Once we grasp the high price Jesus paid to have us as his children, our lives should never be the same. As a new believer, you will still experience temptation, and there may be times of doubt and failure. But he will never give up on you, and as you include him in your life, you will experience his faithfulness and the power to live for him. If you are ready to begin this new life with Christ, we encourage you to review the promises and growth principles:
What does Jesus do for You?
New Life in Christ
If you have made the decision to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, you are his child for all eternity. As his child, you are given an inheritance that includes the following wonderful promises:
- Jesus enters your life, never to leave.
- Jesus forgives all your sins.
- Jesus gives you eternal life with him.
- Jesus hears and answers your prayers.
- Jesus gives you power to obey him.
Receiving Jesus’ Unconditional Love
Jesus promises to indwell you and be your friend and Lord forever.2 His love is not based on how good you are or how you feel. The emotional high you might experience now won’t always be there, but Jesus will be.
Youth leader Samantha Tidball tells how, when she was a teenager, she dated a number of guys and repeatedly found herself bored after a few weeks of dating. She realized that she got an emotional high from the chase – one that wasn’t sustainable. And she says it was sort of the same thing when she first began a relationship with God. When the initial emotional rush was over, she felt empty inside and continued looking for attention elsewhere. She knew God loved her, but she didn’t always feel his love.
She wrote in a blog,
I have learned that I can’t force a feeling. But I can reflect on what I know and trust that God truly does love me. I have to trust Jesus meant what He said in 1 John 4:9-10, “God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the World so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” If Jesus died for you and me, then what does that say about our self-worth? Jesus says, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Apparently, God loves us enough to die for us; there is no greater act of love.
God loves us just the way we are. Living better lives or thinking deeper thoughts will never make him love us more than he already does. Tidball says, “Don’t confuse God’s love with the love you get from people. Love from people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God’s love. He loves you right where you are.”3
Making Your Life Count for Him
As you consider what Jesus has done for you, you will want to make your life count for him. The apostle Paul puts it this way: “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”4
Once you begin your new journey with Christ, he begins to change you into the person he planned you to be. But don’t expect immediate results; the Christian life is more like a marathon than a sprint. The best runners always spend hours in training. Training in the Christian life involves five basic areas:
- Spend time in God’s Word.
- Spend time with him in prayer.
- Learn to obey him by faith.
- Worship him with others.
- Tell others about his love and grace.
We encourage you to download the free resource “Getting Started in Extreme Living,” which will help you understand how to exercise and apply these vital areas of Christian growth. Go to y-jesus.com/blog/downloads.