What must I do to be a Christian?

Ever wonder what all the fuss is about? What is becoming a Christian is all about? Do I need to be a Christian? If so, WHY.

Do you want to go to Heaven when you die? The Bible explains that we all go to one of two places when we die....one is called Heaven, and the other is called Hell. The difference between the two is simple - Heaven is where God is, and Hell is a place reserved for the Devil and his angels. If you are not a follower of Jesus, then God says you are of your father the Devil. We ALL have sinned and fall short of God's standard : His Son Jesus Christ. We cannot within ourselves become good enough to meet God's standard. The ONLY way is for us to receive Jesus into our hearts by asking Him to forgive us of our sins against Him and become Lord of our lives, and turning away from the things that kept us separated from Him. God accepts us as we are. And when you accept Christ, a whole new life becomes available to you. You are accepted into the family of God. You will know what so many people describe as a "weight was lifted off my shoulders" actually means. The Holy Spirit will become part of your being, and will guide you in decisions of right and wrong. You see, God not only wants to be your God in Heaven, but He wants to be a part of your everyday life- so that you can have life "more abundantly". And that is just the beginning - not the end.

As a child of God, our goal should be to please Him, and to praise Him for all that He has done. I believe that a new Christian's first step should be to be baptized. Not that we need to do this so our salvation is complete, but we get baptized to show what God did for us. The next step should be to join a local church - a group of people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that the ONLY way to Heaven is thru His shed blood - the finished work on the cross. Once united with a local church, it does one well to remember that these people are flawed human beings just as you are, and that they too make mistakes. The church should be a place where everyone strives to serve the Lord, and our actions and speech and way of life should reflect how God has changed us. Change is sometimes hard to do, as our old habits still tend to want to dominate our lives, but the Spirit now lives within us and guides us in the direction we should go. BUT..the choice is still yours to make on what you will do. How close to God we get depends on the many choices we encounter during any given day. Change is also slow sometimes. But with a church you can have a lot of people who may know what you are going thru. It may surprise you to find out that some have been thru the same thing, or at least something similar.

So where does it end? The good news is - it doesn't. God has a multitude of promises for you in this lifetime, even more than just peace, protection, and never leaving. And the things he has promised in life after death: I Cor 2:9 says "But, as it is written, ’What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’". God says we cant even imagine what he has in store for us.

Today as you read this, you have another one of those many daily decisions to make. Do I give my life to Christ - or do I not? The choice is yours.