Becoming a Christian means much more than going to church or attempting to live out a cold, stale religion. Our God actually desires for you to experience Him personally in your life. He wants to have a deep relationship with you just as a dear father wants to do the same with his child. But for you to enter into a genuine relationship with Him, you must understand four very important principles. Here they are:

Romans 3:23 tells us, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." This is true of all men. We have all done things that God does not want us to do. Any time we disobey God, we are sinning. The first principle you must understand is that we have all done wrong, we have all sinned.

The second point for you to understand is that there is a penalty for that sin. Romans 6:23 tells us, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." This is talking about more than just a physical death. Revelation tells us that this is talking about a spiritual death. If you die without Christ, you will face eternal agony in the Lake of Fire.

The third principle for you to understand is the principle of God's love. God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin. Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God demonstrates His love toward us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Christ loved us so much that He died so that we would not have to spend eternity in judgement.

This brings us to the fourth point. You must accept Christ's death as the penalty for your sin. It does not happen automatically. You must receive the gift of eternal life for it to be yours. Romans 10:13 tells us, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And this means more than just praying a little prayer. He wants you to call on Him as the Lord, the King, the Master in your life.

Have you called on Jesus to be your Lord and Savior? Have you turned to Him to be the King of your life? If not, then turn your life over to Him today. Pray to God asking His forgiveness for your sins. Ask Him to save you, and then turn your life over to Him today. He will radically change your life!

If you have never given your life to Christ, then He is pleading with you right now to turn to Him? Why would He plead with you? Because He desparately wants to protect you as His own dear child. The penalty for your sins is too great. You cannot bear it. And He does not want you to suffer in the eternal torment of the Lake of Fire. And so, He is pleading with you to turn to Him and escape that certain destruction. Turn to Him while you can.

Once you turn your life over to God, He will bring you a joy and peace you have never known before. Only God can bring true happiness without guilt, pain, or penalties. And Getting involved with a local community of believers (a church) will help you to build relationships with those who will encourage you and pull you closer to God rather than away from Him. In order to further deepen your relationship with God, spend time reading the Bible. You see, God's Word is actually a "love-letter" written to us from God. You can build your relationship with Him by studying His very own Word. I would recommend for you to begin reading in the Gospel of John or the Book of James.

One of the first acts of obedience for a new believer is to be baptized. But what is baptism? Baptism is an outward symbol of what takes place in your life when you put your trust in Christ for salvation. It represents several things:

If you have recently trusted Christ to become the Lord of your life, then the next step is to follow Him in baptism. For more information about getting baptized at The River Church, please contact our pastor, Larry, at 755-7777.

One of the most critical steps you can take forward in your walk with God is when you begin to read the Bible for yourself. You can be “fed” from the Word of God by attending church and listening to the sermon, but you will make a major step forward in your journey with God when you learn to “feed” yourself. That is, you need to learn how to read God’s Word for yourself and learn and grow from it.

• Keep in mind that the Bible is actually a collection of 66 different books and letters which were written by 40 different authors over the period of about 1,600 years. The books are not laid out in chronological order, so you won’t necessarily want to attempt to begin reading in Genesis and then work your way all the way through to Revelation. That’s one of the biggest mistakes that new disciples make when they begin reading the Bible. That can make your study of the Bible extremely difficult and confusing.

• The books of Genesis through Malachi are Old Testament Books and were written before Jesus Christ (leading up to His magnificent life on earth). The books of Matthew through Revelation are called the New Testament Books, and they record the life of Christ as well as the first few decades of the church. If you are just beginning your study of the Bible, I would highly recommend for you to begin in the New Testament. The Gospel of John would be a good place to begin, and you may want to move over to the Book of James after that. If you would like to take a look at the Old Testament, I would suggest you read through the Book of Proverbs. This book was written by Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, and it is filled with great truths for living your life better.

• Before you take time to read your Bible, you should pray that God will open your eyes to what He wants you to see. As you read, keep asking yourself, “What is God wanting to show me through this?” Perhaps He will give you some insight about something you need to change in your life. Perhaps He will give you some sort of encouragement that applies to a life issue you are facing. Perhaps He will give you insight or direction concerning a decision you need to make.

• When God points something out to you, take some time to meditate on what He is saying. You may want to keep a notebook or journal for notes of what God teaches you along the way. You also may want to circle or underline key verses, phrases, words, or expressions that jump out at you as you read. Another helpful practice is to jot a note in the margin of your Bible so you can remember that insight the next time you read over the passage. When God speaks to you in some way or shows you some key truth, take time to pause and pray about that right there. Pray that God will change you into what He wants you to be. Pray that God will help you to grow in your walk with Him.

• The really cool thing is that you only need to read a few chapters a day to complete the entire Bible in a year. If you read 3 chapters a day, you can read the whole New Testament in just 3 months. If you read just 1 chapter a day, you can read the entire New Testament in less than a year.

• The Bible reading record on the opposite side of this page is designed to help you keep track of what Books of the Bible you have read. Circle each chapter on the chart after reading it. After finishing a particular book of the Bible, then move on to another according to your own interest or needs. Check with one of the pastors or small group leaders if you would like suggestions on Bible books to read that would be meaningful to you in your current situation.

• Be sure to use a modern day translation such as the New King James Version (NKJV) or New International Version (NIV). These are two of the best translations on the market, and they are much easier to read than many others available.