So, you’ve made the choice to be a follower of Jesus Christ. That is an awesome decision; one that you will never regret. But we know that the initial stages of your new life as a Christian can be a bit intimidating. You may be thinking:
• What do I do next, and how do I learn more?
• Will my personality change?
• Are there rules and regulations?
• What have I gotten myself into?
We know that you might be vacillating between excitement, hesitation and curiosity.

Well, you can start by taking a deep breath and relaxing. The process of growing as a Christian is a simple as getting to know someone who will become your best friend. In fact, it is easier than that because Jesus Christ is already in love with you, and He has been all along, even before you made the decision to follow Him.

The process of knowing God on an intimate, personal basis is not difficult. He wants that to happen. And as you learn more about Him, you’ll realize how much He cares for you. What He said centuries ago still applies to you today:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. . . . when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU

God Has Saved You Forever:

The Bible reveals God’s plan to establish a relationship with humanity. There are lots of verses in the Bible (a total of 31,101 to be exact), but we can quickly direct you to the one that sums it up succinctly:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Let’s dissect this verse to look at several of the components of salvation:

1. For God so loved the world. This is an incredible concept that is even more amazing than it might appear. Remember that God is perfect, and humanity is not. God is holy, and we are far from it. We aren’t just a few notches below God on the righteousness scale; He is at the top, and we don’t even make the chart. Yet God loves us in our “as is” condition. Despite all of our failings, flaws and imperfections, He loves us.

2. That he gave his only Son. We weren’t pursuing Him; He initiated the steps to connect with us. Because our sins prevented the connection, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was necessary to pay the penalty that we deserved.

3. So that everyone who believes in him. Christianity is not limited to those of a particular country, political group, ethnicity or economic standings. It is available to everyone. The only criterion is belief. We have the choice to accept or reject God’s offer of salvation. Our acceptance takes the form of believing that Christ’s death and resurrection is the means by which our sins are forgiven and we establish a relationship with Christ. Belief is more than just intellectual acknowledgment of these facts; it includes a volitional aspect of following God’s plan rather than our own selfish desires.

4. Will not perish but have eternal life. The physical death that awaits humanity is not the end; as spiritual beings with a soul, we have eternity before us. For Christians, that eternity will be spent with Christ. But it doesn’t kick in only upon our death; it begins at the moment our salvation.

The concepts explained in John 3:16 are examples of God’s grace. In the theological context, grace simply means, “unmerited favor,” as in: God loves us, but we’ve done nothing to deserve His gift of salvation. Think about what God’s grace means to you on a personal level:

• God loves you unconditionally. It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past. And because God already knows what you are going to do in the future, that doesn’t matter either. His love doesn’t hinge on what you’ve done or not done; it is unconditional because He is a God of grace.
• God’s salvation is a free gift, even though you don’t deserve it. This is a “come as you are” offer. You don’t have to clean up your act to qualify. The offer isn’t extended to you because you are good. Just the opposite. You aren’t, and God knows you won’t stand a chance in Hell without His gift of salvation. Just because salvation is free and readily available to you, don’t ever think that it is cheap; always remember that you salvation came at the cost of Christ’s death on the cross.
• There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. Because God’s love for you is already limitless, you don’t have to worry about satisfying periodic performance testing to stay in His good graces. Oh, sure, you’ll probably want to align your lifestyle to fall within His principles, but that will happen as you realize that God’s blueprint for living makes sense. There is no pressure to rack up “brownie points” with God; He wants your love for Him to be motivated by love, not forced compliance.
• There is nothing you can do to make God love you less. Don’t worry about God imposing some divine guilt trip on you. Sure, He desires that you live according to His principles. But God isn’t going to love you less if blow it from time to time. You won’t be living under pressure to satisfy some angelic behavioral standard to retain your salvation. Doesn’t that take some pressure off? Doesn’t that make you more grateful for His grace?

In Bible terminology, faith and belief mean more than a confidence in certain circumstances (such as “I have faith in gravity” or “I believe gas prices will rise”). The kind of faith that leads to salvation involves attitudes of your mind (belief), your spirit (trust) and your heart (adoration).

Blessing to all.