5 Tips on Being a Christian
1. Stop Listening to Podcasts and Reading Articles that tell you how to be the Perfect Christian.
I realize that it might seem like I just told you to click off this page and un-subscribe… but hear me out. When we look at the Bible in its entirety, we see a pivotal change in what a relationship with God looks like before and after Jesus’ time on earth. Before Christ sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, our relationship with Him was very ritualistic… if you do this, you’re right with the Lord… until you mess up again; a vicious cycle. But after Jesus came down and became the living sacrifice, that relationship became very intimate, very personal, and very individual. We no longer have to perform sacrifices and build altars to reach the Throne Room. We simply have to speak (or just think, for that matter) and He listens and responds. My point in all that is that God will talk to you, He will guide you and lead you in the direction that you should go in life. He directs the convictions in your life and will help you determine the things you should or shouldn’t do, the things you should or shouldn’t watch, the places you should or shouldn’t be, etc.
2. Pray, Pray, Pray
Prayer is such a beautiful gift that we have been given. I know the word sounds so proper and so official, but prayer really is just a holy hot line. You can pray out loud, in your head, on your knees, in your chair, with your eyes closed, with your eyes open, with your family, tucked away in your prayer closet… the list goes on-and-on. Prayer can be as simple as, “God, don’t let me forget that you’re with me today,” as you pour your coffee in the morning. It could be as intense as ugly crying, down on your knees at your bedside, in the dark when no one else is around, pleading with God to let this cup pass from you. Prayer is one of the most effective ways to keep yourself in line with God. Think about it, you talk to your spouse every day, your best friend, your significant other, your family, and you probably do that multiple times a day… after all, they’re all right there on speed dial in your pocket. So why not talk to God like you talk to them? God wants to be in relationship with you, so talk to Him… as much as you can, I promise you won’t regret it.
3. Read your Bible… It’s a Page-Turner for Sure
Guys… we have full access to an entire instruction manual on how to win at life. Literally. Some two thousand years ago God provided His people with a collection of divinely inspired writings that not only tell them how to live, but has remained alive and relevant through every generation. There isn’t one problem you have that couldn’t be addressed in the Bible. Literally not one. Even if your biggest problem in life is that you have nothing cute to wear that day, check out Ecclesiastes where my man Solomon tells us that it’s all vanity anyway… in the grand scheme of eternity God doesn’t care whether-or-not your black Vans match your blue button down. I’m telling you, reading your Bible will be life-changing… It’s a page-turner for sure.
4. Find your Ministry
The Kingdom of God is by far the largest, most complex Kingdom the universe has ever experienced. Everyone is welcome and everyone has the opportunity and privilege to contribute to it. We are all called to minister, accepting Christ into your heart and being forgiven of your sins is just the beginning of your journey. See, God took His time designing and creating each one of us, He gave us all completely unique gifts and talents so that we can share His love in everything we do. Maybe your gifts and talents make you the perfect fit to move across the globe and help revive third world nations, or maybe you lead a small group for people like you, maybe you put together get-well packages for sick people in your community, maybe you contribute to a blog… the list of ministry opportunities is astronomically long, I am confident that there is one out there for you and I am also confident that you are a complete hall-of-famer at it. I know I said this earlier, but we are all called to ministry… but don’t take my word for it, Jesus talks about it in Matthew 28:18.
5. Refer Back to Tip no. 1
Being a Christian is a crazy thing. Sometimes it can be a little hard to grasp, just like Jesus was hard to grasp for a lot of people when He was here on earth. He didn’t fit the mold of what they thought He should look and act like, and I think that is a beautiful display of how He envisions Christians. So trust Him, listen to Him… even when things don’t fit the mold… trust Him, He is incapable of doing you wrong.