I literally just wrote this to a new Christian who God divinely appointed me to. At the gym minding my business with a friend on a night and time that we don't normally go, this young lady approached us and asked if she could work out with us. We then engaged in small talk, which I don't normally do lol, and then went out on a whim as strangers and exchanged numbers lol. We talked a little more and she expressed that she was looking for a church, so we invited her to church. About a month later, she got saved! How awesome!
If you don't link up with someone that can really be a mentor/disciple-r to you when you become a Christian, it can be easy to get overwhelmed or get caught up in some heresy that's just... wrong. I wrote this new Christian an email trying to encourage her as best as I could because I've never actually mentored new Christians and because I grew up in church, no one really mentored me when I first got saved either, so this is all foreign to me. Honestly, inviting people to church and being a vocal Christian is foreign to me because for most of my life I was so far out of the will of God that I didn't want to embarrass God by letting people know I was even "affiliated" with the Christian life.
But I digress.. the following is a letter of encouragement to any new Christians out there and/or any "old" Christians who need another link to share with a Christian newbie.
Heyyyyyy :)
I'm so excited to see what God has in store for you as He grows and matures you in your Christian walk. If you submit to God and walk beside Him,you will watch Him do some amazing things in your life. God never ceases to amaze me, and the longer I walk this walk with Him, the sweeter it gets.
NOTE: There are links all throughout the letter... Not meant for you to read in one sitting lol. Just wanted to be able to provide a wealth of resources.
The Bible says,
1 Peter 2:2- King James Version: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1) This means, you have to crave and depend on the word of God for your growth, just like a newborn baby does nothing but drink milk. Reading and studying the Bible is the foundation for your walk with Christ. Don't get tempted to get caught up in so many things that you forget that. Your foundation, which will come from your understanding of the Bible, is like an anchor for a ship. Without it, you're unstable and always shifting and moving. Stay grounded and rooted.
I’m sure there are a wealth of resources out there, and I’ll try to find something better, but here’s 2 that come up on Google lol
- Shereadstruth.com is also a good site for devotions for women. They have an app and study journals/resources too.
2) Realize that the devil hates to see soldiers move to God’s side/army. There will constantly be attacks on your life because the devil wants to see you forsake God and forsake walking with God, in order to cling to sin and the ways of the devil. Again, this is why it’s so important to cling to your foundation of the Bible. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Don’t take the strength of the devil for granted… he will try you, but know that the power of God is greater. At times where you may feel you’re being attacked, like the devil may remind you of past sins, or make you feel guilty about things you’ve done in the past or convince you that the Bible is a lie, pray to God and search the Bible. Let Google be your BFF lol. Just type in the topic, followed by “bible verse”. That's how I do a great chunk of my personal bible studies.
3) One of the things I struggled with when I first got saved was true assurance. I was saved when I was 13… fresh into my teenage life, so even though I was saved, I still did all of the crazy things that came with the teenage life; sex, smoked, drank, clubs/parties, etc. So when I finally got tired of that and felt so convicted to get myself together, I thought that somehow I had lost my salvation or was never saved because I did all of those things. Realize that you cannot lose your salvation.
- · John 10: 7-28, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand."
The moment you believed in Christ and repented of your sins, you became saved; you belong to him! There’s nothing you or anyone can do to cause you to lose that. Forgiveness of sins is a continuous thing… It doesn’t just apply to past sins. It applies to past, present, and future sins. Now, when you sin, the Holy Spirit lives inside your heart and should alert you that whatever you did is wrong, but if you pray to God and confess, He forgives you of them.
4) Don’t let guilt or shame stop you from serving God and growing as a Christian. I struggled with this for yearrrrrrssss, even though I was saved. You will have naysayers who will try to tell you that this is fake, you cannot change, etc. etc. Don’t let them distract you. God forgives and forgets our sins the moment we’re saved. He makes all things new! Listen to and read the lyrics of the song, “CLEAN by Natalie Grant”
Know that, whatever you're going through or what you have questions about, I've been there and done that, and God has still used me in spite of my mistakes (Romans 8:28). Don't think that I'm a "church girl" who was raised in church that I'm judging or can't relate.
I love you and am praying for you! :)
0 Comments