I'm a Christian.. but now what? How does a Christian act?

I’m a Christian. Now what? What is a new creature? How does a Christian act?

I am so excited that you decided to accept Jesus’s gift and become His child! I am rejoicing with God that you are now a part of the family of Christ! Over these last two months or so, you might have wondered, “Now that I’m a child of God, how do I live? I’ve made the decision to acknowledge that Christ is Lord of my life, now how do I live as a Christian?”

Great question. And kids, this is honestly a question that I, someone who got saved a long time ago when I was closer to your age, still have to ask myself! So, lets learn together, OK?

God wants you to get to know Him better! He wants you to spend time talking with Him in prayer and learning how He wants you to act. In addition to being the story of Jesus, the Bible is also like our “instruction manual” for life!

The Bible has so many things to say about how to behave and how not to behave. We follow these commands because we love Jesus, not because He is like a stern school teacher!

How do I get to know Jesus better?
Read the Bible each day! The Bible is His story, and has all the information that you need to learn more about who He is and how to live a holy—pure and good—life!
Spend time praying and talking with Jesus. Ask Him questions! Ask Him to help you be strong and follow Him. He wants to hear from you! He wants to talk with you!
Psalms 145:18 says “The Lord is near to everyone who calls upon Him.” Jesus cares about you and your troubles!

2. How do I say no to sin (or, bad things)? I want to be holy and good for Jesus, but how do I say no to Satan and his temptation?

In Romans 8, the Bible says:
“And because you belong to him [JESUS], the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death … God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins … [we] no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
… So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. You are not controlled by your sinful nature … you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.
Because of that, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit …
Selections from Romans 8.

So, basically this means that when you weren’t a child of Jesus, you were a SLAVE to Satan (the devil) and sin (doing bad things)! You couldn’t be free from sin! But here’s the good news! Now that you are a child of Jesus, He has FREED you from the power of sin! You can say no to the evil temptations of Satan.

This doesn’t mean that it will be easy!

Matt. 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

This means that to be a follower of Christ, you have to sacrifice—it will be hard living for Jesus and as His child when your family doesn’t believe in Jesus—when your friends think you are weird because you don’t go out and do bad things with them.

In conclusion:
1. Spend time with Jesus—reading the Bible and praying and talking with Him!
2. Remember, you CAN say no to bad things because you are now a child of Jesus.  Christ has made you into a NEW person! Make the choice to follow and say “yes” to Him every day!