An Open Letter to the Newbie Christian
To start with I want to welcome you into the family and kingdom of God. Being a “Newbie Christian” is a great place to be. I pray that God will strengthen you each day, and I know that He will because He is so excited that you have taken the step to be here. Taking that first step of faith, by choosing to believe in Jesus, is a big step. It can be scary, exciting, humbling, wonderful, and exhilarating, the emotions that salvation brings can be overwhelming. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior you were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is our helper.
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7
Why I am writing this letter
I grew up in a Christian home, went to church for as long as I can remember. Well until I could make my own decisions anyway. For more on my story you can read my Testimony. When I came back to Christ in my early thirties, I still had all that knowledge it was still second nature to me. However, my husband who was raised in the catholic church doesn’t remember any of it. He was saved almost two years ago.
Through this I realized that we “seasoned” Christians tend to speak a different language, and this can be hard for a new Christians that do not have a church upbringing or they decided to do an information dump somewhere along the road. This letter is intended to aid new Christians, regardless of background. My hope is to walk with you and help you grow in your knowledge of God, which will also increase your faith and deepen your love for Him.
Why a “Letter”
The letter format is intended to keep a cohesive order. I will be building on things that have already been discussed. Each new post will be inserted into this letter via a link. You will see at the end I have a page between each entry. This will be easier for you to come back and know where you ended last time. I felt the most recent first format that is typical of a blog would be confusing.
Would like to receive emails when a new post is out? Please, subscribe to the right of this page. Once you have subscribed you will receive an email with information for all of my new blog posts. Don’t worry, I promise not to spam you, usually only 1 email per week. Or you can just check back here occasionally. I typically post 3 times per month. My goal in updating this letter is to add something here each month.
TIP
Are you familiar with how Bible verses are referenced? If not here is an example with and explanation –
Book Chapter: Verse. Above I have a Bible reference to John 16:7. That would be the book of John (all abbreviations are at the beginning of your Bible, or there is always Google). 16 refers to the chapter so chapter 16 and 7 is the verse. So, John 16:7 is the book of John chapter 16 verse 7.
Feel free to ask me a question in the comments below or you can email me at myweaknesshisstrength@gmail.com . I hope to share a tip each month, so it may as well be in answer to your question.
Do you have a Bible?
If you do not have a Bible there are multiple Bible apps available for free. I use the “You Version” app and would love to connect with you there if you use this one. Look for me my user name is Debra Jean. I use the same photo that is on all my social media. If for any reason you can’t find me send me your username and I will find you.
Newbie Christian Post #1
For this first post my focus is starting with building good habits that will help you learn and grow. These 4 keys won’t take a lot of time. However, they will build a solid foundation for your Christian walk. They are also the core to developing and growing in your relationship with Christ Jesus.
“I Believe in Jesus; Now What?”
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Newbie Christian Post #2
Hello again, I hope you are doing well today. This week I have written about seeking truth. As a Christian we believe that God’s word is true. God is the creator of all. Therefore, who know truth better than God? No one. Truth is what God says it is! It really is as simple as that. However, we are not told to believe just because, we are called to be discerning. To test what we are told. It can be really easy to have the words in the Bible turned just slightly and no longer be truth. Satan is good at this slight yet very deceptive twists of truth. That is how he was able to trick Eve.
We don’t want to be so easily led astray. It is my hope that this post will give you the tools you need to think through and seek out the truth.
A Side Note
I also wanted to point out that it can be very easy to overlook some small words when you are reading. At times this can change the way we interpret what we read. Let’s look at a verse to give an example
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Philippians 4:13
This sounds great Right? Somehow I tend to glaze over the little word “all” and then I live as if it said “some” or “a few” or maybe I replace I with “some people” It can be challenging at times to read it word for word and believe it. Not just say I believe, but the kind of belief that is found deep in the depths of my soul. This deep place is where we need to be planting seeds of truth and letting them sprout. Through that process we will glorify God. And honestly in glorifying God is where our true place of joy is.
I think this verse should read like this,
“I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth ME.”
Philippians 4:13
I need to always remember that the Word of God is a love letter written to me. You need to know that it is also a love letter written to you. Because, the God of all heaven and earth loves each one of us. He loves us each in a very personal way.
Let’s make an effort to be on the look out for the little words that have big meaning as we read our Bible.
TIP
Read this weeks posts for a great resource for digging into the truth of God’s Word.
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Newbie Christian Post #3
Last month we talked about the Bible. And this month we are going to discuss prayer. These are two very important pieces to the Christian life. I really enjoyed writing on prayer as was simply surprised that I haven’t written about it more already. Hint, Hint, you are likely to see me writing more on prayer in the coming months and years. It is such a vast and wonderful topic.
As I haven’t received any questions, I am at a loss of what tip to give you this month, send your questions please! They help you, me and many others.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts on prayer.
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Newbie Christian Post #4
Is it really possible that I started this 4 months ago? I seems like it has only been a couple of weeks. Time really does fly! Or is it just me ;-}
This month I have tackled a big topic, although I feel like I was able to simplify it to a very understandable level. I actually got the idea after teaching the youth at my church on it.
Please let me know if you have any questions- I would love to hear from you!
The grace of God is amazing and unfathomable and the longer you walk with God the more you will truly understand this. And still our God is not a God of confusion, the information is there in simple terms too. I hope that you will come away from this post with a deeper love for God and a better understanding of His great love for you.
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