So, now what should I do?

Dear reader, has God granted you new life in Jesus Christ? If yes, we rejoice with you! Now, we exhort you to take action to protect the priceless gift you have received in Jesus Christ.

Live for God!

God has granted you new life in Jesus Christ, forgiven your sins against Him, brought you out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son, and adopted you as a son or a daughter. No greater love has or will ever be lavished upon you (Colossians 1:9-14, 1John 3:1-3). Your proper response now is to offer the new life you have been given back to God in obedience (Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 10:26-29).

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, [bless] His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;” (Ps 103:1-4 NAS95)

Read Your Bible Daily

The Holy Bible is God's Word written down and miraculously preserved for us by Him throughout History. In its pages God tells us who He is, who we are, what He requires of us, and what He has provided for us. His Word is Truth, and in it are the treasures of wisdom, discernment and eternal life (Isaiah 1:18, Matthew 4:1-4, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Peter 1:1-3).

A wise pastor once directed this writer to start off by giving the Lord seven minutes/day. Subsequently, this is also our guidance to you. Spend two minutes in prayer asking for understanding and change. Use the other five minutes to read your Bible in a translation such as the NASB or ESV. You can start at the beginning in Genesis or in the New Testament book of John.

Find a Bible-based Church

Just as in our temporal lives we are not meant to do life alone nor can we, this principle even more greatly applies to our spiritual lives in Christ. You may think you are an independent individual, but I guarantee you that you have turned on lights you did not make or install, walked or drove on pavement you did not lay, or purchased groceries you did not grow. God designed us to be interdependent within our societies. And, thus, we should all be doing our parts to make our societies function well.

Even more so, as Christians, we need to be involved in a local Bible-teaching church where we can learn, mature, serve and be held accountable to live for God. The best way to find a good church is to ask for a referral from a Christian you have already observed. You may also be able to find a doctrinally sound church in your area via 9Marks.org and you can look here for additional resources.

Ask to be Discipled

One of the best ways to mature as a follower of Jesus Christ is to participate in a one-on-one discipleship journey with an older Christian (Ephesians 4:11-16). Your new church should have Bible study groups and Sunday schools available to you. And these are great tools that you should not pass up. But prayerfully ask God to lead you to someone whose life exemplifies the teachings of Jesus Christ and who will invest in you in a one-on-one discipleship journey. These discipleship experiences can be structured to last 6 weeks, 6 months or even a year. But, during that time a good discipleship leader should teach you the following:

How to Pray Effectually
How to Study the Bible Inductively
How to Share the Gospel with Others
How to Disciple Others

During this journey your knowledge and affection for God should grow as the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ guides you into all Truth, gifts you, and empowers you to live in righteousness (John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, Ephesians 3:14-19, 2 Timothy 2:22). Beloved reader, this is indeed my prayer for you.

Trust in God

We began this journey reminding you that 10 out of 10 of us will die and asking you if you are afraid of death. Any rational human being is afraid of death, decay of the body and facing God's judgment. But if God has given you new life through Jesus Christ here are a few promises in Him that will relieve your fears.

Jesus Christ died for us so that He could receive us into Heaven at our deaths. Moreover, at an appointed time, God promises to resurrect and transform our mortal bodies to be like the immortal body Jesus received at His glorious resurrection (John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, John 14:1-3, Luke 16:19-31, Daniel 12:2-3, Revelation 20:6).
It is Jesus who has the keys to death and the grave (Revelation 1:18).
Jesus promises to reward us for the good deeds we perform with the new lives He has given us (Luke 14:13-14, John 5:28-29, Luke 20:34-36).
Jesus promised that no one can snatch us out of God's hands (John 10:27-30).