Your First Steps as a New Christian
Since Lesson 1, you have been following God’s process. You’ve read the evidence, weighed the facts, and made a rational decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. What now?
1. Defend Against Satan. Know that Satan and his demonic minions are at work trying to steal your assurance of salvation. He is whispering in your ear right now that you aren’t truly saved, reminding you of bad things you’ve done, and making you question why God would want someone like you in Heaven. Stand firm, have faith, and learn that you no longer have to listen to the lies of Satan.
7So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and he will run away from you. James 4:7 (ERV)
2. Get Your Emotions In Gear. You’re a new creature, so it’s time to get excited, my friend. Tell someone — your best friend, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your husband or wife, your kids, your parents and grandparents, your neighbors, or your co-workers. Those who are Christians will get excited while those who are still lost will say something like “that’s nice” and give you a strange look (you can work on them later).
3. Engage your free will and take action.
- Seek other Christians to help with your spiritual growth. Find a Christian church that teaches the only way to God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have a church now and it is a place where believers come together to learn fellowship and encourage one another, stay there and get involved in a Bible study group.If your current church teaches the gospel of good works and religious rituals as the way to Heaven, you might be thinking that if you stay, you can change their teachings. But you will never change a cult or religion established by Satan. So it’s time to get out, and don’t look back.
- Use the power of prayer (James 1:5) to seek God’s wisdom and direction for your life.
5Do any of you need wisdom? Ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to everyone. So he will give you wisdom. James 1:5 (ERV)
- It is through prayer that you can have intimate and personal conversations with your Father, tell Him how much you love Him, confess your struggles and sins and find forgiveness, share your desires, and discuss your family and friends. Remember, there isn’t any temptation in your life that Jesus hasn’t already experienced (Hebrews 4:15) so He understands and has compassion. Even if you don’t know exactly what to pray for sometimes, God has provided the safety net you need through the Holy Spirit.
6To show that you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, “Father, my Father. Galatians 4:6 (GNT)
- The Holy Spirit knows exactly what you need, and will pray to your Father when you need Him to do so.
Read the Bible because it’s the only place God can speak to you and where you can build your relationship with your Father and your brother, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was given to you for the purpose of unlocking the scriptures and teaching you God’s way.
13We speak about these things also. We do not use words of man’s wisdom. We use words given to us by the Holy Spirit. We use these words to tell what the Holy Spirit wants to say to those who put their trust in Him. 1 Corinthians 2:13 (NLV)
Read this book like you would read a favorite novel. The late Tom Clancy was one of my favorite authors; in fact, you could call me a Tom Clancy groupie. He used the same format in each of his books — the first 300 pages were always a struggle for me, because that is where he introduced his characters and developed his plot. But, I knew that the remaining 500 or 600 pages would be filled with nonstop excitement and adventure.
The Bible is the much the same. No matter where you begin, you may find the first 300 pages difficult to understand, but trust me, the Holy Spirit will begin to reveal God’s word to you in ways that you could never even imagine.
You don’t have to start with Genesis — you can begin anywhere. I started in the Book of Acts, which talks about the conversion of the apostle, Paul, and the start of his ministry. Then I read the remainder of the New Testament and started on the Old Testament.
Just read it and don’t try to dissect each verse. If you don’t understand it all, don’t worry. You will eventually begin to grasp the broad concepts of God’s word, finding that He really loves you and wants to renew His relationship with you through His Son, Jesus Christ. And Satan is on earth to destroy anything good God has planned for you if you let him.
As you mature in Christ, the Holy Spirit will open more of the Bible to your understanding. Just read your Bible and the Holy Spirit will take it from there. Understanding will come only when you start reading God’s word on a regular basis.
Until next month, my friend, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.
