Well hi there! 🙂 Welcome to the family!! Congratulations on your new commitment.
Okay, so you’ve believed, received, and are now ready to get all the things that God said would be yours. That’s great! 🙂 There are many wonderful perks to following Christ:
1) Companionship. You will never be alone. God says He will never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6-8) Forsake means abandon, renounce, or give up. So, you can rest assured that no matter what circumstance you find yourself in, GOD IS THERE WITH YOU. Always. (Matthew 28:20) Don’t let someone tell you otherwise.
2) Peace. Being that God/Jesus is with you always you can relax and be at peace in every situation. “My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27). So, bind these thougths on your heart and in your mind so that when you are challenged or fall into temptation you will know to look to your Father in heaven for help and guidance. He promises to look after you and to help you. (Psalms 46: 1,2)
3) Freedom. Being a child of the Living God, you now have freedom from the bondage of sin. What that means is that sin no longer has control over your life. God’s strength is within you in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells within you. The fulness of God and the character of Jesus resides with you and in you and through you.
4) Power. the indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives you access to the power that defeats the Adversary, Satan. You don’t have to fear Satan anymore. Jesus has conquered him (Satan) and death (the penalty for sin). And Jesus is in you. The spirit of His Holiness is in you. Take it and run with it. Share what you have been given (the free gift).
5) Responsibility. You are to live as a new man or woman, boy or girl, adult or child. You have been given the keys to the kingdom, now it is up to you to fulfill the Great Commission. Go out and spread the word in whatever way you can, wherever your talents and skills take you. As you read your Bible you will no doubt come across the word, obedience. Try your hardest to be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God. The King of kings. The Word. God.
6) Be Thankful. As with any blessing, it is a good thing to set your mind on being thankful for what you have. Remember, there are other people in the world who don’t have what you have. Many folks in parts of Africa are living off of a bowl of rice a day. Folks in America are starving. People are dying because they do not have access to clean drinking water. Think about it a bit before you complain the next time. (Philippians 2:12-14)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without complaining, grumbling, or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Philippians 2:12-14
So, what does a new believer need?
She needs to know that she is now living a SPIRITUAL life. That she is no longer a slave to the desires of the flesh. She is spiritual and needs to grow in that realm. To pursue the knowledge of the kingdom of God.
She needs to stay close to God; to be in communication with Jesus/God (prayer), with fellow believers (fellowship), and with herself deep inside (honest reflection). To be in communication with God we can simply talk to Him like you talk to your best friend – be open and sincere, and don ‘t be afraid to tell Jesus your troubles and worries and hopes and dreams. He is there/here to help you. He wants good things for you and will bend over backwards to help you.
To be in communication with other believers (called ‘fellowship’) is to be open to help from strangers, yet these folks are your brothers and sisters (fellow Christians/believers), who will be glad to share with you what they’ve learned along their own journey. You will probably find that there are a lot of folks who are willing to help.
So, find a bible and just start reading. You are not trying to be a scholar at this point, you just want to familiarize yourself with the Bible and its contents. Many churches are willing to offer their pew bibles as loaners or even gifts. Just ask them. NOTE: find a bible that reads well. If the language is too weird and incomprehensable, move on and find a different Bible. There are MANY translations out there to fit almost everyone’s needs. Some common translations are:
- The King James Version (KJV) – this translation has been the standard for centuries, but it is old and reads like Shakespeare – a bit hard to understand. Perhaps a move to the NKJV (New King James Version) would be a help.
- The New International Version (NIV) – A pretty good translation put in today’s language. A very popular translation.
- The Message (MSG) – This version puts everything in paragraph and story form. Quite easy to follow along.
- The English Standard Version (ESV) – this version is also good at speaking in today’s contemporary style.
There are over 50 versions of english-speaking bible translations out there. A good place to go online to compare them all would be ‘biblegateway.com‘. It has other great resources for free as well. Be sure to check it out.
Finally, I leave you with a passage from the book of Romans:
“8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Romans 8:1-8 – ESV (emphasis mine)
Tata for now, folks. Have a blessed day.
Remember, you are a Spiritual creature now. Live in the Spirit.
Peace and Love,
eric
The Narrow Gate 