Day 1 - The Journey

Day 1 of 7
 
Imagine you've walked into a local coffee shop. 
 
As you enter, you look to the corner and I'm sitting at a table that I've saved for the two of us. (I sent you a message earlier and have your drink ready).
We say hi, exchange a hug and you sit down. As you take a sip of your favorite drink, you see a huge smile come across my face. 
 
I can't help discussing what's happened!
You've just made the most important decision of your life.  You've asked Jesus to be your Savior! I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of the next several days of this new relationship you have with God. You're going to get to know God in a new way now that you understand that He loves you and accepts you.

As we talk, you'll find I refer to God's word, the Bible a lot. This is because the Words are directly from God! In the Bible, in the book of Romans 10:9, you'll find, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." If you've confessed and believed, then you are now a follower of Jesus Christ.
 
One of the things that continues to impact me is that "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast," (Ephesians 2:8-9). 
 
How great is God that He'd give us such a gift, just because we choose to trust in Him. Now, this decision you made is about a relationship. Because you have a relationship with Jesus you are free from sin and will get to spend eternity with Him.
 
  Every relationship takes time to grow and build. Think about one  
  close friend of yours.  I'm sure the friendship has grown over time.
  That's true of your relationship with God, too.  You will know Him
  in a new way as time goes by. Over the next week, I want to
  challenge you to revisit this website. Each day I'd like to talk about a
  few simple things that will help you get to know this great God who has saved you and wants to develop this new relationship.
 
Now, that close friend you mentioned, how did you get to the point where you'd count that person as a close friend? I'm guessing there was a lot of talking taking place. Whether you like to talk or are more of the quiet type, we all communicate. On your first day, I'd like to encourage you to talk to God in a similar way.
 
I'm sure you've heard of prayer before and maybe been intimidated. Maybe it just seems so strange the idea of praying, something that only pastors or "super-Christians" do. That couldn't be further from the truth; prayer is for everyone. Let me make this simple.  Prayer is talking to God...that's it! All you have to do is think thoughts towards God and He hears them. Whether you say prayers out loud, or simply think them in your mind, He hears. There aren't any lines to memorize or big fancy words required, it's just a conversation. When you're on the phone with your close friend, you probably aren't worried about what words to choose, you just talk. Approach prayer the same way. The Bible says in James 4:8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." When we pray we are getting to know God.
 
So, what can you talk to God about? The answer is anything.  As a place to start today, I'd encourage you to tell Him about what you're thinking and feeling about the decision you've made. If you're excited, just say that. If you have hesitations, feel free to say that. God isn't going to be surprised or intimidated by what you have to say. He wants to hear it from you. Now I want you to take a couple minutes and pray to God about this decision. Don't worry, I'll wait...
I trust you took a couple minutes to start the conversation, as you build this relationship with Jesus.
 
Now, before we meet tomorrow, do these things for me:
Call, email or text a friend that you're close to, who has a close relationship with Jesus. Simply tell him/her about the decision you've made and ask to set up a time for the two of you to get together and chat.
 
Get a Bible. If you're not sure about which translation to get, start with the NIV since it's widely used and simple to read. You can also find the Bible on-line at BibleGateway.com, but the advantage to having your own Bible, is that you can take it with you anywhere and make your own notes in the margins. I love highlighting verses that have helped me in different situations in my life.

Read the story of Jesus' conversation with a woman at a well. (John 4:1-26) I'm a huge fan of this story. It shows that Jesus is approachable.  If you don't have a Bible, click on this link: Bible: John 4to read it at Bible Gateway. If you have a Bible now, then dive in. The first few pages should have a table of contents that will give you a page number for the Book of John (not 1 John, St. John, just John) Then go to Chapter 4 in John and start reading. You could even talk to God a little before you read.

I want to leave you with one final verse that I think about every time I hear that someone has made a decision to ask Jesus Christ to be Savior and Lord. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." There is a celebration going on in heaven because of your decision. Think about that, a party in heaven! I've been to some great parties, but I think that a heaven party would have to be the best.  As your new brother in Christ, let me just say... thanks for giving heaven a reason to celebrate!
 
I look forward to connecting with you again tomorrow.
 
Before you head out the door, we take a minute right there in our corner of the coffee shop and pray together. At first it feels a little strange praying in public, but at the same time it really does feel like it's just the three of us talking at that moment, you, me, and God.
 
After we shake hands, pound knuckles and then you grab your drink for the road and head out the door, excited to get started.
I shoot you a message a few minutes later thanking you for our time together.