* Introduction *Background * What went wrong? *
* New Life * What about You? * Prayer of Faith * Pray *
* Read the Bible * Find a Church *
If you have read my 'life story', you will have an idea of what I have done with my life so far and where events have taken me; however, these simple facts are, in a way, no more that 'geography', and you could easily miss what has really been happenning in my life.
At this point in my 'journey', I know that I am a 'born again' believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, "ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven", but it has taken many years of struggle for me to come to the point of really committing my life to Him. If it encourages anybody to come to know or to come back to the Lord Jesus, read on!
I was born into a "Christian home": my Mum and Dad were both committed Christians and had an evangelical (Bible-believing) church background. My childhood memories are filled with Bible verses, studies, hymns and choruses. I was aware, however, from a very early age that living in a 'Christian country' or growing up in a Christian home does not make you a Christian. So, at the tender age of seven I prayed the 'prayer of faith', confessing my sin and asking the Lord Jesus into my heart.
I would never underrate or deny the faith of a child, but I think that in my case, sincere though it was, it was never a 'commitment': I never put my faith into practice, and tried in effect to live the Christian life on my own terms for the next 20 years. I never took to heart Jesus' words: "If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me". [Matthew 16:24]
When as a teenager my Mum got ill and had to go into hospital, my faith had been damaged and diluted by my own conforming with the world, and I gradually walked farther and farther away from the "narrow path" [Matthew 7:13,14], whilst still somehow believing that I was, at heart, still 'a Christian'.
By the time I went to work, although it was for a Christian organisation, I was aware that some of the people who claim to be Christians could be really awful people, and yet I never saw myself in that category! My own life at the time was fairly painful, and looking back I can see that I really wasn't a very nice person, but at the time I kept on desparately looking for answers in the Bible (which seemed to me at that time to be a very dry book about nothing to do with my life) but I was never able to admit that my problems boiled down to sin and the fact that I was living in disobedience.
I proceeded to live the Christian life on my own terms, still going to church and having a sort of 'token regard' for the Lord, even earnestly praying and reading the Bible, but still never willing to give the Lord Jesus His rightful place in my life - in essence, my god was self and my will reigned supreme, although I didn't recognise it at the time.
Sadly, it took a whole lot of painful mistakes and a pretty messed-up life before I was able to recognise the problem and turn my life over to the Lord.
Praise, the Lord, He is so infinitedly gracious and forgiving, I can testify to the fact that, despite everything I have done in my life, the Lord has not deserted me, and I can see that he has had a hand in my life all the way through.
My counsel to you today, however, is not to test the Lord's patience!
When my son, Tommy, was born, I saw in him a miracle of creation and the first thing I did was to give thanks to the Lord for him. It was really at that point that I started making a gradual return to the Lord and renewed my commitment to Him. There have been countless instances of answers to prayer over the last five years, and I know that, although my life is still far from the way I would like it to be, it is in the Lord's hands.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8v28)
Do you know the Lord Jesus? If you have moved away from God or have yet to find Him, I would counsel you to come to Him now. Don't ever feel that you have to get your life right first, because it's a losing battle against sin, and nothing you could ever do would bridge the gap between you and God that sin has caused.
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3v23) and "the wages of sin are death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6v23)
God is not willing that any should perish: he has provided a way back to himself: Jesus died in our place, and it is only through Him that we can come to God:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" Acts 16 v 31
If you are searching for the truth but not yet convinced, pray to God that he will 'open your eyes'. You may like to take a look at my Gospel page.
But if you can, read the prayer of faith that follows and say it (or in your own words) aloud to God now:
"Father God, I just want to acknowledge that I have sinned, I am sorry for my sin and turn away from sin and toward you now. I ask your forgiveness and pray that you would come in to my life. I believe that you sent your son Jesus to die in my place and I gratefully accept your gift of salvation right now"
I cannot promise you an easy road: becoming a follower of Christ is not the easy option - when you swear allegiance to the Lord you step into battle, but you can know that you are on the winning side.
If you make that step of faith today, there are three important things I would advise you to do:
Make that prayer just the beginning of a 'relationship with God', and carry on talking to Him in prayer! I'll be the first to admit that it's not easy. To begin with it feels like a one-way conversation with thin air. This 'relationship' takes building, and prayer is where you do it. Pray every day, say Grace, share your joy and pain with the Lord.
The best place to start is "The
Lord's Prayer":
[This is taken from the traditional version, so please take a
look at the notes
on some of the word from its old language below if you need to]
"Our Father, which art* in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy name*
Thy Kingdom come*
Thy will be done*
On earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses*
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine* is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory
For ever and ever
Amen"
[Notes: "which art" = "who is", "Hallowed be Thy name" = "May Your name be honoured", "Thy Kingdom come"= "May your Kingdom come", "Thy will be done= "May Your will be done", "trespasses"= "sins", "Thine"= "Yours"]
Prayer is powerful because it's through answering prayer that God works. It's probably the most important thing, and the devil knows it and will try to discourage you all he can. But don't be discouraged and don't give up. It may help to find a 'mature' Christian to pray with you once a week.
Do you have a Bible? If you do, just open it up and read it! If you don't, try to get hold of one as soon as possible; I love the traditional "King James" or "Authorised" version for its beautiful, poetic language and its faithfulness to the original texts, but there are dozens of different translations into English to choose from. My first recommendatoin will always be the authorised, but If you don't have a church background, or you're not ready for the King James, I would recommend the Good News in modern English to start off with. Alternatively, you could try and get a copy of both and read them alongside each other - that way you can get used to the language of the King James as you go along.
I would recommend you begin in the "New Testament" with one of the "Gospels" (which means good news), Mark's gospel is usually recommended, followed by Acts (a block-busting history of the early church!) and the letters (also known as epistles, to the new churches of the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians etc) before you go on to tackle the "Old Testament". A good place to start the Old Testament is the book of Psalms.
My favourite books include the letters and the Psalms. Some recommended passages include,
Later on you may like to buy or borrow a 'study Bible' which gives extra information on each book. Daily notes are available in Christian bookshops, for example, Wesley Owen, or you may be able to order one called Our Daily Bread which is an American one. It's the one I have used for years and would warmly recommend it. They supply their literature free of charge, but appreciate donations. You can also write to their European office in England: Box 1, Carnforth, Lancs., England LA5 9ES.
Talk about this to God in prayer and ask Him to help you to find a good church (one that believes in and preaches the Bible as its basis of faith and code for living) where you will be 'discipled' (or "disciplined") which means helped to grow in your new faith. Be discerning, certainly - some churches are better than others, and a good few are terrible, but don't look for a "perfect church": there's no such thing!
When you find a church, you may find that Christians don't live up to the name - the church is full of forgiven sinners, which is what the word 'saint' actually means. If, once we are "saved" we do not move away from our sins towards holiness, however, there's something drastically wrong. [Hebrews 10 v 26] But don't be tempted to look at other Christians too much. Examine your own heart but, above all, "Fix your eyes upon Jesus" [Hebrews 12 v 2].
Don't be dismayed by other Christians: the Bible tells us not to give up going to church [Hebrews 10 v 25]. The church is to act as "the body of Christ" on the earth until He returns, and it is through the church that God works to bring others into His Kingdom. It is also our battle training ground: if we want to learn to love the World and bring people to Christ, we must first learn to love and respect and submit to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and truly it isn't easy! Finally, and perhaps most importantly, although God works in answer to our individual prayers, and wants us to develop a personal relationship with him, the prayers of a church are even more powerful: Jesus said that "where two or three are gathered together, there I am in the midst of them" [Matthew 18v20]. As with individual prayer, the devil knows the power in collective prayer and worship, and will do all he can to discourage you from going. "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" [I Corinthians 15v57]
If you're feeling up to a challenge, I would recommend a book called "Discipleship" by David Watson. It is heavy going but it speaks really powerfully about what being a disciple of Jesus is all about).
Wishing you every blessing
Sharon Mortemore
© Sharon
Mortemore 3 April 1999
Updated: 10 February, 2001