Knowing God

​Many of our moms have gone through their life looking for the void in their hearts to be filled.  They have sought relationships that have failed, they have been abandoned by family and friends and they don’t know where else to turn.  I heard a man on TV say today that he was a Californian, he didn’t know the state flower, he didn’t know how many square miles California was, he didn’t know what its counties were, etc., but he was a Californian because he was born there.  He went on to say that sometimes that is the same way we are Christians.  We can’t tell you very much about what it means to be a Christian, what God thinks of us, what Jesus says about this and that, or maybe, we have heard what is required of us, but we don’t necessarily follow it in our lives,  however, just like the “Californian” we consider ourself a Christian.  Maybe, we think we are a Christian because we belong to a church, or because we are American, or because our parents were Christians, and that makes us one too.  However, only a personal, authentic relationship with God can fill our emptiness.

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​So how do we get that kind of relationship?  First, know that God loves YOU, He cares about you, and if you call out to Him, if you seek Him, He will make Himself known to you.  Second, you must understand that we all fall short of who God is.  You must own it, not just intellectually, you have to personally realize that you have offended a holy God. God is perfect, and there’s no way you can be enough compared to Him. We have all sinned (to “miss the mark” of God’s holy standard), and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). That sin, unless attended to, will keep you separated from God for all eternity! Scripture says that by grace (unmerited favor) you’re saved, through faith.  It’s not of yourself, it’s a gift of God, not a result of something you did.  God sent His son Jesus Christ, Jesus was 100% God, and 100% man, fully human, fully God. He died on the cross to pay the cost of your sin.  John 3:16 says “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.”  But you need to receive Him by faith.  When you walk into a room and sit down on a chair, you are doing so by faith. You believe that the chair will hold you up.  You didn’t walk around it first, check its legs for sturdiness, rock it back and forth to check its balance, no, you put all your weight on it and just sit down.  That’s the kind of faith you have to have in who Jesus Christ is, and what He did for you.  John 14:6 says “Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one can come to the Father except through me’.”  You know you have an authentic relationship with God when every time you miss the mark, you run to God because you are sorry!  

​So to all the moms who haven’t had everything in their life go perfectly, if you feel it’s too hard, or if you are tired and looking for help, know that in Christ you are stronger then you thought. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you - Philippians 4:13               

Karen O'Leary is the the Program Manager at New Beginnings. She has her BA in Bible Theology and her Masters of Divinity. She has 8-years of experience as a Social Director at a non-profit organization helping those in crisis with financial assistance, brief supportive counseling, and being a spiritual presence in their time of need. In her free time Karen enjoys reading, cooking and traveling.

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