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Written by Wendy Neill, Advancement Coordinator for Iron Rose Sister Ministries

The entire Bible is the story of our relationship with God. In the beginning, He formed a perfect world, then created a man and a woman to multiply, reign over it, and walk with Him in relationship. But they betrayed Him, and they unleashed evil in the world. He had to banish them from the Garden of Eden and the relationship with God was damaged.

Throughout the Old Testament, we see the cycle of betrayal and restoration between God and His people. God gave them specific laws regarding sacrifices to atone for their sins so the relationship could continue. Those sacrifices only covered the sins already committed, not future sins, so they had to regularly go back and offer sacrifices again. Eventually, God’s people quit bothering. They started worshiping other gods and completely lost track of God’s Law. In 2 Chronicles 34:14-21, Hilkiah the priest stumbled across the Book of the Law while bringing out the funds to repair the temple. I can almost picture him in a temple storeroom blowing the dust off an old book on the shelf.

To get a glimpse of how bad things were between God and His people, read Ezekiel 16. God said He was fed up with His “wife” who acted like a prostitute, and He was going to let her lovers destroy her (fulfilled with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.). But even at the end of that chilling chapter, God says, “Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you” (Ez. 16:60 NIV).

It wasn’t just Israel that was estranged from God. We were all estranged from Him: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). God sent His Son to re-establish that everlasting covenant and to restore our relationship with Him.

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. ... All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. (2 Cor. 5:15, 18-19a NIV)

I am so grateful to live on this side of the cross and to know the saving grace of Jesus! I can have a restored relationship with God because of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. All past and future sins are covered if I remain in Him. But it doesn’t stop there. Let’s read the next few verses.

And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:19b-21)

Paul is talking about himself and his fellow teachers, but we also can share this message of reconciliation with those around us. This is the gospel, the good news! We don’t have to be afraid of God’s wrath any longer if we remain in Christ. In the final chapter of the Bible, we find that we can live with God again in a perfect relationship, unmarred by sin:

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. (Rev. 22:3-4)

Our blog theme for this year has been “Teaching and Learning through Relationships.” How can you rejoice and teach others this week about our restored relationship with God through Christ?

• guestwriter
• teachthroughrelationships
• relationshipwithGod

Written by Kat Bittner, Iron Rose Sister Ministries volunteer and Board Member in Colorado

Relationships can be difficult to foster. And often they are the hardest things to keep tied. Even the best relationships can be knotty at times. Relationship with God, though, is far less complicated. It’s also the most valuable. A personal relationship with God means unconditional love by Him. It means redemption from the worst we’ve done. It means adoption into a family in which we are heirs of a great inheritance (Gal. 4:4-7; Rom. 8:17). Most importantly, relationship with God means life.

We are given the gift of God’s grace, and we undeservedly receive God’s mercy (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 9:16). And we are also given the hope of eternal life (1 Pet. 1:3). To obtain that life, though, we must enter relationship with God, and we can only get to God through Jesus.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me“ (John 14:6 NIV).


This is my favorite scripture because it encompasses what I can expect and what I can do to truly live. If I expect to have truth and life, I can only do so by way of Jesus. Because of what God did for me in sacrificing His Son to die on my behalf, I’ve come to acknowledge the need to be more selfless. The truth is, if left to my own inclinations, life would be spent doing all the things that please me. I’d go where I want, when I want, and do what I want with very little consideration for others. Rather than make a home and life for my husband, children, and grandchildren, I would make a home and life that best suits me. I’d be overcome by my addictions (food) and proclivities (controlling). Singing on the worship team, teaching the toddlers’ Bible class, and serving in the women’s ministry at my church would all be meaningless. Ministries near and dear to me like Ciudad de Angeles and Iron Rose Sister Ministries would be inconsequential. My job, my social life, and my pastimes would be centered solely around my personal gain rather than how I can do those things to serve others.

To that end, I rely heavily on my relationship with God. I’ve come to appreciate that my relationship with God keeps me focused on what truly matters. It keeps me grounded on more holy things and ensures those things take precedence because one who “pursues righteousness... finds life, prosperity and honor” (Prov. 21:21).

Through Jesus, I’ve come to know God more freely and intimately. I value my relationship with Jesus because, without Him, I would not know God. Jesus said, “The Father is in me, and I in the Father” (John 10:38), so to know Jesus is to know God. Personally, I don’t know who I’d be otherwise. Lauren Daigle beautifully expresses in her song, “Thank God I Do,” the value of knowing Jesus.

You're my safe place, my hideaway


You're my anchor, my saving grace


You're my constant, my steadiness


You're my shelter, my oxygen

I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know you, I’d probably fall off the edge.
I don’t know where I’d go if you ever let go, so keep me held in your hands.
I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know you. Thank God I do.

It’s because of Jesus that we “may have life and may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV). Life abounds because of Jesus! I relish that thought because it means that while everything is not always good in life, life is always good. And because I am in relationship with God, I can be less stressed when life goes awry. I certainly do try!

“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1 Thes. 5:16-18 MSG)

As in any valued relationship, we should be mindful of what’s necessary to keep the relationship strongly tied. I grow spiritually when I am seeking daily to know God better. My Bible studies, my prayer time, and my relationships with other Godly women all help foster my relationship with God (1 Tim. 4:13-16; Titus 2:3-5; Ps. 119:1-2; Ps. 18:6; Ps. 15:29). And I have found that the less time I spend fostering my relationship with God, the more likely my life is to become complicated—or at least the more likely I am to become anxious about those complications. Ultimately, it’s a ploy from the enemy to distract me from growing in my relationship with God. God is worthy of so much more in our relationship than for us to worry about life. And no human trouble is greater than God’s power to overcome it.

“Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.” (Plato)

What strides will you make to draw closer to Jesus? And thereby God?