Introduction Congratulations! You have just made the greatest, most important decision of your life, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. God has given you a brand new life! But, accepting God s gift of salvation is not the finish line, it s the starting line the beginning of an adventure that will last forever, for all eternity! The purpose of this booklet is to help you get started in your new life. Each day, for the next seven days, there are some thoughts about a specific subject, using scriptures from the Bible, to help you understand what this new life is all about. Each day, set aside a specific time to read the next section and then spend a few minutes thinking about what you just read. As you understand and apply each lesson to your daily life, you will begin to cultivate and develop your own, personal relationship with God. Keep in mind, this new life is not about religion or dead, useless rituals it s about you knowing God in a personal, practical way, a way that will change your life forever. God has better plans for you than you have for yourself, so let s get started walking with God! Welcome to the journey! 1
DAY ONE JESUS: SAVIOR & LORD! One of the greatest scriptures in the Bible is found in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Perhaps the most important word in that verse is the word, believes. We accept God s gift of eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ believing He is the Son of God, believing He died for our sins, and believing He was raised from the dead! Romans 10:9-10 says, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. You have believed in Jesus Christ and received God s gift of salvation and eternal life! As you begin this new life, establish these two thoughts in your heart; (1) Jesus Christ is my Savior, and, (2) Jesus Christ is my Lord! To make Jesus the Lord of your life is to make Him the boss! It means that you acknowledge your need of His help, guidance, protection and strength every day that you live. It means that you will consult Him with every decision of your life and make him the boss of every area of your life. It means that Jesus sits on the throne of your life! He has everything you will ever need forever! So take a few minutes, think about these two thoughts, (1) Jesus Christ is my Savior, and, (2) Jesus Christ is my Lord! Then, thank God that each thought is established in your heart and in every area of your life! One last thought: you need to tell someone about the decision you have made to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Sharing this with someone will help cement your commitment to God and strengthen your faith in God! So, go ahead tell somebody Jesus is your Savior and Lord! First, when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you accepted His sacrifice on the cross for your sins. You believed He paid the price for your salvation. At that moment, Jesus became your Savior! He saved you from your sins! Now, you need to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord! Philippians 2:9-11 tells us, Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. God has made Jesus, Lord of all! 2 3
DAY TWO TALKING WITH GOD! Relationship, not Religion! God is not interested in subjecting you to meaningless, dead rituals. He wants to have a personal relationship with you. He wants you to know him! The way you maintain any relationship is through communication. Prayer is not a religious exercise, prayer is communication! Prayer is talking with God! In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus taught His followers to pray and he said that we should approach God as our Heavenly Father. Let s read this model prayer that Jesus gave us and see at least seven things that God wants to talk with you about. #1- Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Begin with Praise! God wants you to approach Him as your loving, kind, compassionate Father. He is the one who is able to meet all of your needs! #2- Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God wants you to believe that His plans are better than your plans. He wants you to ask for His heavenly plans to be produced in your earthly life. To ask is a statement of faith and submission. #3- Give us this day our daily bread. God encourages you to ask for the things that you need each day. God is concerned about your basic, daily needs! So ask and let Him answer! #4- Forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. We all make mistakes sin. God has made provision for your sins. It s called repentance! Repentance means to ask for forgiveness and then turn and go in the right direction. If we ask, God will forgive us! But, God also demands that you learn to forgive others as you have been forgiven. People will offend us, but we must extend forgiveness to them so that God can also forgive us! #5- And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. We do have an adversary in this life and he is called the devil. He wants to draw you back into the old way of life and destroy you. Ask God to make you aware of the schemes, plots, and traps that the devil will spread in yourpath so that you will be delivered from harm. #6- For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. End with praise! It s important that you recognize God as the creator of all things and thank Him that He is concerned about all that is happening in your life. #7- Amen. Amen simply means, so be it! You asked, now expect God to answer! Finally, Talk with God as you would your best friend. Open your heart and be honest and sincere as you talk with God. Don t be religious or stuffy! Then, listen God may have something important to say to you! 4 5
DAY THREE THE NEW LIFE & THE NEW RELATIONSHIP! Yesterday, we talked about Relationship, not Religion! God is not interested in subjecting you to meaningless, dead rituals. He wants to have a personal relationship with you. He wants you to know him! Romans 8:15-16 says, For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Let s look at some important thoughts from these verses. These verses tell us that God has adopted you as His son/ daughter. God chose you. God called you into His family. You said, Yes! Now, you are one of God s sons/daughters. We also see that God has given you His Spirit to convince you that you are His son/daughter. Wow! God wants to treat you as His son/daughter! Wow! God wants you to approach Him as your own, loving Father! That sounds like a great relationship to me! So what does all of that mean? For one thing, God has given you peace, not fear! You do not have to fear anything. Peace begins when you can stand in the presence of God and have no condemnation for sin. How is that? Because you have been forgiven! Hebrews 13:5-6 says it this way, For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? So, how do you respond to this? Trust God! Whatever is going on in your life, talk with God about it. He doesn t want you to face the challenges of life alone. Romans 8:28 gives us this amazing promise, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Just think, because your life is now committed to God, God is working on your behalf to cause everything everything to work together for a good end result. He is watching over all of the daily affairs of your life, orchestrating events to produce His blessings in your life! Near the end of Romans chapter 8, we read these words: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? God will give you everything you need in this life so trust Him Believe Him! He brought you into this relationship and established you as His child learn to live like His child! Next, God has placed His Spirit in you to continually remind you that you are His child. With the new life comes a new identity, you are now a child of God. God will protect you every moment of your life. He has too much invested in you to give up on you now! 6 7
DAY FOUR MAKING A PLACE FOR GOD S WORD! THE BIBLE! What s the deal with this big, thick book? What do I do with it? Why is it important? Where do I begin? These are all common, legitimate questions. So, let s take them one at a time. First, what is this book? The Bible is the Word of God! It reveals God to you! It is a book that reveals the nature of God and how He wants to interact with us. It also reveals God s ways and how you can make it your roadmap for successful living. Next, what do you do with this book? Read it. Study it. Learn what is says, and means. If you want to know God, you must learn His Word. Psalms 119:105 says, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. God s Word will lead you into God s ways, so begin learning it. Why is the Bible so important? Hebrews 4:12 explains, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God s Word is alive! It s not dried ink upon a thin, fragile page, it s the living truth of God. You can build your life on it! God s Word is powerful! It will never fail. It can change your life! You can trust it! It will even reveal the rights and wrongs in your own heart! God s Word will cause you to grow stronger! 1 Peter 2:2-3 tells us, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. You need God s Word, but begin by reading and learning the basic truths that will strengthen your faith and cause you to grow spiritually. Finally, where do you begin? You will notice that the Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is probably best to begin reading in the New Testament. The New Testament begins with the story of Jesus (called the gospels), written by four different authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each of these books bears the author s name. Many people think it s good to start reading the book of John. Each chapter shares a different picture of Jesus and what He came to do in our lives. Before you begin reading, pray and ask God to help you understand what you read. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, the one who reveals God s truth to us. You need His help to bring understanding of how you apply God s Word to your life. As you read each chapter, don t get in a hurry! Take the time to understand each story and allow it to speak to you, personally. Always remember, Jesus came to show us what God is really like. So, as you read each story, it should reveal more of God s nature to you. When you read something that really speaks to you, commit those words to memory and allow them to become a part of your life. Jesus said, Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25). As you learn God s Word, you will grow stronger and begin to understand what it really means to have a relationship with God! 8 9
DAY FIVE A LIFE OF PEACE! If you read the definition of the word peace in most any dictionary, it is defined as the absence of conflict. So in other words, if you do not have any problems or challenges, you have peace. But, if you are facing problems or challenges, you will not have peace. That definition of peace assures us that you won t have much peace in this life because life is filled with problems and challenges! But in this new life, walking with God, God has better plans plans for peace. On day three of this booklet, we read this statement; Peace begins when you can stand in the presence of God and have no condemnation for sin. How is that? Because you have been forgiven! Romans 5:1 tells us, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The word justified means, just as if you never sinned. God has forgiven you and justified you so forgive yourself and accept God s peace! In this new life, it is not the absence of conflict that brings peace, quite contrary, it is the presence of God that brings peace into our lives! Galatians chapter 5 tells us that peace is one of the characteristics of God s Spirit. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God moved inside of you and made you a new creation. Now, that same Spirit lives in you and He brought peace to fill your life. Jesus said, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33). Jesus assured us that we would not be exempt from challenges and problems in life, but His presence would establish His peace, peace that is greater than the challenges of your life! So, what s going on in your life today? Are you facing major challenges and battling fear? Read these words from Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Notice three things in these verses: 1- Don t worry about things Instead, have a sincere talk with God! Tell Him all about what s going on and put the situation in His hands. 2- Thank God for establishing His presence and peace in you! To thank God is to trust God. When you express praise to Him, you are telling Him you trust him. 3- Tell God exactly what you need! When we ask God for things we cannot do ourselves, we express our faith in His power to intervene and provide when we ask Him for the things we need. So go ahead He told you to ask He will answer! If you will do these things, God s peace, peace that is greater than you will ever be able to comprehend, will set a guard around your heart and your mind, driving away all fear from your life! 10 11
DAY SIX BEATING TEMPTATION! So, you ve begun this journey, this new life, and now you realize there are temptations following you around from your old life? Congratulations, you are human! Your thought patterns have been established by your lifestyle and the years of habits you have formed are etched over every part of your being. That s the old you, your old nature! Now, you are a new creation in Jesus Christ and God will help you change the way you think and live so that your lifestyle becomes an expression of God living in you your new life nature! But, we all face temptation! So, let s look at some principles that will help you overcome temptation. First, what is temptation? James 1:14 tells us, But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. We all have natural desires to do things that are an expression of our old nature. Those desires entice or tempt us to do something that leads to sin. Before you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, you probably lived a lifestyle that was dedicated to doing whatever felt good to you. You submitted to temptations and wrong desires, forming habits that controlled your life. Those habits and uncontrolled desires may not disappear immediately, so you must learn to resist temptation. Second, how do I overcome temptation? You must recognize that the battleground of temptation is in your mind. Romans 12:1-2 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Let s take a close look at these verses. We begin to battle temptation by submitting our bodies to God, living a life that sacrifices our desires for His desires. Then, you acknowledge that the old life had its own way of thinking that is contrary to the thinking of the new life. Your thinking must be renovated and your mind renewed to think in terms of the new life! This is a process and it is only accomplished as we fill our minds with God s principles and begin living by those principles. If you change the way you think, you will change the way you live. Third, temptation must be resisted! When Jesus was tempted by Satan himself, Jesus overcame temptations by quoting God s Word and refusing to be pulled into Satan s arena of thought. When Jesus resisted temptation, Satan left Him! James 4:7-8 tells us to, Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Follow these three simple instructions; Submit all of your life to God, Resist the devil and temptation, and Draw near to God! When you are tempted, it s a great time to pray and ask God for His help. Satan will flee! Finally, God gave you this promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13, No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. So trust God, He will not fail you, He will make a way of escape and help you overcome every temptation! 11 12
DAY SEVEN GO TO CHURCH! Today, I want to give you some of the best advice you will ever receive GO TO CHURCH! Yes, I am a pastor and you may think I have a personal agenda to get you back to church. The fact is I do! It s quite possible that you received this booklet from me or the church where I pastor. I may even be the person who introduced you to Jesus Christ. So, as you begin your new life, I want you to receive the best possible care and encouragement you can get and the place to get it is at church! The church is not a building with a cross or steeple, the church is people people like you and me people who have found a new life in Jesus Christ and we are doing this new life together! We are not perfect, we are not better than anybody else, we are not above others. We are simply following God, learning His ways, reaching out to others, and making a difference in our world! Hebrews 10:24-25 says, And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. These words tell us that we need to assemble together. Why? Because we need each other! First, we can learn from each other! God puts people together so we can learn from the experiences of each other. It s almost impossible to live your new life in isolation. When people share their knowledge of God s Word we can all benefit and grow together. Not only that, but God has placed people in every church who are gifted to teach God s Word. Second, there is power in unity and agreement! According to Matthew 18:20, when we gather together in Jesus name, God shows up! There is something powerful and supernatural that happens when people worship God together. You never know what might happen when God shows up! Third, we develop God s nature best in an atmosphere of faith! The church is a place where God meets with His people and that creates a nurturing atmosphere. In church, we grow spiritually. As we learn to love and value each other, we develop new ways of sharing God with people outside the walls of our meeting place. Fourth, we can encourage each other! Just think; going to church places you among people who want to share this new life journey with you! If some of us are struggling, we can encourage each other to move forward. Your experiences can benefit others on this journey. The old saying is absolutely true, Who you hang out with will rub off on you! Get with people who can help you and who you can help! One final thought! At church, God has a place for you to get involved. You are gifted by God to make a difference. He has a place and purpose for you. So Go to church because YOU ARE THE CHURCH! 13 14