Upwards Church

The decision you’ve made to become a follower of Jesus Christ is the most important decision of your life. God created you to know Him. You may not be completely sure what happens when you decide to follow Jesus or what you should do now.  You may have a lot of questions.  The next series of blog posts will answer some of those questions and help you grow in your new relationship with Jesus Christ.

Following Jesus is both a one-time decision and a life­long process. God wants you to have a meaningful life, in relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. However, he doesn’t force that desire on you. He gives you a choice.  You can choose to live according to His plan, or you can choose to go your own way. If you choose to say “no” to God—if you decide to live life on your own terms—that decision separates you from Him. Not only is refusing God a result of sinful nature, it is sin itself.

On your own, there is nothing you can do to bring yourself into a right relationship with God. Good works won’t do it. Religion won’t do it. Morality won’t do it. Neither will money nor philosophy, nor knowledge nor science. For centuries, seekers have tried all of these paths with little success.

 Take note of the story the following verses tell:

 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.  —Proverbs 14:12

 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  —Romans 5:8

 You have taken a big step by coming to the point of realization that you cannot earn salvation and that Jesus is one who paid the penalty for your sins on the cross.  You have prayed and committed your life to Jesus.  You’ve asked Him to forgive you for all the ways you’ve sinned against Him while living life on your own terms, and you’ve committed to becoming more like Him. At the moment you asked Jesus to come into your life, He did. Your salvation is sealed and secure.

You can’t lose your salvation, but the process of growing in like Christ is ongoing.

In the follow­ing blog entries you will find an explanation of your next five steps: 

• Be Baptized:  http://theridgeblog.com/2011/04/14/be-baptized
• Study Your Bible:  http://theridgeblog.com/2011/04/14/study-your-bible
•  Learn to Pray: http://theridgeblog.com/2011/04/14/learn-to-pray
•  Connect to a Growing Church: http://theridgeblog.com/2011/04/14/connect-to-a-growing-church
• Live a Life of Worship: http://theridgeblog.com/2011/04/14/live-a-life-of-worship

 The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Corinthians 5:17

 If you have asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your life, then, according to God Himself, you are a new creation! As of right now, real life starts.  Knowing Christ and Growing to be like Him is really living! 

Darrell

For more about The Ridge go to www.ridgefellowship.com  

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible

Baptism confuses a lot of people. Initially, it’s not easy to understand the significance of being totally immersed in water after becoming a Christ follower.

  Much of the confusion centers on questions like, “I was sprinkled as a child, so I don’t have to be baptized, right?” or “If I don’t get baptized, does that mean I’m not saved?”

 When you make the decision to commit your life to Jesus Christ, the Bible teaches that you should be baptized to follow Jesus’ example. Baptism is an act of obedience and a public declaration of faith.

 When Jesus was ready to begin His earthly ministry, He showed His devotion to the Father by being baptized:

 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be bap­tized by John. But John tried to talk Him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by You,” he said, “so why are You coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize Him. After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy.”  — Matthew 3:13-17

 Later, the apostles taught that all who accept the message of Jesus Christ and invite Him into their lives should follow His example of baptism:

 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.  — Acts 2:38, 41

 Baptism is symbolic of two essential truths of your faith:

1. What Jesus did for you:  “He died for your sins, was buried and came back to life” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
2.  What has happened to you: “You died to your old life, are buried in baptism and raised to live a new life in Jesus Christ” (Romans 6:3–4).

 Never get tricked into thinking that baptism is what saves you. The work of your salvation was done the moment that you believed in your heart that Jesus is Lord and professed that belief with your mouth by asking Him to come into your life and forgive you of your sins.

 Baptism is a Next Step of obedience—the outward symbol of the work that God has done in you. You have been raised to walk in newness of life!

 Just check the box “be baptized” on your Connection Card  or tell your Growth Group Coordinator you need to be baptized, or comment to me at the bottom of this blog post and you can get signed up to take part in The Ridge’s next baptism celebration.

  Darrell

 For more information or to sign up for baptism go to www.ridgefellowship.com

Developed from Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

The New Living Translation of the Bible

How much do you really know about the Bible? Maybe you have read bits and pieces of the Bible, but you never understood it as a cohesive unit.

 As followers of Jesus, we believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God.

 Think about these facts:

• The Bible is comprised of sixty-six books that were written over a period of 1500 years by over forty different authors, from different places, and with different life experiences.
• These authors did not collaborate with one another. In many instances, they didn’t even speak the same language. Yet their work, passed down through many generations and translated many times, has resulted in the consistent manuscript you are about to integrate into your life.
• The manuscript tells God’s story of the creation of the universe, the beginning and fall of man, and God’s plan and purpose for us to know Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

 God communicates with us through His Word.

 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. — Hebrews 4:12

 There are several methods for making that communication a daily part of your experience with God. You lose your grip on something easily if you only hold on with two or three fingers. God wants you to get a good grasp on what is written in the Bible and how you can apply it to your life.

 Think of holding on to the Bible with all five of your fingers:

 1.    Hear: Make sure you listen to good Bible teaching, both through your church and through other resources you can find. Take notes on what you hear.

2.     Read: You will get to know God better by spending time reading His Word. Set a goal to read the Bible for at least fifteen minutes every day. 

3.     Study: Make sure you are studying the truths you read. As you dig into the Bible, ask yourself these questions: What promise is there to claim? What example is there to follow? What command is there to obey? What sin is there to confess?

4.     Memorize: God wants us to hold scripture close to our heart and to be able to call on it when it is needed. This ability comes as we memorize verses that speak to us. Try to memorize a verse a week.  

5.    Meditate: This ties in with memorizing. After you memorize a verse, spend some time meditating on it. Analyze and dwell on its truth as you drive, work, or play.

 Choosing a Translation

Although there are many worthwhile translations of the Bible, here are three that are easy to read and accurate:

• New Living Translation (NLT)
• New International Version (NIV)
• New King James Version (NKJV)

For a daily reading plan check out the blog entries called “24 Days with Jesus” it’s a daily reading plan with commentary and thoughts through the book of Luke.  Click here for more information:  http://theridgeblog.com/2011/01/09/24-days-with-jesus-intro/  

Darrell

 For more about The Ridge go to www.ridgefellowship.com  

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible

The best way to build a relationship with someone is to spend time talking to the other person. You wouldn’t have many friends if you never talked to them, would you?

How would your relationship with your family suffer if you never made time for them, or never let them speak to you?

 The same thing is true in your relationship with God. Just as reading your Bible helps you know God more intimately, so does spending time with Him in prayer.

 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.  — Mark 1:35

 Prayer is your way of communicating with God. Here are three tips for developing a strong prayer life:

1.  Set aside time every day for prayer. Don’t be tempted to save your conversations with God only for emergencies or into the leftover pieces of your busy day.
2.  Make prayer a priority. Combining your prayer time and your Bible reading time into a morning or bedtime devotional is a great idea.
3. Don’t role-play for God. Just be yourself and talk to Him. You don’t have to use fancy words, and you don’t have to try to impress Him. Just come to God as simply and honestly as you can. Speak from your heart. He is your Father.

 Now that you know you need to spend time in honest, open conversation with God every day, you may be wondering what that looks like. Consider this scripture:

 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. — Philippians 4:6

 So, how should you pray? You can pray in a number of ways, but over the years, these are some ways that I have found to be helpful in praying.

•  Spend some time praising and thanking God for the good things in your life.
• Confess any sin that you may be struggling with.
• Tell Him what is worrying you and what you need help with.
• Pray that God will guide and direct your life in the way it is supposed to go.

 Remember, prayer is a conversation, not a monologue. As you develop your prayer life, you will get more comfortable both speaking to and hearing from God. So, go ahead and talk to God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He is your guide on this journey. Make sure the lines of communication are open.

 I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. — Jeremiah 24: 7

 Darrell

For more about The Ridge go to www.ridgefellowship.com  

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible