To ensure that we are personally optimized for making the most important and foundational connection of our lives, 'THE Connection of All Connections', we must start with a basic diagnostic question: "What must you DO to put yourself in a right relationship with God?"

The answer: "It's too late." It's already been DONE. What is needed to be put into a right relationship with God has already been done for us. The connection is available to us as a free gift. There are no dial-up charges, connection fees or hidden maintenance costs. It was paid for by another.

The bad news is that there is nothing you can do personally to put yourself in a right relationship with God. You can not earn it, deserve it or be able to come up with the price to pay for it.

You could be as wealthy as Bill Gates or as compassionate as a Mother Teresa but it still would be insufficient to make a lasting and true connection with God. The greatest manual written on connecting with God tells us that IF we could perfectly keep every Divine instruction starting with the first and greatest commandment (which is to love God non-stop with ALL of your heart, mind and soul) THEN and ONLY THEN would we be declared righteous and fit to connect with God. But the TRUTH of the matter is that no one is declared righteous by the written manual of God's law. We ALL have sinned (Romans 3:23). There is none righteous. The law is not a measure of how good we ARE, but of how good we're NOT. The Law is given that we would not be deceived by self-righteousness and would appeal to what is written in the Owner's manual as the only provision for authentic spirituality- a true Spirit-to-spirit connection made possible through redemption.

The Psalmist said, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving" (Psalm 100:4). This is the secret of connecting with God. It is not a matter of going before His gates with Ali Baba formulas of 'Open sesame', 'Abracadabra'. It is not a matter of reciting pious prayers or partaking of religious rituals. It is not a matter of us saying "Let me in because I earned my merit badge in the 5th grade." It's not a matter of entering His gates with ALMS-giving; SERMON-giving, or BEST-EFFORT-giving. We enter with THANKS-giving, because the gateway connection to God's presence is given to us as a free gift through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gates of God are Gates of Grace. We enter His courts with heartfelt praise because He has given us this free access into the grace in which we stand (See Romans 5:2). We are trusting in Christ's perfect work of redemption and not in ourselves! WE MAKE THE CONNECTION BY TRUSTING, not by TRYING. For Christ did for us what we could never do: He has met our obligations to the law of God. He lived a righteous life on our behalf. He died the death we deserved. He has fully paid our sin-debt. His righteousness is credited to our account. He now lives both FOR US as our Representative High Priest and IN US by the Holy Spirit. For Christ is our God-given answer, God's wise solution for righteousness, sanctification and redemption (See 1Corinthians 1:30). The righteousness that God requires FROM US is the righteousness that Christ provides FOR US and the righteousness He is able to reveal and live THROUGH US! For He is our Lord and He is our life (See Colossians 3:4). If it depended 99% on Christ and 1% on you, the Gates would remain forever closed before you.

Freely plug into His power, experience His presence and pursue His purpose, BY FAITH. In doing so, you will plug into the true source of infinite forgiveness and blessedness, unconditional love and deathless Life.