Christianity is first a foremost a relationship with God through Jesus, His son. Jesus was not just a first-century Jewish peasant; He was and is Savior for all who choose to accept Him. Jesus said (in Revelation 3:20), "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me." If a person is wanting to know God better, the first thing to do is accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord for life. You may feel a significant difference! Then again you may not. Either way, if you're honest and sincere in your desire to turn your life over to Jesus, God will come to you.

Coming to know God and being freed from the power of sin is called salvation. The apostle John, one of Jesus' close followers, wrote the following (in 1 John 1:9): "If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This shows a two-part process. The first part is called justification, which brings forgiveness and removes the guilt of sin. The person who has prayed to accept Christ is removed from judgement by God, and will not be in danger of condemnation for as long as the faith is kept. We receive a pardon from God, and are subject to inherit eternal life. The second part is called sanctification, which is the process by which God removes the power of sin. As a person grows in spiritual maturity they experience God's cleansing power removing sin from our lives and building us up in godly love and holiness.

The Holy Spirit is the divine help that is sent to us. He is God's spiritual presence living inside of us, giving us guidance, comfort, direction, and God's wisdom. Jesus said (in John 14:16-18), "...I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." The Holy Spirit will come to you and will dwell inside of you if you accept Christ as Savior.

Living the Christian life entails living in discipleship to Jesus Christ. Basically this involves three things:
Living out the teachings of Jesus in our lives. This includes loving and worshipping God, loving everyone around us, loving our enemies, forgiving those who violate us, as well as learning and following His other teachings in the Bible.
Caring for people in need (e.g.- the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the poor, the oppressed, those who are imprisoned, the lonely, etc.) and living a pure life that is free from the sinful ways of the world (e.g.- alcohol, drugs, immoral sexual behavior, worldly luxuries, excessive wealth, violence, etc.). Jesus' half-brother James wrote (in James 1:27), "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." That sums it up.
Finding our ministry and carrying it out. The Bible teaches that God has given every follower of Jesus a spiritual gift. (This is seen in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4.) We are to try to discover what are gift is and carry it out in our lives, so that our lives will bring blessing to others.

We cannot live this lifestyle by ourselves. We need the help of the Holy Spirit and brothers and sisters in Christ. We need fellowship. The Bible teaches Christians to assemble together to build each other up in love and encourage each other in discipleship. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "...let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

If you have questions or would like to know more, please e-mail me.

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