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How Can I Come Back to God?
| “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...” (Romans 8:1 NIV). |
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The good news I get to share with you is that God is waiting. You may have left Him, but He has never left you. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the parable of the lost son, found in Luke 15:11-32.
In this story, a son asks his father for his inheritance and leaves home for what he thinks will be a better life. He wastes all his money on wild living and finds himself working as a hired-hand feeding pigs. He gets so desperate and hungry that even the pigs’ food looks good to him!
Finally, the son decides to go home to see if there’s enough forgiveness in his father’s heart to at least be hired as his servant. Even that would be better than his life now. So he heads home. And then comes the beautiful part of the story: “ ‘But while he was a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him’ ” (Like 15:20 NIV).
Jesus told this story because He is like that father, and we are like the son. We sometimes think that life without God would be better. But we soon learn what the son learned. It’s not better. It’s worse. It’s lonely. And it’s meaningless. When we decide to return, God is filled with compassion and welcomes us home.
Coming Back
Wanting to come back is the first step. Here are some other helpful steps in returning to God:
• Talk to God. Pour out your heart. Tell Him you’re sorry and ask for His forgiveness.
• Spend daily time with Him. Find a book in the Bible or devotional book that meets your needs and spend time reading and praying.
• Make things right. If you’ve hurt people during your time away from God, contact them. Ask for their forgiveness and make restitution if you can.
• Find a church. Visit different churches until you find one that has friendly people, is active, and has a style of worship that you find inspiring.
• Make new friends. If your old friends pulled you down, find new ones–friends who share your beliefs and new lifestyle.
• Ignore people who would criticize you. Don’t let people make you feel guilty for your past. God has forgiven you. That’s what’s most important.
• Remember. Remember what your life was like without God. Remember why you came back. And remind yourself, if you’re ever tempted to leave Him again.
Texts on Forgiveness
Here are some beautiful texts to reassure you of God’s forgiveness:
“ ‘I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning midst. Return to me, for I have redeemed you’ ” (Isaiah 44:22 NIV).
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9 NKJV).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
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