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1.
Talk to God
The
first thing to do is to talk to God. You need to admit before him
that you have rebelled against him, that you deserve punishment,
and that you're asking for mercy on the basis of Jesus' death in
your place. You'll also need to ask God to help you change from
being a rebel to being someone who lives with Jesus as their ruler.
You could pray something like this:
Dear
God,
I
know that I am not worthy to be accepted by you.I don't deserve
your gift of eternal life.I am guilty of rebelling against you and
ignoring you.I need forgiveness.
Thank
you for sending your son to die for me that I may be forgiven. Thank
you that he rose from the dead to give me new life.
Please
forgive me and change me, that I may live with Jesus as my ruler.
Amen.
The
first step, then, is to pray.
2.
Submit to Jesus
The
second step is also fairly obvious. Having prayed the sort of prayer
above, you will want to start putting it into practice--that is,
actually submitting to Jesus. There will no doubt be all kinds of
areas in your life in need of change. You'll need to get rid of
old rebellious habits (like greed, anger, selfishness, and so on)
and start some new ones that please God (like generosity, kindness,
love and patience). This second step will go on for the rest of
your life, but God will be with you all the way. He'll keep speaking
to you (through your reading of the Bible); he'll keep listening
to you and helping you (as you pray to him); he'll empower you to
change and to live his way (by his Spirit that lives within you);
and he'll provide brothers and sisters to encourage you along the
way (as you meet with other Christians).
The
second step, then, is to submit to Jesus and start living with him
as your ruler.
3. Keep trusting
The
third thing you have to do is also ongoing. You need to keep putting
your trust in the right place. It's only because of Jesus (and his
death and resurrection) that you can be forgiven and put right with
God. You'll need to keep coming back to this again and again, because
as you start to live God's new way, you will still fail and do the
wrong thing. We all do. We all need to keep looking back to the
death of Jesus on the cross as the only grounds for our pardon.
We must never stop relying on him--and him alone--as the means by
which we are forgiven and granted eternal life.
If you know full well that you have not yet taken these steps,
and that you are still an unforgiven rebel, then you need to do
something about it. You are at a fork in the road. It's the choice
that we all face. There are only two ways to live.
If you would like to ask any questions or seek help in knowing better
how to respond to the message you have just read, you can contact
us at the Geelong Christian Reformed
Church
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