Do you know how much Jesus really loves you? The Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of all life, died for His creation (that’s you and me!). There is no greater love than this! What better way to live the rest of your life than to live for the one you cares for you and has the power to raise you up from the dead. If you have truly repented of your sins and are determined to live the rest of your life for Jesus, this booklet has been written to help you grow in your new Christian life. If you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you have received the gift of eternal life. This is truly a time of rejoicing! Did you know that the angels in heaven are rejoicing because of you? “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10). You have made the right choice to the most important decision of your life.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). In this verse Jesus is talking about a spiritual rebirth. It is how to become a child of God. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”(John 1:12). Becoming a child of God is becoming alive unto God. You must be sorrowful for all your sins against God and determined to forsake sinful living so you can obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Being born again means that you have received a new spiritual birth and instead of living for your own selfish desires you now want to live for and obey God. You have passed from death unto life and you have become a new creation. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

We need to clearly understand that being a Christian is not about a bunch of rules or rituals. It is about having a personal relationship with the living God. A true Christian will truly want to please His Lord, not just because he has been saved from hell, but because he loves Jesus with his whole heart. It is a daily life-style. No longer do you have to live in any kind of bondage to try to appease a higher power. All God asks of you is your obedience and as you put your trust in Him He will give you the desires of your heart. Best of all, His desires will become your desires. It is very important to seek Him in the following ways:

1). READ THE BIBLE EVERYDAY. The Bible is the word of God. Learning more about God is done by reading and studying the book that He gave to you. The Bible has every answer to life in it. The Bible is different from all other books because it is God’s living word. Food is needed for your physical body to stay strong; if you do not get enough to eat, you will grow weak in your flesh. The Bible is the same way spiritually. It is a Christian’s spiritual food and you need it daily to survive. God uses His word to speak to you. If you know what the Bible says and you obey it, it will be less likely that you will sin against God. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”(Psalm 119:11). God expects us to read his word. You may not understand everything in God’s word at once, but seek the Lord and ask Him to open your spiritual eyes of understanding and give you knowledge, wisdom, and revelation of Him. If you are faithful in doing this, He will be faithful in teaching you His truths also. There is no greater joy than reading and learning what the God of the whole universe has to say. After all, He knows what is best for you. “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him” (Proverbs 30:5). Every word of God can be trusted and is to be our guide in life. A good place to start reading is in the Gospel of John. John is the fourth book of the New Testament. Memorizing God’s word is also very important. If you do not yet have a Bible you can begin by memorizing the scriptures written in the bold print on this paper.

2). PRAY DAILY. Prayer is communication and fellowship with the invisible and holy living God. God desires and wants His children to spend time talking to Him and listening to Him in prayer. Some of the things that you can do in prayer are: praise God's for His goodness and mercy, give thanks to Him daily for His guidance, pray for others (even your enemies), pray for the salvation of the lost, and pray for your own needs. As you read the Bible, your prayers will mature because you will learn the will of God. The Lord teaches us to pray to God the Father and to ask for all things in Jesus’ name.

3). GO TO CHURCH REGULARLY. Going to church is a must to grow in your Christian walk. At church you will learn more about how to live for Jesus, and there will be believers there that will encourage you, pray for you, and strengthen you in your Christian walk. The Bible tells us to fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25). A good church will challenge you to live for God and will teach the Bible as the final authority. God will also use you to share your spiritual gifts with others. The sad thing is that many churches have strayed away from the faith and have followed their own man-made doctrines. You must seek a Bible believing church that preaches the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Beware of going to a Catholic, Jehovah Witness, or Mormon church for these and many others are not Christian, but have added doctrines of devils to the Bible. Below is a guide line of what to look for in a Church. It must believe all the following doctrines to be a good and solid Bible-believing church. If you have a Bible, we encourage you to look up the following scriptures:

A). The entire Bible must be believed - to be the only infallible Word of God and must be taught as truth (1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).

B). Belief in the Trinity - God is present in three distinct persons; God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Ghost. (1 John 5:7). These three are one.

C). Jesus must be worshipped and honored as both the Son of God and God. God alone is to be worshipped. Since Jesus is God, He is to be worshipped. Nothing else but God must ever be worshipped. (Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 24:52)

D). The Doctrine of Jesus Christ: (all of the following must be believed)

1). Jesus Christ is God who became a man (John 1:14).

2). His virgin birth (Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 1:30-38).

3). His substitutionary death through the shedding of His precious blood on the Cross of Calvary (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14)

4). His bodily resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

5). Jesus ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9; Luke 24:51) and that He is now seated at the right hand of

God the Father (Hebrews 1:3).

6). His present ministry as High Priest and Advocate (an intercessor or one who prays 1 John 2:1).

7). His personal return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).

8). He is Head of the Church and the Lord of all creation (Colossians 1:16-18).

E). Jesus Christ must be taught as the only way of salvation to obtain eternal life. Nothing man can do will save them, (no works, confessions, special duties). A person must accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior by faith to be saved (Acts 4:12; Romans 6:23; John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5-6).

4). GET BAPTIZED. The Bible commands all believers to get baptized in water. Water baptism is an outward expression of an inward experience. When you are baptized you are identifying with the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Water baptism does not save you, only faith in Jesus Christ will save you. The Bible says: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” (Acts 2:38a).

5). FORSAKE ALL IDOL WORSHIP. God commands us never to bow down or worship or serve an idol. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (Exodus 20:3-5). A Christian is to serve God alone. The Lord calls idols and other gods devils. “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils (1 Corinthians. 10:21).

6). CLEANSE YOUR HOME OF ALL OCCULT OBJECTS. "Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing" (Deuteronomy 7:26). Do you have anything in your home that is related to the occult or is connected to Hinduism, Buddhism or any other pagan religion? Is there anything in your home that could become a snare to you or be an open door for demonic spirits? It could be a graven image, a religious statue (such as a Catholic saint; a Mary or a crucifix;) an amulet, a good luck charm or occult symbol, pagan jewelry or objects, fetishes, occult books, games, music, movies; and so on. If any of these occult objects are in your home they may become a snare unto you. In the book of Acts it records that there was a great revival in the city of Ephesus. Those who were converted over to the Christian faith had a bonfire and burned all their occult books; "Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver" (Acts 19:19). These new converts in Christ willingly gave up their forbidden books filled with the occult. Let's take a look at what happened after these occult books were burned; "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed" (Acts 19:20). Destroying what God had condemned caused His word to grow. God is serious about what Christians bring into their homes and He is very grieved when He cannot bless His children the way He desires to bless them. Always remember that serving Jesus Christ is the highest privilege and most enjoyable experience that there is, and we should never allow anything that might hinder us from giving our "all" to Him. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). As our loving and merciful Father, God wants to protect His children. If we ignore God’s commandments than we will have to suffer the consequences.

7). FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT- “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). As you grow as a Christian your desire will be to please God and this will lead you to bear good fruit for Him. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). After a person is born again only then are their good works righteous to God. The Holy Spirit inside a person will guide them to produce these fruits.

- a love for the word of God and how to know Him better.

- a deep sorrow and distaste for sinful living.

- a deep desire to live a righteous life unto God.

- a love for others (Matthew 22:39).

- a forgiving heart. (We are to love and forgive everyone. If we do not forgive others, Jesus cannot forgive us. (Matthew 18:35) Bitterness towards others will hinder your walk with the Lord.

8). BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS – Go and tell others the wonderful Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Do not be afraid or ashamed to share your faith in Christ with those who are lost.

9). COUNTING THE COST FOR CHRIST - The promises of eternal life in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ is truly wonderful. If you expect and want to be in heaven with Jesus one day then you need to live like it here on the earth also. The Bible says that the way to eternal life is a narrow way and few find it. Why is this? It is not that the Gospel is hard to understand. In fact, it is simple enough for a child to understand. The main reason that most people reject Christ is that they do not want to change their own selfish lifestyles and live a holy life unto God. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). To deny yourself means that you must give your entire life over to Jesus. This is what it means to make Jesus Christ your Lord. He must become on the throne of your whole life.

10). CONFESSING YOUR SINS - We all make mistakes, but the Holy Spirit in you will help you to live day by day a life pleasing to God if you will allow Him to. When you mess up, you have an advocate. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). You must confess your sins to God and turn away from them and He will forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

11). FORSAKING SIN- No one can do this on their own, but if you trust in Christ and ask him to guide you in all things, He will make it possible for you to clean up your life. When you give your life and heart to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit (also called the Counselor and Comforter) comes to dwell in you. The Holy Spirit will lead you to do God’s will. Day by day He will teach you how to overcome that which is not right in God’s eyes. As you strive to please Him, He will give you a peace that passes all understanding. You were created to worship and fellowship with the living God. When you are doing this, you will find rest for your soul because your spirit desires to please God. Overcoming the flesh is the part that we all struggle with, but with God’s help nothing is impossible. Satan will try to tempt you to hold on to certain sins. This is when you must stand firm in the word of God by faith to gain the victory. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

12). ASSURANCE OF SALVATION - Satan the enemy of God and deceiver of mankind will come against you and will try to put doubts in your head that you really aren’t saved. You must; “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). When these doubts from Satan begin to flood your mind, you must draw near to God by the above ways. If you were sincere when you asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, then you are saved. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus promised us; “and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37b). You are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”(Hebrews 11:6). As you draw near to God He will draw near to you. Be determined to submit and walk in obedience to the living God and this will result in a faithful and victorious Christian life.