How I become a child of God
Now we want to show you how it works:
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God!
John 3,5
This means that we must acknowledge our sins, accept God’s forgiveness, and entrust our lives to Him.
We will be saved by faith and not through our works, like in the other religions
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.
Ephesians 2,8+9; Rom. 3,20; 4,2-5; Gal. 2,16; 2thTim.1,9
You can come to God the way you are right now. You don’t need to become a “good person” first by your own strength. Only the attitude of your heart is important.
But to follow Jesus has consequences. Jesus is no further hobby or a good buddy.
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it..
Matth.7,13-14
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| The broad and the narrow Way "Artwork © Copyright by Duncan Long. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the artist." |
He is the sovereign almighty God and creator and HE will, that we follow HIM
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matth.16,24-25
HE will be the No. 1 in our Life
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and
follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses
his life for My sake will find it.
Matth.10,37-39
HE will, that we are doing what HE says
„But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes
to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a
man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.And the ruin of that house was great.”
Lukas 6,46-49
You can pray along the following lines, when You thought about all and if You will follow Jesus:
„Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you that you died for me. Please cleanse me from my sins. I want to commit my life to you. Please come into my heart. Create in me a clean heart and a new spirit. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Amen.“
If you are undecided about following Jesus because you still have some doubts, but you are honestly searching for the truth, you could pray the following:
„Jesus, if you really exist and if you are really risen, please reveal yourself to me and let me recognise you.“
When you commit your life to Jesus, the following happens:
- You become a child of God and you can say „Father“ to Him Matthew 6,9
- Your sins are forgiven
Colossians 1,14
- Jesus Christ is lord of your life
John 20,28
- You will receive the Holy Spirit to help you understand God’s will and transform you step by step
Acts 2,38
- You will receive peace, hope and joy
Romans 14,17; John 14,27; Romans 15,4
Note: For many people it is not possible to see God as a loving father, because they had very bad experiences with their biological father. Look to Jesus. He said to one of His disciples:
“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
John 14,9
Life as a Christian
Living with Jesus means having a relationship with Him that needs nurturing. Here are some helpful tips:
- Try not to live your life as a Christian out of your own strength, because it will run out quickly. Make use of the power of the Holy Spirit. Ask God daily to forgive your sins. You will continue making mistakes - remember that Christians are not better people, they are just better off.
- Read God’s word, the bible, every day and talk to Him. Reading the bible is like taking in nutrition. You can use booklets to assist you in understanding what it means.
Prayer is like breathing. Daily prayer is very important. In praying, you are talking to God, and in reading the bible, He is answering you. It is like taking care of a relationship.
- Be open about your belief in Jesus. At first you might be mocked and shunned, but this will last only a short while. You might also lose some apparent friends. This doesn’t matter. You will keep real friends and gain new ones.
- Count on the fact that Satan will not easily put up with you „changing sides“. Expect initial difficulties.
- Even with Jesus, not everything will be nice and easy like a holiday. Problems will arise just as in the past. But now you can deal with them differently.
That’s why you mustn’t make your belief dependent on your feelings, temper or mood.
- God wants to use you for His kingdom. Alongside the gifts given to you by the Holy Spirit, God wants you to use your natural talents for His purposes.
The significance of the Christian church
A life with God is not one-man-show. When we become Christians we are placed into a big world-wide family, unbound by confession. This family is called the “body of Christ”.
We need this family for support and for personal correction in our spiritual lives.
It is the vital foundation for an individual’s faith and so it is important that you get together with others who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour, and join a healthy church.
The following picture clarifies this point:
Several burning pieces of wood make up a nice bonfire. If one piece gets isolated, it will extinguish soon.
Without being in a community with other Christians, your relationship with Jesus Christ can grow cold quickly or take a wrong turn.
At our „Vereinigung christlicher Kampfsportler“ (Christian Fight oriented Sports Ministry) - meetings we have noticed very often how we get inspired in faith. We have realised what power lies in our prayers for one another. We can always strengthen, encourage and support each other in spiritual and sporting matters.
Back to "The way to God " and the other storys.