About…..following Jesus
A Christian is the name given to a follower of Jesus Christ. The bible tells us that the term 'Christian' was first used to describe followers of Jesus who lived in Antioch, a city in modern day Syria (Acts 11:26). 'Christian' literally means 'little Christs' and was the only word the local population could think of to describe these people - they were so like Jesus in how they lived and behaved!
People become Christians by choice. It has nothing to do with where you are born, into what sort of family you were born, or what kind of person you are. You have to choose to become a follower of Jesus.
The only thing that is certain in our lives is that we will die. You may have heard it said that death and taxes are the only unavoidable things in life, but there are tax evaders! However, there are no death evaders, and one day the bible teaches us that we will all stand before Almighty God and give an account of what we did with the life and the opportunities that we had. Eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him awaits us. How much better it will be for us if we take the time now to prepare ourselves for that momentous day!
Becoming a follower of Jesus means that you are establishing a proper BASE for your life in this world, and preparing well for eternal life that is to come.
B - Believe. I must believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me, and proved that He was God by coming back from the dead. I must believe that His death pays the debt of all my sin. The bible says "believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). To believe means to accept as completely true what Jesus did and said - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). If you're ready to believe then you've taken one important step!
A - Accept. I need to accept the gift of God's grace and forgiveness that He offers to me. All of us need this forgiveness. We can't earn it or merit it by living perfect lives, and God knows this. Instead, we need to put down our own pride and say to God "I need you to forgive me, and I need to accept that forgiveness". The bible says that "God is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of Jesus, and our sins are forgiven" (Ephesians 1:7).
That's another very important step taken. Now comes the more difficult part: S - Switch. Switch means 'change', or 'turn' - the bible uses the word 'repent', which means the same thing. But change what? Change direction. With your life in your own hands, you're going one way, but by placing your life into God's hands, inviting Him to take control, He becomes your new boss. A business may be failing, or simply not achieving what it set out to do. Then a sign appears outside that business one day saying "under new management", and with fresh ideas the business turns around and becomes a success. When you 'switch' to Jesus you are (metaphorically) putting the same kind of sign up - "under new management". You're no longer in charge; you've put Jesus in charge. The bible often uses the word 'Lord' before Jesus to express this change of ownership.
E - Express. When we 'express', we are demonstrating that Jesus is the Lord of our lives by giving expression to that fact. We express it with our words and we express it with our actions. We also express it by becoming part of a local church, where other people who have established their 'base' will be only too glad to welcome you as part of the church family. If you are willing to take these four steps, then say this simple prayer.
"Jesus, I want to have a base in my life. I believe that you died for me, that I could know forgiveness and cleansing from all of my sin. I want to put my life into your hands and I want you to be my new boss. Please direct me and guide me from this point on and help me to discover all of your will for my life."
It doesn't matter when or where you do this, as long as you sincerely mean it - God is everywhere, and He will hear! What's more, He will do as you ask, because He loves you and has been waiting for you to come to Him so that your life can find its true meaning.
Read again the verse from John 3 that was written above. Believing in Jesus means that you have eternal life!
When mountaineers establish 'base camp', they've already done a considerable amount. However, their 'base' is not the end of their journey, simply the start of the real climbing! In the same way, your life 'BASE' has becoming the starting point for a life of following Jesus and learning how to obey, please and hear Him, so that ultimately you become like Him. Then, what was said of the followers of Jesus in Antioch will be said of you too!
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