What should I do when I have become a Christian?
Becoming a Christian is the start of a new life. Once you have turned to him God will never give you up - he is always with you and is always ready to forgive and welcome you back if you distance yourself from Him.. There are several things which will help you in your Christian life:
Pray
God has given the gift of being able to pray to him. We can praise and thank him for what he has done and what he is, we can ask him to help us, we can ask him to forgive us.We can pray for other people and for the problems there are in the world. Sometimes he speaks to us when we are praying. A Christian should pray a lot because the more we pray the closer we get to God and the better we know him.
Sometimes God gives a special language to pray in. If he gives this to you use it even if you do not understand what you are saying. This is one of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives and is called speaking in tongues. You can read about it in the Bible, particularly in Acts and in 1 Corinthians.
Jesus's disciples asked him to teach them to pray. He taught them a prayer which is written in Matthew's gospel, chapter 6, verses 6-16. It is good to use this prayer. (Often the old style of English is used when saying this prayer. It is written here in modern English.)
"Our Father who is in Heaven, may your name be feared as holy. May your kingdom come and your will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today our daily food and forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive those who have wronged us. And lead us not into temptation but keep us safe from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen."
Tell Someone
It is not always easy to tell someone if you have become a Christian but it is something you should do if you can.
Jesus said ," "Everyone who acknowledges me before men I will also acknowledge before my father in Heaven, but whoever denies me before men I will also deny before my father in Heaven." Matthew 10 v 32.
Read the Bible
The Bible tells us how God wants us to live and about God and Jesus. A Christian will grow stronger the more he reads the Bible and thinks about what it teaches.
Contact the church
If you are in a country where you can meet with other Christians it is very helpful to do so. Christians meet to pray together, to learn what the Bible says, to worship God together, to help each other with their problems, and to tell other people about Jesus.
If there are several churches near you visit a few and see which one you feel God wants you to be part of.
Forgive
God has forgiven you the bad things you have done and you must forgive people the bad things they have done to you. This is not always easy but it is important if you are going to please God.
Ask God what He wants you to do
This is part of praying - God has some purpose for you and if you ask him he will show you what it is. When you know what God wants you to do, do it.
Pray for more of God's Holy Spirit
Part of God comes to live inside every Christian. This is the Holy Spirit. If we ask God he will give us more of his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts to tell us when we are wrong, and to tell us God loves us, and also works to change our lives to be more like the people God wants us to be. The things we should see growing in our lives are called fruit of the Holy Spirit. Also God sometimes gives special abilities to us, known as gifts of the Holy Spirit.
You can read about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 v 22-23, and the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 (and other places in the Bible).
Praise God
As well as praising God in words we can use music. Christians have always sung Psalms and hymns to praise God. It helps us to worship him, and gives pleasure to us and, we believe, to God.
Give
It is right to give away some of what God has given you. Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10 v 8. Give as much as you think God wants you to (in the Old Testament people are told to give one tenth of what they earn, and many Christians think this is the right amount to give), and give it to where you think God wants you to. Be careful of other people telling you who you should give to - especially if they tell you to give the money to them! It is for you to decide. Remember "God loves a cheerful giver".
Read or search the Internet
This is less important that the things above, but there are a lot of helpful Christian books and sites on the internet. Remember that the Bible is most important, and anything people have written which goes against what the Bible says is wrong.
A very useful book (or internet site) is a Concordance. This helps to find things in the Bible.
Christian Music
There are many songs and hymns written praising God and Jesus and it is good to sing them. There are many sites of Christian music on the internet or CDs can be bought. Or God may give you new songs to praise him.
A possible daily routine
I have no authority to tell you what to do. What is important is to
pray
read the Bible and meditate on it
tell someone about Jesus
do something good
pray
Click here for What is a Christian?
Click here for Why should I become a Christian?
Click here for How do I become a Christian?
Click here for Why not become a Christian?
Click here for What is the Bible?
Contact
If you would like to contact us e-mail mail@beachristian.info