Discipleship
Welcome to the Family
By accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you have made one of the most important decisions you can made. Here I would like to help you get started on your journey as a Christian, because accepting the gift of Salvation is just the first step.
Now that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are saved. You might ask “saved from what?”. Well, first you have been rescued from the most horrible sentence for the sin you had committed (we all have committed) – the sentence of eternal death in Hell. The Bible tells us Hell is a place where people who fail to accept the gift of Jesus, are forever separated from God and banished to pain, suffering, and punishment.
Know this, is not a place you stumble into. Hell is the place you choose when you choose not to receive Jesus’ offer of Salvation, and Life. That is the first part of being “saved”. The second part of being saved is being made alive spiritually. God is a Spirit and the only true source of life. If you are disconnected from God, you are disconnected from the only true source of life. God told Adam that if he partook of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would die. Adam and Eve disobeyed; they were separated from the only source of Life. The only condition in which the human soul can exist, when separated from Life, is Death. So, you are saved from spiritual death, you are reconnected to God.
If you don’t have a Bible, you need to get one immediately. You will find that there are many translations of the Holy Bible. Thumb through it. Choose one that you can read and understand easily and read it every day. I recommend starting with the Gospel of St. John. Try taking a chapter at a time. The Bible contains God’s will for you. It is one of the ways that he communicates to you. You will grow in your faith as you read and study the Bible – which is the Word of God.
Your next step, if you have not done so already, is to find and join a Bible-believing church. You will need the support and teaching you will get there. You will find new Christians like you and experience ones. Their help and experience will help you grow and learn how to access the things God has for you and has assigned you to do. I will discuss how to select a Church home in another paper.
When you join your Church (if you are not already a member) your next step is to be Baptized. Baptism is act and an ordinance which was confirmed by Jesus Christ. He allowed himself to be baptized and he instructed his followers to be baptized. What is purpose of Baptism? Baptism first is a physically visible action taken to reflect the change that has happened in the spirit of a person when they are saved. It ultimately reflects the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. You are immersed in water, to show the death and burial of Christ. You are brought back up out of the water to show the resurrection of Jesus. It gives you a mental and spiritual touchstone you can come back to whenever you want to remember and remind yourself of whom you are part. In this case, you are now marked as a member of the Heavenly family in an outward way.
But there is more to Salvation than a ticket to Heaven. Jesus did not die only to pay our debit of sin. He also died that we would have continual access to the Father and all the resources of Heaven. This is a marvelous, and essential thing for life as a Christian on this earth. When we are saved God doesn’t abandon us Our Heavenly Father “abides” in us by his Holy Spirit. The job of Holy Spirit is to lead us, guide us, comfort us, show us, connect us to God. Not only do you have connection with your Heavenly Father, but he has given us access to everything he has…...and he owns it all. Come to him with your fears, with your needs, and with your questions. He is listening and willing to help you.
Don’t forget to pray. What is prayer? At its most basic definition it is talking to God. And it’s a two-way conversation. When you need something from the Lord, ask him. When you want to know something talk to him. The Bible says he “never slumbers or sleeps”. He is always open to your prayer to him. He loves you and he loves to hear from you. Talk to him and listen with your heart for his reply.
There is much more to your Christian Walk but this is a good start. Go to Sunday School or Bible Study at your church. Your Pastor and your teachers will be excited about teaching and helping you to grow in your faith. And come to this site. I will be adding new content and Bible studies to help you to learn, grow and become more and more what God has planned for you to be.