Now That You Are Saved
Dear Friend,
Let me be the first to say "Congratulations!" You have just made the most important decision of your life! You have invited Jesus Christ to become your Lord, Savior and Best Friend. Now you belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to you. He will be your Provider, Protector, your Healer and your Master.
The Bible says that you have now been "born again" into the family of God ( John 3:3-7). God has given you a new heart, old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have passed from death to life (John 5:24), and the life you have inherited is eternal - both in terms of its duration and supreme quality. For it is the abundant life of Christ, and it is yours NOW! (John 17:3; 10:10)
Let me share with you three things you need to know:
First, every sin has been completely ABSOLVED. That's right! Now you are as righteous as you will ever be. In fact, you are as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself because He has clothed you in His own righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Secondly, you have been ADOPTED by God because of your faith in Jesus. You are now a part of the family of God and His Spirit has come to take up permanent residence in you heart (Galatians 4:4-7).
And finally, you have been ACCEPTED by the Beloved. From this moment forward, you are in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. He wants you to know Him and love Him more dearly than your closest friend!
What do I do NOW?
Now that you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior, I bet you're asking now what? Your best next step as a Christian is to find a church where you can feel at home. But why go to church?
Think of it like this: candles stand in candlesticks, light bulbs go into light sockets and trees grow in soil. Without candlesticks, candles would fall over. Without being plugged in, light bulbs would never shine. And without soil, trees would simply die.
For Christians, the church is a candlestick, a power source, and soil to put down roots - so that you can stand, shine, and grow. Alongside the Bible and Prayer, God gave us the church as a rich, powerful resource to make our lives in Christ flourish.
A "Together" Faith:
Being a Christian means to FOLLOW JESUS.
As Christians, God calls us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. So - did He actually go to church? There were no churches in Jesus' time, but He regularly went to a place where people worshiped the true God. And so did His first followers. Worshiping God together with other believers is an essential part of being a Christian. The Bible says nothing about "solo" believers.
To say, "I want to be a Christian, but I don't want to belong to a church," would be like saying "I want to be married, but stay single." You simply cannot become a Christian on your own. By new birth you have entered the family of God and belong to the HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH (Galatians 6:10). This is good news, because it means belonging to a group of people, rather than to an institution.
Just as Jesus surrounded Himself with the twelve disciples, we must connect with other followers of Jesus.
The Church shows us that the Christian faith is a "together" faith. When you become a Christians, you were not only brought into a relationship with God; you were brought into a relationship with other people, too. You became a part of God's people - the Church - living on earth.
God bless you,
Jimmy
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