Congratulations on growing in your relationship with Jesus Christ!
This is the beginning of your new life in Christ and Christ in you!
You have much to look forward to as you begin to learn from Jesus and look to the Lord for everything, every need, and for Him to be your abundant joy.
You also have much to be careful of – there are many dangers — but God is with you. He’s for you! So don’t fear, only believe!
There are a few foundational truths you should learn first. These truths are also eternal promises from God to you… for you to depend on and find comfort.
Here are a few such promises:
“Therefore, if anyone is united with [Jesus] the Anointed One, that person is a new creation. The old life is gone—and see—a new life has begun! All of this is a gift from our Creator God, who has pursued us and brought us into a restored and healthy relationship with Him through the Anointed…” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18a VOICE)
Jesus said, “Anyone who loves Me will listen to My voice and obey. The Father will love him, and We will draw close to him and make a dwelling place within him” (John 14: 23 VOICE)
I hope you caught the significance of what Jesus promised — He is in you! The Holy Spirit is in you, helping, comforting, and guiding you. Our job is to continually listen for His still small voice and follow His leading.
Secondly, WELCOME to the worldwide family God, and greetings from your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Think about it: we who believe in Jesus are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father made possible through His amazing grace! Not only has God sacrificially rescued us from sin and eternal torment, but He has lovingly adopted us into an eternal relationship with Him now and in the life to come!
This “adoption” is encapsulated by in 1 John 2:25:
“And this is the promise He has promised us, even Eternal Life!”
And this is precisely why we chose this verse as the Eternal Promises tagline.
Here are some more promises to encourage you regarding your new relationship with God:
“Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn’t recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either.
“My loved ones, we have been adopted into God’s family; and we are officially His children now. The full picture of our destiny is not yet clear, but we know this much:when Jesus appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. All those who focus their hopes on Him and His coming seek to purify themselves just as He is pure” (1 John 3:1-3 VOICE)
“You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear. The Spirit you have received adopts you and welcomes you into God’s own family. That’s why we call out to Him, “Abba! Father!” as we would address a loving daddy. Through that prayer, God’s Spirit confirms in our spirits that we are His children. If we are God’s children, that means we are His heirs along with [Jesus] the Anointed, set to inherit everything that is His…” (Romans 8:15-17a)
Surrendering your life to the Lord is not without difficulty, however. In fact, the Lord encouraged His followers to “endure to the end” and be overcomers.
One of Jesus’ earliest disciples, Paul the apostle, took trips with another disciple, Barnabas, to encourage the other believers. What was his message of encouragement? Be prepared for tribulations, troubles, trials… tough times.
“After preaching the Good News there and making many disciples, [Paul and Barnabas] returned again to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, where they helped the believers to grow in love for God and each other. They encouraged them to continue in the faith in spite of all the persecution, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations. Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church and prayed for them with fasting, turning them over to the care of the Lord in whom they trusted” (Acts 14: 21-23 TLB)
You see, the Good News is that God is FOR YOU! Here’s an eternal promise to convince you of your position in Christ:
“…If God is on our side, then tell me:whom should we fear? If He did not spare His own Son, but handed Him over on our account, then don’t you think that He will graciously give us all things with Him?” (Romans 8:31b-32)
“So who can separate us? What can come between us and the love of God’s Anointed? Can troubles, hardships, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or even death? The answer is, absolutely nothing.
As the psalm says,
‘On Your behalf, our lives are endangered constantly;
we are like sheep awaiting slaughter.’But no matter what comes, we will always taste victory through Him who loved us. For I have every confidence that nothing—not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing—can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord
God has begun a good work in you and will see it through until the very end. It’s true! You will hunger and thirst for the Lord. The Holy Spirit will be helping you to identify areas that need cleansing, things that are not pleasing to God.
Know your enemy
But you also must be aware of Satan — God’s adversary (and ours). This enemy of God is out to steal, kill, and destroy. He will try to tempt you, accuse you, and convince you to simply become complacent in your pursuit of God. Don’t listen. Don’t give the Devil the time of day. Rebuke Satan. Simply submit to God and Satan will flee from you. It really is that simple. But be aware, that .this enemy of Christ’s and of us will try again. Be alert at all times and trust in the Lord. (Read Ephesians 6 for help with spiritual warfare.)
Jesus said “Count the costs” of discipleship
You will also suffer persecution when you begin to simply live out your faith in Christ, because those in the world — those currently under Satan’s influence — hate Jesus Christ.
Sadly, even many who profess to know Jesus will hate or despise you. Jesus said it would be this way, so don’t worry and don’t be surprise, but do be aware. Remember, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to give you discernment as you rely upon God for everything.
Believe, trust, and obey the Lord. Jesus said it’s your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom of God. As you grow and mature, God will be working in you and through you to reach many people with Eternal Life.
Miracle Grow
To help you in your journey, we’ve compiled a few topics that are essential for your growth. Please take your time to read and understand each topic.
And, remember, if you need any help along the way, just ask and we will be happy to assist you in your journey.
Get ready to inherit eternal blessings by obeying God in these next steps of your faith and showing Jesus how much you love Him for how He loved you!
