A new believer needs advice (Full Version)

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thorkraki -> A new believer needs advice (6/26/2008 5:25:53 PM)

I am a new believer. I was raised a nominal Christian, but only in the past couple of weeks have come to a new personal relationship with Jesus.

I need to know what to do as a next step! My family (my wife and three sons) are also nominal Christians, of the type common in Europe, and apparently the USA as well. I want to lead them into a new relationship with Jesus too. I asked them to come to church with me last Sunday, and they did. I just don't know what to do next!

We are traveling a lot in the next two months, between our homes in Italy and Denmark, and then moving for a couple of years to New York in the USA. So it is hard to find other more mature Christians to talk to. That is why I am here!

Any advice I can get will be gratefully received!

Your brother in Jesus Christ,

Thor



LCannon -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/26/2008 5:56:25 PM)

Thank God for renewed zeal(as you have)and act on your renewal in further obedience to His sacrifice and Victory! Start, if you haven't, a regular daily 'quiet time' of study(reading), prayer and service. You don't have to be that 'knowledgeable'(after all the aim is growth not knowledge; the knowledge/familiarity will come).

Try this: The book of Ephesians has six chapters. Commit yourself to read, aloud, a chapter a day for six day with the emphasis of obedience(you can read the entire book in 15 minutes), rest a day(Sunday?), commit yourself for another week, a chapter a day, with the emphasis of unity with the church, your family and society and look for your opportunities to serve your family and your circle.



thorkraki -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/26/2008 6:10:55 PM)

Thanks for the advice! I will do this reading you suggest.

Thor



4IMPersuaded -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/26/2008 6:34:35 PM)

Oh, Thor, what a beautiful time in your life! You are in for an amazing journey of discovering a personal relationship with your heavenly Father. I am so happy for you.

As for what to do-- as I read your OP, I am thinking you are concerned about the spiritual state of your family? Here is what I can suggest. Do not beat them over the head with your new-found zeal-- it is really tempting to want everyone else to come to the place that you are. It is difficult to watch your loved ones acting outside of what you know to be God's will in their life, but you can't push them. The Holy Spirit will call them in His time. What you CAN do is love them and share with them the peace that you have found by living it. I cannot overestimate the value of a Godly man as the spiritual leader of a family-- What a blessing!

Read your Bible where they can see you, but don't ask that they do it, too. Answer their questions and relay what Jesus is showing you when they ask. Pray, pray, pray for them and yourself as their spiritual leader. Your family is on the cusp of a wonderful time of learning and experiencing who God is for perhaps the first time in your lives. Blessings as you come to know Him better!



thorkraki -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/26/2008 6:54:41 PM)

Thanks so much for your kind words! I do want to lead my family into a deeper commitment to the Lord! We will be moving in the fall to the USA, where I have traveled and know business contacts but not churches. I will do as you say in your wise advice!

Thor



4IMPersuaded -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/26/2008 7:00:41 PM)

That is great, Thor. Do not underestimate the power of a godly father in a family!

Without getting too specific, where in the US are you headed. Perhaps someone on the forum could recommend a good church community to get plugged into once you arrive.



thorkraki -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/26/2008 8:22:40 PM)

Thanks, that is a good idea! We have bought a town house in New York, on 86th Street, near the park and museum. If anyone else knows the area, that would be great!

Thor



iamjc-s -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/27/2008 12:02:03 PM)

-
I have been researching all Christ did & sacrificed & went through for us to save us from death & descruction & restore our connection with God the Father.

It is MUCH more than I'd have ever thought.
Thus far I have 44 MSW pages & still going.

I have found this & the meanings behind the names of God which reveal part of His character have deepened my relationship with Him.

If you &/or your family are interested in either of these & want more info., feel free to send me a Private Message or post so here.
-



davemiller7 -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/27/2008 12:40:13 PM)

Congratulations and blessings on beginning your new journey with Christ!

If I may add another bit of advice. Don't try to go too fast and don't push your family. It's like a baby learning to walk. Start out with small steps. Ephesians, as LCannon mentioned, is a good place to start. The Gospel of John is another good early read. And don't expect to digest everything immediately. Many new believers tend to be so excited that they rush headlong into the Scriptures, get disappointed that they don't understand everything, get burned out from it all, and finally drift back into their "old self" or give up entirely.

In Christ,
-Dave



thorkraki -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/27/2008 1:49:32 PM)

Thank you for this great advice! I have started with Ephesians and John. I don't have a Danish Bible with me right now so I am reading them in Greek. I have read them before as a historian (my doctorate, although now I guess you could call me a farmer!), but not with an eye to faith.

My wife and sons have been willing to pray with me at meal times and go to church with me this week. I am going slow with them as people here have suggested. They are, as I was, nominal Christians, like most people in our twin homelands of Denmark and Italy.

Thanks again!

Thor



e.barrett -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/27/2008 2:12:13 PM)

I think the best thing that you can do to draw the people around you closer to God is simply live out a life of faith. As you start to move closer to God you'll naturally begin to behave more like God. Which means more conversations with him (prayer), more time learning about him (reading your Bible, although podcasts are great for this), and simply being a better father and husband (love).

People want to understand why we changed so much. And when they see the connection between who we are and God, they can't help but want to follow that path themselves.



rcjames -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/27/2008 6:43:59 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: thorkraki
I am a new believer. I was raised a nominal Christian, but only in the past couple of weeks have come to a new personal relationship with Jesus.


Thor, I too am very pleased that you have dicided to delve deeper into your relationship with Christ.

One question; what is a nominal Christian?


Thsnks
RC



thorkraki -> RE: A new believer needs advice (6/27/2008 6:55:42 PM)

When I say nominal, I mean this: you were baptized into a church when you were born, you maybe go to church at Easter and Christmas, attend friends' children's baptism, get married in church, etc. If people as you if you are a Christian, you say yes, of course.

Maybe there's a better way of saying it in English than "nominal." I don't know. Anyway, that is what I mean.

Thanks for the encouragement! I am getting ready with my family to leave our home in Rome and visit our properties in Denmark for a little while, then I am going on a vacation with my sons in the USA while my wife attends to some business matters in Italy. We are moving to New York for a couple of years then, and I hope that I can find other believers there to get to know!

Thor



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