One simple word: love

God loved you so much that He created you so that you might have a relationship with Him. John 3:16 tells us "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

One three letter word: sin

Sin is what separates us from God. It isolates us and puts a wall between us and God. Sin is really rebellion against God. It's something in our very nature that causes us to choose to do our own thing rather than choosing to do things God's way. The fact is nobody is perfect. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." In fact sin is responsible for both our physical and spiritual death. Romans 6:23 says, "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

It all about the "F" word: forgiveness

If sin separates, forgiveness reconnects. The reality is that there's not one of us that could do enough good things to reconnect with God. Remember sin is something that changed the essence of who we are. So in order to reconnect with God it would take something or someone who hasn't sinned to help us reconnect. And that's exactly what Jesus, God's Son, did. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us "Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit." So how do you reconnect with God? Simple, recognize that Jesus died on a cross so that you could be forgiven for all your sins - past, present and future. There's just one thing you have to do. Ask Jesus to forgive you. Pray this simple prayer and begin a relationship with God… "God, I admit that I'm a sinner. I believe that You sent Jesus, who died on the cross and rose from the dead paying the penalty for my sins. I am asking that You forgive me of my sin and I receive Your gift of eternal life. It is in Jesus' name that I ask for this gift. Amen!"

That one simple step is the beginning of a real relationship with God. Now that you've started talking with Him don't stop… tell Him how you're feeling, ask Him for His help, tell Him how you want to get to know Him more. Asking Jesus to forgive you isn't just a question about avoiding Hell and getting into heaven… it's all about the relationship.

Remember where we started, "why would God want to have a relationship with me?" Because He loves you, He wants you to get to know Him; He's got a lot of great things in store. There are a few other things that you should do if you're really serious about having a relationship with God. If you've just asked Jesus to forgive you:

• You should tell someone, find a group of people who are discovering God and developing a relationship with Him, perhaps a small group of people who have just made a decision like you.

• Read God's book, the Bible. It's filled with a whole lot of answers to life's questions.

• You should also find a good church. Church is really nothing more than God's family. Church is a community of people who meet together to discover more about God, experience His presence and celebrate Him.

If you're in the Raleigh Area, and are looking for a good church or have questions about church we would love to help you. Click here to let us know how you can help. If you made a decision today to begin a new life through a relationship with God and live in the Raleigh Area, we would love to know and help you with your new life. Perhaps you have some questions, perhaps you're wondering where you go from here. We would love to help you. Let us know.