ones I can remember. It’s because God also has a plan for each and every survivor. Do I know what his reasons are? Absolutely not! But, my faith in God is so strong that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it fulfilled God’s overall divine plan. One of my favorite Bible verses is a simple one and one that is easy to remember. It is Proverbs 3:5-6 and it says, “Trust in the Lord, your God, with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

We have to trust God’s will despite what we see as being so sad and so tragic. And know and put your faith in the fact that God is good.

What really matters? I don’t need religion or facts or verses or the cross, but what matters the most about coming to church?

Wow, what an awesome question!!! I remember being your age and watching my friends go to church and sometimes even going with them and wondering why. I mean, at the time, it seemed so boring and I didn’t understand the whole point. The preacher just read out of the Bible and he went on and on about stuff I didn’t get … it sounded like the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons. In fact, it kind of felt like another day at school! But, now that I’m older and have gotten to know who Jesus Christ is, I’ve realized that the thing that matters most about coming to church is your relationship with Jesus. I know, I know … you said you don’t need religion; neither do I! But, what I do need is a Savior who forgives me for all the mistakes I make! I don’t want a bunch of churchy rules … just someone who can forgive me and say, “I love you,” even when I do something so bad that I think it’s unforgivable. I needed someone who loved me when I felt I was unlovable. And Jesus is the only one who can do that. You said you don’t need facts or verses and that’s all fine with Jesus, too (maybe when you get older you’ll want to know some cool facts or be able to recite a memory verse!). Jesus doesn’t want you to just know facts or spout out a Bible verse like a parrot without knowing what they mean. That means nothing to Him either. Jesus doesn’t really even care that you learn anything! Of course, He’d love for you to learn about Him and His life. But, He would rather have a personal one-on-one relationship with you where you can tell Him all your fears or all your frustrations or all your anger. Or, on the flip side, be able to tell Him all the fun things you’ve learned or the great things that have happened to you! He longs to hear from you so much! The bottom line is: Jesus loves you, even when you think He doesn’t. Jesus wants so badly for you to love Him. He wants nothing more than to have a personal relationship with you. Do you want to know the best part about Jesus? He will love you even if you don’t love Him. He will wait for you and when you decide that Jesus is what really matters and ask Him to come into your life, He will run to you! I like coming to church because it is a great way to show your love for Jesus with your friends and family. It’s a way that we can all worship together and thank Jesus as a group for what He did for us. Just recently, my oldest son told me he didn’t want to come to church anymore. He just didn’t see the point of it. Do you know what I told him? I said, “Okay. I don’t want to force you and push you away from Jesus.” I also told him that when he’s ready to come back, we’ll be more than happy to bring him. But, more importantly, Jesus will be right there ready to embrace him. Guess what? Two weeks later, he decided to come to church again and even joined a Youth Group! He also hangs out with the high school kids after church when they all meet for lunch and enjoys being with “Christian” teenagers. He’s been asking me a lot of questions and I’ve answered them. I’m not pushing him at all and allowing him to meet Jesus on his own. And that is the great thing about Jesus. He will meet you where you are. You don’t have to be perfect to allow Jesus into your life. You don’t have to be good to have a relationship with Jesus. Remember what the Bible teaches us in Romans 5:8, “This is how God demonstrated his love for us; while we were still sinners, God sent His Son to die for us.” He didn’t wait for us to become good or perfect. So, to sum this all up and put it into a one word answer: What’s it all about and what matters the most? Jesus.

What does death lead to?

Wow …. I think the Bible makes it pretty clear that there are only two options when you die: either eternal life in Heaven with Jesus or eternal torment in Hell. There is no middle ground or some holding tank for second chances.

Bottom line: If you are saved, you go to Heaven. If you are not saved, you go to Hell. I think it is very important at this point to make a very important distinction or clarification and that is: it’s all about being saved, not being good. Good people don’t go to Heaven; saved people do.

What I’m trying to say here is that it’s not about the good things you’ve done in your life or that you will do in your life that determines whether you go to Heaven. You can’t “earn” a spot in Heaven. It’s already been bought for you by Jesus’ death. He gives it to you as gift … a gift called grace. I love Ephesians 2:8-9, which says it clearly, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --- and this is not from ourselves but it is a gift of God --- not by works, so no one can boast.” It is right there for the taking! Jesus gives you eternal life with Him as a gift! All you have to do is accept it. You don’t have to “do” anything. If you try and do things to somehow earn it, you take away Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and make it about earning salvation. Jesus is crying out, “No! I bought and paid for you with my blood! I did it willingly because I love you.”

Let me also say something about Hell. God did not create Hell for people. It is a place that was created for Satan and his demons. In Matthew 25:41, Jesus tells those who never came to Him, “Depart from, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

It is a terrible place…the Holy Bible can’t even adequately describe it. We do know that it is a place where even Satan is tormented day and night forever (Revelation 20:10). It is a place of total darkness, where you are completely alone and where you are in constant anguish from the searing flame with a thirst that cannot be quenched and where there will be a constant weeping and gnashing of teeth (Revelation 14:11, Mark 9:4, Jude 7, Matthew 22:13). If that scares you, that’s okay … it scares me too.

There are people, who are non-believers, who will say, “How can a loving God send people to a place like Hell?” The truth is God doesn’t send us to Hell. The non-belief in Him and sin, choosing the devil’s way, put people in Hell. Remember, God is holy and will not allow sin in His kingdom.

But, know this: God does not want anyone to perish! He wants all of us to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) More importantly, God sent His One and Only Son to die for us so that we would not go to Hell. But, it’s not enough just to know that Jesus died for us. You must truly believe that He died for us and then confess Him as your Savior. Remember our A-B-C’s in the Bridge Illustration? You must Admit your sins, Believe that Jesus is who He says He is and Confess Him to be your Savior.

Never forget how much God loves you!!! He loves you so much that while we were still sinners he sent His son to die for us! (Romans 5:8) And the reward is so great, too, because the Bible says that, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17)

How do we repent? And where?

You asked, “How do we repent?” and “Where?” In order to understand how we repent, we need to know what it means to repent. In the easiest terms, to repent means to change the direction you are going in regards to sin (doing bad things). It means making a complete 180-degree turn and walking the other way. It is an action verb, which means you have to do it. It is not something that is done to you. So, to repent from your sins means to turn away from them completely and to walk the other way.

But, here’s the best part! When you repent your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do you know what gift you receive? Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, said it in Acts 2:38 when he said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Do you know what that means??? It means that when you repent and turn away from sin, you don’t do it alone. The power of the Holy Spirit has been given to you through Jesus Christ! And remember what it says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

As far as your question regarding “where” you repent…you repent in your heart through prayer. You can do that anywhere. You can do it in the privacy of your bedroom, or in church, or with your family or with a group of your friends. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re sincere. God knows your heart and He loves you so much! He loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son to die for you so that you can have eternal life! Is that awesome or what??? And this is what is so wonderful about God…He didn’t wait for you, or me, to become good or perfect before He sent His Son down here. Romans 5:8 says that, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

You don’t have to be perfect for God to love you. You don’t even have to be good. God loves you no matter what! But, guess what? Good people don’t go to Heaven. Forgiven and saved people do. And in order to receive God’s forgiveness, you must repent your sins. Just stop doing them and purposefully walk away from them. It’s hard…I know! But, “I can do everything through Him that gives me strength.”