What Do I Do Now?!?…

What you should do now depends on how ready you are to take a step that will change your life. Are you ready to give your life over completely to the God of the universe? If so, please click here!

If you are intrigued by all of this, but wish to understand it more completely, that is completely understandable, and I would encourage you to investigate this as much as you can so that when you do make a decision, it will be a much more informed and meaningful decision. Here are some steps you can take to look into what it means to be a follower of Christ……

1. Talk to others that are Christians. First off, I would be more than glad to talk to you about any of this. Please email me if this would interest you. You could also find other family or friends that are Christians. Please realize that people are at all different places in their spiritual journeys, so some will have better advice and insight than others. But still, only a Christian knows what it is like to have a relationship with the Creator of the universe!

2. Visit a church. As I talked about in the Where section, some places are better to go than others, so just be aware. Email me if you’d like some suggestions of where I think a good place to go would be.

3. Read some Christian books. I would highly recommend reading Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. This book is a great summary of what the Christian life is all about. You can find this book at just about any bookstore, or at WalMart. Again, you could also email me, as I have several copies, and I’d be happy to loan one out. It is a very easy and straightforward read.

4. Read the Bible. Certainly going to the source, to the very words that God breathed, is a great idea. Just be aware that the Bible is a very big book that can be a little hard to understand without a small amount of guidance. Here are a couple tips to get you started…..

a) Don’t start at the beginning. It would be best to start in what is called the New Testament, which starts with the book of Matthew. Better yet, the book of John (3 books after Matthew) is a terrific place to start reading the Bible.

b) Try to understand the context of what you are reading – to and from whom is this being written, what time period is it, etc. This is VITAL. You may have to have another Christian to help you with this one. It isn’t all that difficult, but you just need to understand it or many things just won’t make sense.

c) Get a translation that you can understand. All English Bibles are translations from the original languages that the Bible was written and compiled in. It is important to read a Bible that is both readable and accurate to the meaning of the original writers. I would recommend either the New International Version or the New Living Translation as a starter. These offer a good balance between readability and accuracy. As you develop as a Christian, you may wish to go a bit further down one or both of the readability and accuracy roads. The New American Standard Bible and the King James Version (basically in the language of Shakespeare) are 2 of the most accurate English Bibles ever, but they are not the easiest reads. However, they are great for getting the deepest meanings from the Bible. Bible paraphrases like The Message and The Living Bible are far more interpretive (meaning they try to tell what the original writers meant, and less what they actually said) and less literal in their translation, but they can be a wonderful way of making the Bible come alive with the emotion and love that our Father has for us. Again, feel free to email me if you have a question on what Bible to look at.