Let’s say you or someone you know has just had that moment, that moment when you surrendered your life to Jesus. The world is so fresh and new and you are ready to conquer it all for the Lord. You just got baptized, but now what? You have no idea how to really get started.
Well, have no fear, I’ve put this simple list together to help you take the next steps; to become one of God’s people and to become like Jesus!
Luke 6.40 says, “A student is not above his teacher but every student when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.”
Here are three simple tips that will help you start your journey with Jesus; uno, dos, tres.
Uno: It’s an Everyday Thing
Make a plan to not stay a “baby” in your faith. You’re a brand new member of God’s family, Jesus has just purchased you with his own blood. You have a new life in Christ, and new brothers and sisters in Christ, a family.
But like all good parents, God the Father wants you to grow and to contribute to growing the family. It seems like most believers are not too interested in the maturing process. (Teenagers!) But God wants to teach us things so that we can one day teach others.
To do this you need to connect with the Father daily through prayer and time in the scriptures. A new parent wouldn’t leave their kid in the corner and not feed their growing bodies! We shouldn’t ignore our own spiritual growth either!
Start to make a plan to spend time each day feeding your personal relationship with Jesus. It may take work, but it’s the most important thing so we don’t stay spiritual babies… or teenagers!
Dos: Jump in the Deep End (of the River)
Now you are connecting with God, and you want to tell the world, something this good must be shared with others. You just can’t hold it in!
A few years ago we went to Israel and one of the most unique things was visiting the Dead Sea. They call it the Dead Sea because there are no living organisms inside because there is nowhere for the water that is coming in, to go out. It’s a one way street. Sure this sea is filled with precious minerals and it is a sight to see, but it’s dead.
Comparatively the Jordan River is also a big part of the Israeli landscape and here we have water coming in and going out, providing life for the land around it.
We want our spiritual lives to be more like the Jordan, as we take all the things the Lord is teaching us, we also want to able to push it out effectively.
But how do you share the things you just learned? You may feel like you’re not qualified, but take heart, most of the original followers of Christ changed the world with no degree nor any schooling. Jesus could very well take over and do all the work in sharing the Good News of Himself, but He’s chosen to use His people to be a part of the work!
We see time and again the example of this in Jesus ministry, but my favorite might just be when He feeds the five thousand in Mark 6. He says to the disciples, “What do you have (to feed the people)? Go and see.” As you may know he then takes the meager food they had to offer and makes it into a feast! He can do the same with our spiritual knowledge when we are willing to share it with others. Trust the Lord with what you have and let Him use it. If all that you know is that Jesus changed your life, come up with an effective way of sharing that with others.
Sharing what you know is both an art and a science and it takes time to develop both. The the key is to get in the habit of practicing! Start by sharing with those you are most comfortable with and fellow brothers and sisters in the Kingdom.
Speaking of which…
Tres: Get Tight with the Family
Don’t forget that you can always get help from an older sibling in the faith. And nurturing that relationship with all your fellow brothers and sisters in the faith is the last but not least most important thing when you’re starting out.
There is no such thing as an only child in the faith. We were built to be part of a church, a community, a family.
As you know, relationships with family members are not always easy but in a spiritual sense we should always be moving forward and going deeper. My younger brother knows just how to push my buttons, he is the one person in the world that can bother me like no one else can. What if we did the same thing with our fellow believers, but for the positive?
We have to intentionally reach out and be a part of each others lives. Hebrews 3:13 says, “But encourage one another daily as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin.”
How can you build up God’s church? How can you be built up in Jesus? Trial and error my friends. Besides, you can’t trade in your family, might as well make it work.
Get Started Today
These three fundamentals in the faith:
- Spending daily time with Jesus in His Word and in prayer
- Sharing what we know and
- Being an active member of God’s family
are things that we can start doing as “baby” Christians and continue to cultivate and grow in all the way until we’re “grandparent” material! The good news is that we’re all in this together and now we all know where to start!
