How to turn to God
Be sure to read the article first, omitting the Scriptures. Then look up the Scriptures and mark them in your Bible. Feel free to pass copies of this article to others who want to know God’s truth. You will be doing God’s Will when you show and tell others how to live this special Way.
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Turn to the Lord
Scripture says that when a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Cor. 3:16). What does ‘turn to’ mean here? The word turn is mentioned in Matthew 13:15 and again in Acts 28:27. ‘Turn again’ is mentioned in Mark 4:12. We see in John 12:40, that the words ‘be converted’ are used instead of ‘turn to.’ In Acts 3:19, the expression, ‘Repent, therefore, and return’ is used, but to what are we returning? Acts 6:7 says a great many of the ministers or priests were becoming obedient to the faith. We see, then, that to ‘turn to’ means to turn to the obedience of the faith.
Yes, faith in Jesus Christ requires obedience (Rom. 16:26; 1 Peter 1:2; John 3:36). New Testament believers had a reputation for obedience, but what was the faith to which they were obedient (Rom. 16:19)?
Jesus Christ says, ‘If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me’ (John 12:26). Jesus is telling us that we are expected to live as He lived. How do we do that? We are to keep His sayings (John 12:48; 8:51). Jesus Christ’s sayings are the works He did on this earth as an example, that we should walk in them (John 14:12; Eph. 2:10). We cannot possibly be converted to Jesus Christ if we do not keep His sayings! God says that if we practice living like Christ by keeping His sayings, we are truly born again (1 John 2:29). This is how we overcome evil and resist Satan daily (Rev. 2:26).
The veil is taken away from your eyes when you cry out to the Lord for the truth and begin living to please Him in all your ways (2 Cor. 4:3; 3:16; Acts 10:34-35). You can begin to understand many mysteries and spiritual truths that you could not comprehend before. Yet, if you don’t practice living like Him, you will never be like Him and you will never clearly understand His Ways.
Don’t be deceived. Practice makes perfect. You do the practicing and God will do the perfecting. Practicing righteousness daily for God is repentance. It is the Way of righteousness (Matt. 21:32; 2 Peter 2:21).
If you have not turned to the Lord and have not started the process of building godly character, why not turn to the Lord today? Begin living the godly Way. Please Him in all you do, and He’ll make a new person out of you.