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WHAT
NEXT?If you have prayed and invited Jesus into your life, congratulations. The angels of Heaven are rejoicing! Is everything now going to be easy? No. Life can still be life with all it's ups and downs. Some think that after they are born-again everything will just fall into place with little effort. This is just not true. I don't mean this as a discouragement, but rather a comfort. Why? Because Jesus will be with you every step of the way. You will never be alone. It can be strange at first and a little rough changing some of your behaviors and habits, but you now have the strength to do it given to you by God. You now have the Holy Spirit inside you, "The Great Comforter" as Jesus called it which will reside in you for life. Below are a few items I think are good things to do for a young Christian that will help you grow and increase your faith:
1. Find a good church
-Talk to friends,
co-workers, relatives, etc. and find a good church to attend. Will
any of them be better than others? Not really, but to be the best
one for you might depend upon things like children's programs, community
outreach programs, average age of the congregation, size of the church,
things like that. One of the best ways to grow is to get together
with other Christians to learn, to praise, and to help each other.
The Bible tells us we will know a good church by knowing their fruits,
or what is the result of their actions. If people love, care, and
support one another and help those outside the church you've probably found
a good place to go. If they seem arrogant, bicker, subject to a lot
of gossip and back-biting, it's probably not a good place to go.
No church will have everything 100% right, and if they say they do, then
it's probably not the best place to be. Churches whose congregations
are honest and truthful will admit they may not know something, and will
not put down other churches.
2. Read the Bible
-Thankfully,
we have many new versions of the Bible available today that are much easier
to read. I would suggest either the New International Version (NIV)
or New King James Version (NKJV). I haven't read this one myself,
but I've heard a lot of great things about the New American Standard Bible
(NASB). These can be found at any Christian bookstore and are usually
fairly inexpensive. The Bible is God's written Word and will help
you get to know Him that much better.
3. Don't give up
-It won't always
be easy. Sometimes you will think you have done something so bad
that God possible couldn't love you anymore. That is wrong and a
lie from the devil. You were bought with a price when Jesus was crucified,
and God won't turn His back on you. You have to always remember that.
This goes right along with finding a good church. A good church can
be a wonderful support group.
I'll tell you this, when I first became a Christian, I was one of the most cynical people around. I always thought everyone was only out for themselves. You know what? I was wrong. Don't think because someone offers a handshake with a smile they're instantly a phoney, give them a chance. There are some wonderful people in this world that are more than willing to help others. If you have any questions about anything on this site, or just need to talk about you and difficulties you are having, please use the email address on the front of this site, I would love to try and help.
God bless,
Bo