where are you?

there are basically three stages to following christ.

[1] believer
-in order to believe in jesus, you must first realize you need him, that you need a savior. you must know how broken you are and without him you would die (for the wages of sin is death romans 6:23). i remember feeling that something was missing in my life...and it was jesus. once you realize you need jesus, then you can accept what he did for you. he loved you so much that he died for you and paid the price...so that you could have eternal life.

[2] follower
-after you confess jesus is lord, and believe in your heart god raised him from the dead, then you are saved (romans 10:9)...and the next step is to get to know jesus. you do this by reading his word. god talks to us through his word, and we speak to him through prayer. get involved in a bible study...read the the whole bible...and fellowship with other christians so you can see what it looks like to follow jesus. the more i learn about jesus and how holy he is, the more i am convicted of my sin, and the more grateful i am that he came to save me. walking with jesus is a daily commitment...leaving your burdens at his feet and confessing your sins to him, and living with the confidence that you are saved and loved by the king of kings and the lord or lords.

[3] disciple
-once you are saved and know jesus, he wants us to be so full of his light that we can't help but share it with others. paul said that his life was worth nothing to him unless he was telling others about the gospel of god's grace (acts 20:24).

what's your purpose? why do you think you are here living? are you living for yourself? or are you living for god? where are you in these steps? the most important step is the first because it determines your salvation for eternity.

the bible tells us that this earth is not our home. we are foreigners...sometimes i don't feel like i fit in, but i guess that's a good thing. i can't wait for heaven sometimes. but as long as god still has me here, i hope to live for him. for that is where i find true joy. everything is meaningless...like chasing after the wind (ecclesiates 1:14)