Day 2 - The Rules Of Our Relationship With God

For any relationship or system to work, rules have to be set in place. Think about the car you drive or a bridge you may have driven on. That car and bridge are formed through mathematical rules.

God is the Creator of all, and He designed everything, including our relationship with Him, to have a set of rules. We can't make God be who we want Him to be. Let’s go over some of the rules around our relationship with God.

God is above all

First, God is to be above all, meaning no one or thing can replace Him. The first commandment from the 10 commandments that God gave us is that we shall have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3). After that commandment, God also tells us we are not to have any idols in our lives (anything that pulls our worship away from God).

We were made to worship God alone. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:24 (NIV), “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

We can’t serve God and another “master” or thing that captivates our heart apart from God. Only one Person is meant to lead our lives, and that is Jesus (who is God).

If we want to have a relationship with God, we cannot worship other gods or have any idols in our lives. God is a jealous God — He is jealous after our heart and devotion (Exodus 34:14). The enemy will try to pull us away from God by enticing us with things of this world, but we must remember that an abundant life here on earth and for eternity is only found in abiding in Jesus (having an intimate relationship with God).

God is perfect and good

In order for our relationship with God to thrive, we must know that God is perfect. If we doubt God’s perfection and goodness, we will not trust Him.

Trusting God is essential to our relationship with God. We must believe, no matter what we see or experience, that God is perfect and good. We may not understand His ways, but we can still trust that He is good and perfect.

We live in an imperfect world because of the sin of Adam and Eve, but the imperfections of this world and people do not mean that God is not perfect.

Because God is perfect, His ways are also perfect. Psalm 18:30 (NIV) says, “As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” This means that the Bible (which is the Word of God) must be obeyed in order for us to engage with God and experience His goodness.

The enemy will try to tempt us to believe that our ways are better than God’s ways or that God does not love us, but we must stand upon God’s Word and remember that He is good and He loves us. Remember, for God so loved the world, that He sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16 NKJV).

Don’t make God and His Word optional in your life. Make God’s Word and ways your only way of life.

Jesus is the way to salvation and the only way to know God

The only way to have a relationship with God is through Jesus. Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) also says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…”

Jesus also says in John 14:7 (NIV), “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one can go to the Father except through Him. This means we must abide in Jesus by abiding in His ways and not disobeying God. Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV), “‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

Just because we know the name of Jesus does not mean we are in a relationship with Him. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 7 that many will call His name “Lord, Lord”, but will not be saved because of their evil acts.

Jesus says to the evildoers, “I never knew you”. We don’t want to hear those words from Jesus. We want Jesus to say to us, “I enjoyed being with you on earth, and spending every moment of your every day with you.”

Our actions are the visible fruit that reveal whether we are truly abiding in Jesus and walking with Him daily.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:24 (NIV), “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Have you made the decision to make Jesus your Savior? Are you willing to deny yourself, take up your cross, and submit to Jesus daily?

On Day 3, we will learn how to practically know God and grow closer to Him.