"Why Do We Suffer?" (With John Newton Sermon) - Inspirational Weekend

Why do good people suffer grief and trials and hardships?  Many have asked that question, and there have been many answers.  Here we will take a positive look and answer the question from a biblical point of view.  

First of all, it is true that many worldly and ungodly people suffer hardship because it is their own fault.  Actually, that can be true of Christians as well.  Bad choices.  Not going first in prayer to the good Lord to ask for direction and guidance in a matter.  

But sometimes it is just the fact that life in this old world can be unfair.......cruel, even.  Then there is the devil.  He is especially after and targeting Christians - to drag them down - because he already has the world in his hands; he already has ungodly people following him.

Remember Job?  For those of you who are not familiar with his story in the Bible, for any who are not believers, here is a brief summary of what happened to him.  Job was a wealthy man in ancient times, and had 7 sons and 3 daughters.  He loved God and kept his integrity.  One day the devil said to God, "Hast not thou made a hedge about him [Job], and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?  Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."   (Job 1:9-12) . 

God answered satan by saying, All that Job had was now in the devil's hand and in the devil's power, only the devil could not, by God's command, put a hand on Job himself.  The devil immediately began attacking Job by killing all of his children, and by Job losing all of his wealth.  What was Job's reaction?  He said, "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."  In all of this Job did not sin and did not charge God foolishly.   (Job 1:20-22). So satan tried again and told God, "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.  But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face."   (Job 2:3-10).   "And the LORD said unto satan, behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life."  (Job 2:6)  The devil promptly struck Job with boils from his feet to his head.   Job, though a bit self-righteous, still kept true to God.  And after some time, God blessed Job with more than he had had previously, including ten more children.  (Job 42:7-17)

We see from this that God Himself at times allows extreme suffering and loss and grief.  God cannot be stirred up to do things against His will.  Though it is not always clear how, everything that happens is part of His divine purpose.   When we are going through difficult times, we need to ask for the good Lord's help to see it through to the very end.  Rejoice and be glad, for God has something wonderful in store for those who endure !

James 1:2-3 tells us,  (2) "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;  (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

Some Bibles use the word "trials" in verse 2 instead of "temptations."  These verses in James remind me of what Jesus said at Matthew 5:11, 12 , which follows:

(11)  "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.  (12)  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted  they the prophets which were before you."

One commentator explains:  "Those who suffer most, God imparts the highest rewards. Hence, the crown of martyrdom has been thought to be the brightest that any of the redeemed shall wear - many of the early Christians sought to become martyrs.  Regard suffering as a great privilege thus to be persecuted and to suffer - a thing not to be mourned over, but as among the chief blessings of life."

In other words, our reason to rejoice in trials and persecution is our reward in heaven.  The Christian life is not only believing, but also suffering.  

"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake:"  -  Philippians 1:29

"Reasons it is a privilege to suffer in the cause of Christ: (1) because we then resemble the Lord Jesus, and are united with Him in trials; (2) because we have evidence that we are His, if trials come upon us in His cause; (3) because we are maintaining such a cause is worth much of suffering; (4) because it will be connected with a brighter crown and more exalted honor in heaven."   - So says one commentator.

Everything is not doom and gloom !!   In 1 Peter 1:3-6 Peter gives us several reasons for rejoicing:

(3)  "Blessed  be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope - by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  (4) To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (5) Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  (6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:"

We can rejoice (verse 3 above) (1) because we have a Lively Hope; we can rejoice (2) because we have a lasting Inheritance as mentioned in verse 4 ; (3) because we have a Long-term
Salvation as told in verse 5; and (4) because we have a  longed for Final Reward as brought out in verse 6 of 1 Peter chapter 1. So you can see that things are not all that bad!  Rejoice in the Lord always!

Our trials are really working for our good.  God is in the process of shaping and molding us.....refining us and making us stronger in our dependence upon Him; helping us to become more like Christ.
We may not see the benefit today, but when we stand before the Lord in heaven and we are rewarded for our walk with Him and for the sufferings we endured here below, it will be worth it all then.

Following is a 6 minute audio video by John Newton concerning "The School of Suffering".   Two things he said in this quick sermon clip stood out to me:  (1) "A Christian without trials would be like a mill without wind or water" and, (2) "The difficult things we meet with not only prove but strengthen the graces of the spirit."

"I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me."  -  Philippians 4:13

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."  -  Romans 8:28


But what if you are not a true believer and are not born again?

You are lost and destined for hell if you do not repent of your sins and turn to Jesus in heartfelt belief that He is the Savior and the only way to God and to heaven.

Pray for forgiveness, turn from your sins and do not go back to your sinful life.   Only Jesus can give true freedom; only Jesus can wash away your sins.

Think about it:  Jesus loves you so much that He died a cruel and painful death on the cross at Calvary so that if you but believe in Him you have the hope of eternal life with Him forever !!  He took all of our sins upon Himself while on the cross; He took our place so that we could live forever.

Choose life eternal !

Choose Jesus !

We are living in the last hour of the last days.  Bible prophecy is being fulfilled or current events are precursors to what the Bible said would happen in these end times.

Time is short!  Don't be left behind to face the catastrophes and the destruction and the wrath of God during the 7 year tribulation which happens after Jesus returns to Rapture true believers to be with Him in heaven.

Read Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 where the signs of the end times are explained;  take the message to heart and make your decision NOW to accept Jesus as your Savior.  Only He can give you hope and eternal life.


Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."  -  John 14:6

"Jesus answered and said unto him,  If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."  -  John 14:23

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,  that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  -  John 3:16


Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend.... and life !

Questions About The Six Seals Of Revelation Now Answered (With Video)

This past September I wrote an article featuring Bill Salus and his conclusions about when the six seals of Revelation occur, but I did not agree with him.   You may read that article here .  Mr. Salus is featured in a video at that site.

Yesterday I watched a video featuring Ron Rhodes, a Christian, who teaches at a seminary and who has written over 70 Christian books. His views on when the seals of Revelation occur put my mind at rest on this issue, and I trust his explanation as it is sound and more in keeping with what the majority of scholars teach.  Most importantly, it agrees more with the Bible explanation of the fact that all wrath of God is poured out during the 7 year tribulation period.  Following is that  29 minute video from christinprophecy.com with Ron Rhodes:  

We need to take all questions about doctrine to the good Lord in much prayer.   Actually, we need to go to Him in prayer about ALL things.  He has all the answers and will guide you if your heart is fine-tuned to Him and His will.

We must be a true believer and living our lives to please the Lord, for His love and tender mercies to be showered upon us and for Him to guide us .....

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:  I will guide thee with mine eye."  -  Psalm 32:8

"For this God is our God for ever and ever;  He will be our guide even unto death."  -  Psalm 48:14

"Howbeit when He,  the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come."   -   John 16:13

"Doing The Impossible" - Inspirational Weekend

The above Hawaiian Black-Crowned Night Heron is attempting an impossible fishing task, as some of the Koi in this pond are as large or larger than he is.  That being said, I have seen him (or other herons) at this same location several times and they never seem to give up.  So maybe occasionally they do capture smaller Koi.   

Never, never, never give up !!   There is a lesson here for Christians.  Sometimes we have what seem like insurmountable obstacles; things which seem impossible to us......But GOD !

"I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me."     -    Philippians 4:13

Many times the above verse has enabled me to continue to hold on when things seemed hopeless.  Sometimes we simply do not see a way out; we do not see even a glimmer of hope.  But that is viewing things from a human perspective.  

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  -  Matthew 19:26

We serve a God that is omnipotent.  He has unlimited power and authority.  He is God Almighty and the Sovereign of the universe.  We can look to Him with confidence and faith that He will see us through anything if we but have faith and trust in Him to rescue us.  He will point the way for us; the path to take.  This may involve a period of waiting on Him; our trial may not be solved immediately.

Thus we need to endure for a season, perhaps, and this is where faith comes in..... endurance is a training ground for faith.

The above white duck was not sipping water from the quiet and rather dead pond but was catching moving "living water" by sipping it as it fell over the rocks.  I am, of course, not suggesting that this water was truly living water as mentioned by Jesus in the Bible.   I am merely saying that this duck preferred the moving water to drink, so that I may lead up to Jesus' words in John, chapter 4.

Our Rock is Christ Jesus, and only He can give that living water that will sustain us and lead us to our heavenly hope.  

"Jesus answered and said unto her,  If thou knewest the gift of God, and Who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water."   -  John 4:10

In John 7:38-39 the term "living water" is explained as meaning the Holy Spirit, but here it refers to eternal life.  We must also consider John 4:14, where Jesus says: 

"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

It may appear that I have digressed from the main topic "Doing the impossible", but I haven't really;  it all ties in.  We can do nothing without the good Lord.  (John 15:5).  He gives us the power to hang on when we exercise faith in Him and believe His every Word.   Which means we should read His Holy Word daily, and let it empower us to such a strong faith that we can do the impossible, with the help of the Lord.  Although it is actually the Lord Who does the impossible; we are the vessels of His workmanship, and we do as the Potter bids us.

Let us not be like the koi in a man-made pond, forever floating and swimming endlessly about in the same area , back and forth, and getting no where.   We can be strong and have a purposeful life when we look to the good Lord for guidance and strength.  He will guide us along the chosen path for us.   The good Lord will keep us from wandering aimlessly through life.  Our purpose is to glorify Him by obeying Him and sharing the good news of the Gospel.  Remember, "with God all things are possible."

To build our faith, and to live a meaningful life, we need to be much in prayer and much in the Holy Word of God.  In that way, we will build a strong, personal, and intimate love relationship with God through Jesus Christ.   God wants to fellowship with us, and we do that by prayer and by following His guidance as He "speaks" to us in the Bible.  The Bible is God's Love Letter to us and also it is His Instruction Manual for us.  There is much power in God's Word and much power in prayer.  It helps us to overcome hardships and sorrows and to believe we can do great things for God's glory if we but put all our trust in Him for guidance and help.

"And Jesus said unto them,  Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be unpossible unto you."   -  Matthew 17:20

"And He said unto me,  My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.   Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  -  2 Corinthians 12:9

Consider all the great things the Lord has done for you.  Primarily, the miracle of Salvation.  Following is a Scripture that says a lot in a few words:

"Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart.  For consider what great things He has done for you."   -  1 Samuel 12:24

Whenever you feel the least bit depressed or overwhelmed by circumstances,  think on that verse directly above in 1 Samuel. 

To have God's blessings, you must be a true believer in Jesus as the Savior.  You need to repent of any and all sins, and come humbly before the good Lord in prayer and ask for His forgiveness.  

Jesus loves you.

He will not turn any away who come to Him in sorrow and sincere repentance.  Then your sorrow will  turn into great joy as He forgives you and leads you along the paths of righteousness.   

Remember, we are in the end times now; Bible prophecy is being fulfilled as I write this.... or at least the precursors to prophecy are in place and about to be fulfilled.   

The Rapture of Christ's Bride (the true believers) will occur very soon.   

Don't be left behind to face the wrath of God upon all the ungodly left on earth who will go through unspeakable suffering and horrors of the 7 year Tribulation period.   Read the Bible book of Revelation concerning the sufferings and plagues and destruction that will occur during that time.  You do not want to be on this earth during the judgmental Tribulation.

"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"    -   2 Corinthians 6:2

Romans 10: 9,10,13 tells us:  "(9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,  but  have everlasting life."   -  John 3:16

Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend.... and life !

Critical Times - Russia, China, Syria (With Video)

So many upheavals and chaotic things are occurring in the world today that many are perplexed and do not know the way out.   The only answer is the peace our Lord Jesus Christ will bring about when He returns after the 7 year Tribulation and sets up His Millennial Kingdom..... and for eternity after that.

Jesus is the Prince of peace.

Luke 21:25 informs us,  "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring."

Luke 21, Matthew 24, and Mark 13 all tell us about signs of the end times and I urge you to read those chapters.

Following is a 10 minute video from prophecyinthenews.com  featuring author and evangelist Dan Goodwin.  He discusses current events and the nuclear threat.   Something he said about Russia recently testing an EMP device was news to me.

Now is the time to make sure you are right with the good Lord and that you are born again from above.  Now is the time to be ready for the soon to occur Rapture of the true believers.  

Jesus loves you and does not wish for any to perish.

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  -    2 Peter 3:9

Confess any sins and pray for forgiveness.  Repent, and turn completely away from a life of sin.  

Believe that Jesus is the Savior and only His shed blood at Calvary can save a person and wash away sins.   Believe also in His resurrection.

Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us,  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

"I Believe; Help Mine Unbelief" - (Video Sermons by Charles Spurgeon and Andrew Murray) - Inspirational Weekend

"

"Because faith is never perfect, belief and unbelief are often mixed" (so says one commentary.)  I think all of us can relate to that fact.  Let us go to the context of that statement above, "I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

A father brought his demon possessed son to Jesus to be healed, and Jesus told the father,  "......If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."   -  Mark 9:23

In Mark 9:24 the desperate father replied,  ".....and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief."

Notice how the upset father made a direct prayer to Jesus asking the Lord to help him with his unbelief (or weak faith).   Jesus did not rebuke him, but instead cast the demon out of his son and thereby healed the boy.   The father was not deliberately and stubbornly doubting the Lord; he recognized his weak faith and prayed for Jesus' help in that regard.   The father was sincere and asked - in prayer - for help with his doubting and unbelief.  

Even weak faith, if a person has the proper attitude, the Lord will honor when we have a good and submitting and surrendered heart and we pray for help and forgiveness.   

One commentator has said,  "No man is quite a stranger to the Lord, or an utter unbeliever, who with tears entreats Christ to put away his unbelief."

The help for unbelief is much prayer and strong belief in the Savior.  The condition of Jesus answering prayer and gaining His favor is to have FAITH  and BELIEF.  Jesus was very merciful to this father and his son by honoring what little faith the father exhibited and by honoring the father's sincerity in praying for help with his unbelief or weak faith.

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him:  for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."  -  Hebrews 11:6

Charles Spurgeon said,  "Unbelief is an alarming and criminal thing, for it doubts - in fact, unbelief robs God of His glory in every way, and therefore it cannot receive a blessing from the Lord."

We are now talking about deliberate and willful doubt -  refusing to believe in the Lord and in what the Bible has to say.  This type of doubt is sinful.   As a sin, unbelief grieves the Spirit; but as a weakness mourned and confessed, it secures His help.  Weakness of faith is no sin when it is confessed and help for stronger faith is prayed for.

Jesus Himself is the remedy for unbelief.

I am thinking now about Abraham, who had a strong faith in the LORD.... so much so that he was called the friend of God:

"And the scripture was fulfilled which saith,  Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."  -  James 2:23

I am also reminded of Zacharias, the elderly priest who was the father of John the baptist.  An angel appeared to him to tell him that he would have a son in his old age, but Zacharias did not believe it.  The angel then said to the elderly priest:  "......  I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.  And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season."  -  Luke 1:19-20

Following is an 8 minute video sermon by Andrew Murray on the evil heart of unbelief.

"Unbelief is the worst sin of all," says Charles Spurgeon in the following video.   He also says, "If you don't have something besides your own goodness, you will never get to heaven."  This video by Spurgeon is 58 minutes in length, but I pray that you take the time to listen to it.  It is full of wisdom and insight.

In one of Charles Spurgeon's devotions, he has also stated:  "The angels never doubted Him, nor the devils either:  we alone, out of all the beings that God has fashioned, dishonor Him by unbelief, and tarnish His honor by mistrust.  Shame upon us for this!  .....May we henceforth wage constant war against doubts of our God - enemies to our peace and to His honor; and with an unstaggering faith believe that what He has promised He will also perform.  "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief."

"But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."  -  Hebrews 10:39

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."  - Jesus at Mark 11:24

Mark 16:16 tells us:  "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

If you are not a believer, not a follower of Jesus Christ, then you need to turn your life over to the good Lord.  Turn away from a life of sin - repent - and ask in prayer for forgiveness and believe in Jesus as the Savior with all of your very being.   

We are living in the end times -  the last hour of the last days -  and time is short and running out.  You do not want to suffer the horrors and terrible wrath of God during the 7 year tribulation period.....nor spend eternity in hell.   Turn to the Lord NOW.

Romans 10: 9,10, 13 tells us:  (9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Jesus loves you, and will welcome you with open arms of  forgiveness.  

Jesus will wipe the slate clean and give you a new life and eternal life as well.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."  -  John 14:6

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."   -  John 3:16

Have a happy weekend and a Christ centered life !

Update On USA Midterm Elections And Middle East Affairs (Video)

Many of you have heard results of the USA midterm elections, but I promise you that you have not heard it from a biblical perspective such as Amir Tsarfati gives in his update today which video follows.  It is only about 24 minutes in length, and fascinating to listen to his account.   He is a Messianic Jew who lives in Israel but travels all over the world preaching about Jesus and the end times.

Here is that video:

Please watch.  We live in exciting times.  Jesus could return at any moment !  Bible prophecy is happening right before our eyes - or at least the precursors to those prophecies.   We are living in the last days!  

Hurry, Lord Jesus !

Stay tuned as I am currently working on a weekend blog post

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words."   -                       1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Have a blessed and Christ centered life !!

"Deny Self And Follow Jesus" (Andrew Murray Video) - Inspirational Weekend

We live in a world of selfies, self-centeredness , selfishness, and people are generally only thinking of their own wants, desires, and interests.  Self-absorbed .  Plain and simple.  

This should never be true of Christians.   The word Christian is not used much by me, because so many people call themselves Christians when in reality they are worldly and carnal and not truly born again from above.   "Christ-followers" or "true believers" are better descriptions of those born again and who are endeavoring to live a holy life, one pleasing to the good Lord.  

"And He said to them all,  If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  -   Luke 9:23  

So we see from Luke that following Jesus requires self-denial.  We do this by obeying the Lord and being completely dedicated to Him, and following in His footsteps and renouncing all notions of vainglory and any form of pride.  We also do not get involved with the sinful pleasures and fleshly delights like the people of the world do.   

Put God first.

Put other people next  (helping them and sharing the Gospel).

And last of all, consider yourself.

Consider the example of Christ.   What a true demonstration of self-denial was His Passion and Death.  

"For even Christ pleased not Himself..... "  -  Romans 15:3 a 

One of the most convicting sermons I have ever heard was today on You Tube.   It was concerning the denial of self and it was a 25 minute reading of the written words of Andrew Murray.  Please listen and benefit from this video which is below:

In Luke 9:23 Jesus also told us to "take up our cross daily."  What exactly does that mean?  

It means "Dying to self" or in being willing to die in order to follow Jesus.  It means absolute surrender to the Lord. It may also mean being shunned or persecuted.  In some parts of the world today, true believers are being murdered because of their faith in Jesus.

Jesus told us at Luke 9:24,25 :  "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.   For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"

The last thing Jesus said in Luke 9:23 was to "follow Him."   When we are born again, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1,2), and we make a radical change in our lives by the help of the Holy Spirit.   We think on things above, and our main desire is to please the good Lord and to draw ever closer to Him.   By doing all this and by obeying Him and loving Him with all of our heart, mind, strength and soul  (Mark 12:30) -  by all of these things we are following Jesus.   We endeavor to imitate Christ as best we can in these ways.  

All this is possible when you read your Bible and get to know the Lord and His attributes.  His Word is like Him speaking to you and guiding you.    You also follow Jesus when you are often in prayer.  Jesus was perfect and sinless, yet He felt the need and the desire to pray to His Father frequently.  How much more should we imperfect mortals  pray without ceasing! (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

God wants to fellowship with you.  What He desires is a close, personal, intimate love relationship with you through Jesus Christ.  A person gets to know someone by communicating with him often.  We do that with the Lord by being on our knees in prayer often.

Here is a beautiful song by Jamie Cortez titled "Take Up Your Cross:"

To any unbelievers who are reading this, you need Jesus!  We are living in the end times..... the last "hour" of the end times.  We know this by many Bible prophecies converging right now all at once (or beginning to happen; precursors).   Israel is God's prophetic time clock.  Watch Middle East events closely.  One prophecy that could occur at any time now is the destruction of Damascus as foretold at Isaiah 17:1.   Another prophecy about to happen is Ezekiel 38 and 39  ..... the war of Gog and Magog.  Russia, Turkey, and Iran are all "friends" now and they and other nations will soon come against Israel, as prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

I say all of that to let you know the time is short.  Jesus will return soon at the Rapture of the Church, and only true believers will be taken to heaven to escape the horror and destruction to take place after the Rapture and during the 7 year Tribulation.  

Turn to Jesus before it is too late!

He will welcome you with love and forgiveness !

Sincerely repent and pray to the Lord for forgiveness.  You must believe that Jesus is the Savior, whose shed blood at Calvary can wash away your sins..... wipe the slate clean; if you have faith in Jesus and surrender all to Him.

Romans 10: 9, 10, 13 explains:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

("For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)  -  2 Corinthians 6:2

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."   -  John 3:36

"Jesus said unto her,  I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead,  yet shall he live.  And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this?"   -  John 11: 25,26

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,  but have everlasting life."   -  John 3:16