Now That I Believe, What’s Next?

Now that you believe in Jesus, you may be asking, “What now…What’s next?”

At this point, many people will tell you to get involved in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church.

But I am not going to tell you to do that.

Most churches say they are a Bible believing, Bible teaching church; yet many of these churches have damaged the lives of people, though they claim to be a church where the Bible is believed and taught.

Though most churches claim to be Bible-based, many of them are toxic, abusive, and hurtful; therefore, I do not recommend churches to people.

I am sure there are healthy churches; yet I truly believe there are not many of them.

My goal with the above statements is not to throw every church under the church bus, but to acknowledge that many churches have damaged many people.

Maybe you are one of these people.

You have been damaged by a church…a pastor…or a family member who attended a certain church.

Please know that God is misrepresented by many churches.

The Bible is mis-taught by many churches.

When Jesus was on the earth, spiritual leaders misrepresented God and mis-taught the scriptures, causing deep pain in the lives of people through spiritual abuse.

Everyday these religious leaders opposed Jesus, ultimately plotting his arrest and crucifixion.

These type of abusive spiritual leaders still exist today, though they claim to know Jesus and have churches in his name.

Again, maybe you have experienced this abuse.

But for some reason, your desire to know God has continued.

Maybe it was dormant in your life for awhile, maybe years, but this longing in your heart for God has returned.

My heart goes out to you for the hurt you have experienced, but I am happy your desire to know God has returned.

Your relationship with God is much like the experience of a fish in the water.

The water is the source of life for the fish and provides everything the fish needs for life.

In the same way, God is your source of life, providing for all your spiritual needs.

God has provided for your need of forgiveness through Jesus.

Through faith in Jesus, you are fully and forever forgiven of all your sins.

God has provided for your need to know him through Jesus.

Through faith in Jesus, you are reconciled to God, meaning you are eternally connected to God.

Okay, let’s return to the water and fish illustration.

Everyday the fish lives in the water and the water dwells within the fish.

In the same way, everyday you live in relationship with God and God lives within you.

When you wake up in the morning, you are in relationship with God and God lives within you.

When you go through the day, you are in relationship with God and God lives within you.

When you sleep at night, you are in relationship with God and God lives within you.

So what’s next now that you have believed in Jesus?

Enjoy your relationship with God, just as a fish enjoys the water.

God enjoys knowing you…the real you.

The you that has good days and bad days, highs and lows, difficulties and delights, success and failures, days of doubts and days of confidence.

That’s what’s next…enjoy your relationship with God, confident he created you to know you, confident he has forgiven and loves you, confident he is with you, and confident he indwells you.

At the beginning of this blog, I talked about the Bible.

Though much of the Bible is difficult to understand, the parts I do understand have changed my life.

Through this website, I seek to explain the Bible to people so they can encounter God’s grace and experience life-change.

If you would like to know more about the Bible, feel free to check out my blogs where they are listed by title and topic.

Also, you can click on the Teaching Resources orange button located at the top of the Home Page.

On the Teaching Resources page, you will find my audio and video teachings about books of the Bible as well as on topics in the Bible.

Many of these teachings have notes I have written that you may find beneficial.

If you would like to check out this website and the resources offered to help you know God better and understand the Bible more clearly, CLICK HERE.