WELCOME
WELCOME to the Family of God!
His Holy Spirit now lives in you and God's Holy Bible says…
God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him [by believing in his son Jesus Christ] and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven - and the future starts now! 1 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT and MSG)
Now, when others wonder why there is a change in you, don't hesitate to let them know that you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and you have accepted Him as your Savior! Speaking about your belief in Christ is another part of being saved. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)
The HOLY BIBLE is the guide for all of God's Children.
The Bible (God's holy word) contains a very large amount of information to help us to know who God is. Throughout the Bible you will see that God refers to us, those who believe in Him and his Son Jesus, as His Children! So, now that you've accepted Christ Jesus as your Savior, throughout the remainder of your life God sees you and shall treat you as His Child. As children of God, our most important duty is to love. God's holy word tells us about a lawyer who questioned Christ on the most important commandment asking, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22:36-39
When we do these two things, we fulfill everything required of us in God's holy word! And, this is only right. After all, it's because of God's great love towards us that we are Saved and our sins are forgiven! The Bible makes it perfectly clear that "we all fall short" of perfectly obeying God's Word and truly living perfect lives. But, still God's love for us is so great that He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him - and that way is by believing in and receiving His Holy Son, Jesus. Know this, the definition of God is "LOVE!" God is love; and he that dwells in love (meaning to "live" in love), dwells in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:16
Make it your goal to keep in mind how much God loves you. Life will still have some troubles and hardships. But the difference is, now you have Jesus to help you through. Jesus wants to help you! And, God promises you that he will never leave or forsake you! Hebrews 13:5
Oh! So, you think God's word is just a lot of "don't do this and don't do that!" Well, think about raising a toddler. Without a parent teaching the child to stay away from danger, the child may experience a lot of harm: a burn from a stove or hot iron; drowning in a swimming pool; electrical shock from a socket; and the list goes on! This is how God, our Heavenly Father, sees us! We may not always understand why God doesn't want us to do some things, but if we obey Him we will come to see and understand that He's simply trying to keep us from danger, "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
This leads us to our final spiritual advice to you: PLEASE get in and stay in God's Word, develop a habit of prayer, and join a Christian CHURCH! These three work together. [Now that you've accepted Jesus Christ, the devil - the evil one - doesn't like it! He'll do anything he can to turn you away from God. This is why we Christians need God's Word, prayer and a Christian church family.]
At first, you may not quite understand all that you're reading in God's Word - the Holy Bible - but, keep at it every day! There are many newer versions of the Bible that are easier to read. (A few we recommend are the New International Version, the New Living Translation and The Message Bible.) Begin by reading the gospel of John, which is the fourth New Testament book -some older bibles may call it St. John. Here you will come to know just how God "proved" his love for us, and what Jesus had to go through to make salvation possible for us.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends. John 15:13
Prayer is our communication with God. God does not want to be a "distant lover!" The bible tell us…
"Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, the CHURCH will provide us with understanding and fellowship. As you seek a church home, check to see if their "bible" and teachings are based on Jesus Christ, not as just a man or just a prophet, but as the only begotten holy and perfect Son of God. Here are a few extremely important scriptures to check for:
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:18 - He that believeth on him [Jesus] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Acts 4:12 - Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
1 John 5:10 - He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Without the truth of these scriptures, you'll be lead into damnation - which is the goal of the evil one!
STAY AWAY FROM ANY BIBLE AND ANY CHURCH WITHOUT THESE SCRIPTURES!
Now let us pray one last prayer. This one is for you, me and all of God's children everywhere because we ALL need his continual help and guidance.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your love. Thank you for your saving grace,
through your son Jesus Christ. Please teach us and help us to love you
sincerely, with everything we've got. Keep us, we pray, from the feelings
of guilt and condemnation - which can lead us to doubt you. Help us to love
everyone, even when we don't like the things they may do. Lead us to a
church where your love dwells and your Holy Word is the guide. Teach us
and help us, through your Holy Spirit, to live out the rest of our lives pleasing
and acceptable to you, so that we may have life more abundantly and so
that we may truly give you all the praise and honor you deserve. Please
keep us and protect us from the evil one and evil temptations. We want you,
O Lord, to be glorified in us. Thank you again for loving us and making us
a part of your holy family! In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Amen.
