Once you believe and turn to God in repentance, you are put on the road to salvation, a road that will end in eternity if you stay on it. Talk to God in prayer, read the Bible and meditate on it. As you read the Bible, do what it says, apply it in your life. Listen to your conscience and to the Holy Spirit in you.
As you do that, your faith will grow stronger. God will give you more and more clarity to understand him and his ways. He will start to reveal his specific will for your life. God has a well-defined plan with each of his children, but it’s our responsibility to seek God and ask him to reveal it to us.
In order to grow spiritually it is important to seek the company of other believers who are true children of God. Pray for guidance in choosing who to associate yourself with and tread with caution, because most who call themselves Christians are Christians in name only, and most churches these days are just religious clubs. If you associate with them, you will become a religious hypocrite like them. You don’t want to do that.
True Christians are led by the Spirit of God.
[Romans 8:14] All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
True Christians love one another. Jesus said:
[John 13:35] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
[John 15:12] This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
The Bible also says:
[Romans 13:9-10] The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Once you turn to God, he wants you to keep seeking him and to draw closer to him.
[James 4:8] Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Never stop seeking God. Strive for a deeper relationship with him. If you are serious, he promises you:
[Jeremiah 29:13] You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jesus told a group of people who had believed in him:
[John 8:31-32] If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
There are different degrees of knowing God, different levels of intimacy with him and his Son. Jesus told his disciples during the last supper before his execution:
[John 14:21-23] He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. … If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
God wants us to be relentless in our pursuit of him, to keep asking, seeking and knocking. Jesus said:
[Luke 11:9-13] Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. … If you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Here is more of what the Bible says about seeking God.
[Hebrews 11:6] Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
[Proverbs 8:17] I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Being a Christian is not always easy. During our journey to the kingdom of God, we will all go through many trials and temptations, but we must remain steadfast in faith.
The apostle Paul told new believers:
[Acts 14:22] Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus never promised us an easy life, only that he will be with us through our trials and temptations. No matter how hard it gets, we must persevere. Even if we are hated and persecuted, we must not give up. Jesus said:
[Matthew 10:22] You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Christians are persecuted in many places today, some even to death. Even if we have to face severe persecution, we must not renounce our faith. Jesus said:
[Matthew 10:28] Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
No matter the circumstances, we must not grumble and complain against God. He is always in control and knows very well what he is doing. Everything he does in our life has a purpose and is for our own good, to build us up.
Things may not always work out the way we want and expect. Our faith will be tested in many ways. Some who started the race well will fall along the way and won’t make it to the finish line. Jesus himself said:
[Matthew 22:14] Many are called, but few are chosen.
Will you be one of the chosen few? Jesus warned his followers to count the cost, because all who follow him will pay a price.
[Luke 14:27-30] Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Have you counted the cost? How much are you willing to sacrifice to follow Jesus? Jesus said:
[Luke 9:23-26] If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Jesus told his disciples to expect persecution:
[John 15:20] Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
The Bible also says:
[2 Timothy 3:12] All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Following Jesus is a life-long commitment, so please don’t take this decision lightly. His way is already considered narrow-minded, divisive, bigoted, outdated, wrong, and misguided. In the coming years this hostility will only increase, and those who want to live a godly life will be increasingly persecuted and rejected. Are you willing to endure that?
If you counted the cost and are willing to pay it, let go of your old life and don’t look back. Jesus said:
[Luke 9:62] No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Jesus also said:
[Matthew 13:44-46] The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Do you understand what these words mean? How much is the kingdom of God worth to you?