Now What?

You are now a brother or sister of Jesus Christ. You will now be faced with struggles, hardship, failures, and problems. You’re now probably going to have to endure persecution from non-believers. You’ll be hated by some. You’ll always be misunderstood when you talk about the things of God by those who don’t know him. You’ve now got a bounty on your head in the eyes of Satan and his followers. You’re going to undergo spiritual attack that will attempt to keep you from moving past this point. I’m sad to say that many Christians fall prey to this attack and never go beyond the first step. I can tell you, however, that once you begin to push through the adversity, you’ll experience real faith. Your heart will experience peace that can’t be explained, joy that surpasses understanding, and love that goes beyond any you’ve ever known.

The first order of business is getting into a church or finding a group of believers to fellowship with. You can email me. I’m always available to talk to you because that is God’s calling on my heart.

Secondly, you need a Bible. Click Here to get a Bible. If you can’t get one because of financial hardship, email me and we’ll see what we can do. Once you have your Bible, you have the spiritual sustenance that’s going to maintain you daily. You need to spend as much time in it as you humanly can. In its absence, you become more vulnerable. Of course you’ll have questions, but that’s what we’re here for.

Third, maintain the relationship with God through prayer. Reading his word and prayer go hand in hand. He speaks to you through the Bible and your heart while in prayer. Talk to him like you would a father that knows everything about you, because that’s what he is. He is your Father, he is your God. Taking care of you is his business, so give it all to him.

Now, one of the key factors in becoming a Christian is leaving the old life behind. Remember this: once saved, you should not be comfortable in the life you lived before. You’re life needs to change radically for Jesus. Some people get discouraged by this, but let me tell you that while it seems daunting at first, it only gets better. That’s not to say that you’ll never encounter problems. In fact, you’ll probably encounter many problems. The very fact that you now follow Jesus brings them to you. You will learn to take joy when you encounter trials of many kinds. It is the only way to build your faith. The truth is there can never really be long lasting happiness unless you change and live for him. There is temporal satisfaction, but it’s temporal—it comes to an end. Momentary satisfaction doesn’t carry you to eternity, Jesus does. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. Don’t look at it as though coming to Jesus is giving you all kinds of new burdens; rather, you are the one with all the problems and Jesus offers to take them from you. He doesn’t have problems—he’s God. Once with Jesus, he’s going to raise you up and discipline you as a loving father would—it just happens that he’s a perfect father as well.

When you are told that you should take joy in the fact that you’re having problems, it’s because your faith is being tested. If you rise to the occasion and trust in Jesus during the crises your faith will be strengthened. Imagine working out and having sore muscles afterward. It may not be pleasant at the time, but getting through it and dealing with the pain results in strengthened muscles. Be comforted by the fact that God administers his lessons in bits and pieces being careful never to give you more than you can handle. He always gives you a way out of temptation and he always works to build you up.

Sometimes, your problems won’t be from God, they’ll be brought on by your own stupid choices. These problems, while your own fault, can result in bring you closer to God. In all honesty, there are many of these moments during your walk. Just keep in mind that you’re being unfaithful, not God. When you’re ready to admit your stupidity, he’s already there waiting for you. God is always faithful. When you stumble, just try to make it one step backward followed by two steps forward. Your faith should not revert to where it was when you were first saved. Keep it growing. Nurture it. If you find that you’ve gone back to your old ways, make the changes necessary. You’ll find that God’s been there waiting for you the whole time.

So, my word of advice to you is to continue to know God better. Love him with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul.