When I first became a believer in Christ, (1992), I didn’t think much about things like spiritual maturity, or walking in the Spirit, or living by faith. I didn’t know what any of those things were. Al I knew at that point was that I was saved and I was going to heaven when I died, and that I should try to live a moral life.

That entailed reading my bible, going to church, praying, and generally being nice to others.

Nobody ever sat me down and said, “Dexter, now that you’re saved this is how a believer is supposed to live“. Nobody explained who God was beyond He made me and loves me and sent His Son to die for me – bible stories.

Nobody explained to me that when I believed I was indwelled with the Holy Spirit and because of that, I’m going to start to feel guilty about my sins. Nobody ever explained how to respond to conviction by the Holy Spirit either.

But the thing that, looking back, I wished people taught me was how to build a relationship with God. That would have been helpful and would have saved me years and years of backsliding and being a prodigal.

Before I get into the scripture that I read today, (1 Peter by the way), I wanted to take this opportunity to teach you what was never taught to me – how to enter a relationship with God.

Because, it’s the most important relationship you’ll ever have, and as the title says, it’s THE relationship for a lifetime, and all eternity.

The first step, of course, is to actually become a believer. If you’re not and would like to know more about that, click here now (opens in a new window).

Created by Tony Evans, it will answer many of the questions you may have about Jesus, as well as lead you into prayer and become a Christian, and I hope you take the time to at least learn about the faith from people of faith.

That said, when you first accept Christ, something powerful happens. A lot of things happen actually, (which goes beyond the scope of this post), but there is one thing in particular that’s important.

That is, you receive the Holy Spirit inside you, in what the bible calls your “inner man”, (See Ephesians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 4:16, and Romans 7:22).

Receiving the Holy Spirit is a very big deal, and He brings a lot with Him into your life, including spiritual gifts. And, He has many roles which will become evident in future posts and in my book. For now though, here are three of the roles in your life as a believer.

1. He is our helper – John 14:16 says He will be with us forever, John 14:26 says He will teach us all things and bring to memory all that Jesus said, and John 15:26 says He will testify of Jesus.
2. He intercedes for us – Romans 8:26 says He helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us.
3. He empowers us -Repeatedly, the bible says that Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:1, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and led. Luke 4:14, He returned in the power of Holy Spirit. In Acts 10:38 God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit.
   
   Over and over again, it’s made clear that the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus, and it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that He was able to live a sinless life and do miracles.

Now… what does any of this have to do with relationship with God?

It’s simple. When you first become a believer and receive the Holy Spirit, your entire relationship with God hinges on how you relate to and utilize the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit connects you to heaven and the heavenly kingdom, of which you are a citizen. Everything that the Holy Spirit did for Jesus Christ, He can do for you.

He translates your prayers, He brings peace, He empowers you, He comforts you, He teaches you, He guides you and leads you, and so much more. Your entire relationship with God is only possible because of the Holy Spirit, and as you just read, He will be with you forever.

So, if you want to have a meaningful relationship with God, you must learn to operate in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit, pray in the Spirit, view the would through the spiritual lens.

But here’s the kicker – the Holy Spirit only operates when you’re in alignment with Jesus.

Meaning, you can’t just carry on with your old life like before because you’re not just living for yourself anymore, and you’re not alone – you have the Holy Spirit with you and in you.

His job is to help you with everything you need from the kingdom.

For example, when the Lord talks to you, it’s often through the Holy Spirit, or when you’re reading the bible, the Holy Spirit turns the words you’re reading into the living word and makes it applicable to your situation, and so much more.

I could write a book just about the Holy Spirit. There’s so much to teach, and it’s one of those things that many believers never hear about.

So, in lieu of this blog post turning into a book, let me leave you with this.

The best thing you can do once you become saved is to consciously be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit, especially as you pray and read the bible.

Now, you’re still praying to the Father, in Jesus’ name, but it’s through the Holy Spirit; He is the one that facilitates the entire relationship.

That said, today I read 1 Peter.

Peter, like a lot of believers had a kind of slow start in his faith walk, and he stumbled a time or two, once or twice quite spectacularly, but once he found his footing and came fully into faith? Man he became a rockstar for the kingdom of God.

If you’re interested in learning about the goodness of God, and how you should live to the fullest in Christ, Peter is the man you want to read. Those are some hard-earned lessons and great wisdom.