I believe accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the most important decision you can ever make, because through it you have everlasting life. I thank God that we can be saved and when we die we can go to heaven. But what about all the years between now and the time we go to heaven?
Salvation is just the beginning of a full, happy Christian life. However, I’ve found that some of the most need-centered, joyless people in the world are saved people. Christians. They are unhappy because they don’t know how to deal with their problems and needs here on earth. In heaven we won’t have needs. It’s in this life-span that we must have answers to our problems. And God has made that provision for us through His abundance.
I believe that when you learn God’s way of doing things and do them, you can be a victorious Christian. And you can have a happy, joyful life in Jesus Christ IN THE NOW!
It is important that you become a disciple. When you become a Christian, you don’t necessarily become a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is a follower and a learner. You can be converted in a moment but it takes a lifetime to become a disciple.
CONVERSION is what God does for you;
DISCIPLESHIP is what you do for God.
Conversion is that moment of seeking God when by His grace He freely forgives and makes you into a new creation, ready for heaven. Discipleship takes a lifetime of loving and giving on your part. Jesus said:
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me (Luke 9:23).
Jesus is not talking here about the instant experience of salvation. He is talking about living for Him on a day- to-day basis ... keeping your Christian experience always in the NOW. To become a disciple means you start following the Man Jesus and learning of Him daily.
The word disciple carries with it the idea of discipline. Discipleship, as Jesus taught it, means total commitment and bringing oneself under His authority. To use Andrew Murray’s phrase, “Discipleship is enrolling in Christ’s school of obedience.” When we reach this place of discipleship, we will recognize that when Jesus asks something of us, He always has a blessing to give us in return.
The Lord asks for our faith and obedience. The world is not into faith, nor into obedience. But as His disciples, we are called to separate ourselves from the world — from all who would stand in the path of obedience, from all who are against those who obey God. Christ asks this of us. But His demands are not oppressive. They are demands based upon God’s love for us and His belief in us. What God wants us to be, we accept. We gladly obey. We receive His gift of authority as a gift of life because we know God is a good God. He only wants the best for us.
Now I want to share with you some important things that I believe will help you enter into God’s rhythm of successful Christian living. Starting today!
1. Attend church regularly.
2. Study God’s Word daily.
3. Learn to witness for Christ.
4. Practice Seed-Faith.
5. Release your faith.
6. Use a point of contact.
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