Getting to know God takes a lifetime. But the journey is wonderful. The following will explain how how you can get to know God personally today.

Principle One: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.

God created you. Not only that, he loves you so much that he wants you to know him now and spend eternity with him. Jesus said, "For 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."

Jesus came so that each of us could know and understand God in a personal way. Jesus alone can bring meaning and purpose to life.

Principle Two: All of us sin and our sin has separated us from God.

We sense that separation, that distance from God because of our sin. The Bible tells us that "All of us like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way."

Deep down, our attitude may be one of active rebellion or passive indifference toward God and his ways, but it's all evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

The result of sin in our lives is death -- spiritual separation from God.3 Although we may try to get close to God through our own effort, we inevitably fail.

This diagram shows the great gap that exists between us and God. The arrows illustrate how we might try to reach God through our own efforts. We may try to do good things in life, or earn God's acceptance through a good life or a moral philosophy. But our good efforts are insufficient to cover up our sin.

Principle Three: Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through him we can know and experience God's love and plan for our life.

We deserve to pay for our own sin. The problem is, the payment is death. So that we would not have to die separated from God, out of his love for us, Jesus Christ died in our place.

The Bible states that Jesus is "the image of the invisible God...by him all things were created...." Jesus was crucified for blasphemy -- for clearly identifying himself as equal to God -- which he was.

On the cross, Jesus took all of our sin on himself and completely, fully paid for it. "For Christ also died for sins...the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God." "...he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." Because of Jesus' death on the cross, our sin doesn't have to separate us from God any longer.

"For 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."

Jesus not only died for our sin, he rose from the dead. When he did, he proved beyond doubt that he can rightfully promise eternal life -- that he is the Son of God and the only means by which we can know God. That is why Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one can come to the Father except through me."

Instead of trying harder to reach God, he tells us how we can begin a relationship with him right now. Jesus says, "Come to me." "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me... out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."10 It was Jesus' love for us that caused him to endure the cross. And he now invites us to come to him, that we might begin a personal relationship with God.

Principle Four: We must individually accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The Bible says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

We accept Jesus by faith. The Bible says, "God saved you by his special favour when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

Accepting Jesus means believing that Jesus is the Son of God, who he claimed to be, then inviting him to guide and direct our lives.13 Jesus said, "I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly."

And here is Jesus' invitation. He said, "I'm standing at the door and I'm knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in."