Holy Spirit Guides Followers
Followers of Jesus have an advantage when making decisions because when Jesus rose from Earth, He sent the Holy Spirit to live within each of His followers. Thus, the Holy Spirit is another form of God/Jesus, a spiritual being, that resides in the follower and acts as a spirit helper, helping the follower know what to do, how to do it, and when.
Finding your way in a new place without a map is difficult. The Holy Spirit acts as your helper, telling you which way to go and the best routes to take, the best places to stop to visit along the way, and what to avoid. If you learn to listen carefully, you can avoid a lot of trouble. Even when you mess up, it can help you find your way out again.
Unconditional Love and Acceptance
However, the best part of this story is that you’re never alone if you don’t turn away from the Trinity. In one form or the other, the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost is always willing to listen, love you, accept you, or take you with open arms. Their love is unconditional. No sin you have ever done or will do is so terrible that it would disqualify you from their love. The only action on your part that would prevent you from being accepted by them into their family is not asking with sincerity.
Sincere Repentance
What I mean by asking with sincerity is that you have made a conscious decision to follow Christ as your Savior. You know that you cannot follow God’s expectations for living under your willpower without falling short. You have sinned, and you know that you will sin again. You need Jesus’s forgiveness for those sins and His help to keep from sinning more in the future. If you sincerely mean that, all you need to do is speak to Jesus in your heart and say, (Romans 10:9-10)
“Jesus, I want to be more like you, but I am weak. Please forgive me of my sins. I know you are all-powerful and can help me live my life according to God’s will. I want to follow you as my Savior. Thank you for your death on the cross and for dying for my salvation. Amen.”
The words above are examples of what you can say, but you don’t need to say those specifically. Just talk to Jesus and tell him you’re sorry you’re a sinner, you believe he’s your Savior, and you want to follow him. He’ll get the point. However, don’t stop there.
Get to Know Jesus
To be a follower of Christ, you need to know Him and establish a relationship with Him. Spend time checking out churches in your area until you find one where you feel comfortable. Don’t worry about which is the “right” church. Any church that teaches from the Bible and focuses on the word of God is the “right” church. However, if the church never opens the Bible and only talks about current events or interprets the Bible as they see fit, stay far away from them. They will only confuse you.
Find a Church for Fellowship
Of course, to know if a church is teaching from the Bible, you need to find a version that you understand and read it. (Ezekiel 18:30-32) There are many versions available. Pick one where the flow of the language feels comfortable to you but make sure that in the front, it says it’s a “translation” rather than an “interpretation.” Interpretations are not as accurate as translations. An interpretation is someone else’s idea of what a passage means; whereas, a translation is a direct transcription of the language from the original written word without individual interpretation.
Get a Bible You Understand
Some critics of the Bible say that the type of Bible does not matter because it’s a book of fiction. However, they are wrong. The Bible is non-fiction. Research and archeology surveys have repeatedly demonstrated the accuracy of the Bible. In addition, witness accounts providing additional information or unique details add authenticity to the writings rather than draw the records into question for most researchers. Why?
In “real life,” eyewitness accounts rarely are identical and only match exactly if the individuals have collaborated on their accounts in advance. Had Bible authors all used the same words to describe the same events the same way, the authenticity of the accounts would be in question because rarely do two witnesses at a scene do that. Indeed, all the prophecies pronounced in the Bible that were due during the time of Christ have come true. Therefore, there is no reason to question whether the prophecies predicted for the future will also come to pass.