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Your New Life

The moment you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you began a new life. He is the giver of life—wonderful, rich and joyful life that never ends.

You Are Learning to Walk

Have you ever watched a child who is learning to walk? Barely able to stand, the little one wobbles and totters around the room, holding onto whatever can be reached. But what excitement! What a look—as if the whole world had been conquered! And so, sometimes moving, sometimes standing, sometimes falling—but always getting up again and going on—the child learns to walk. The desire to succeed is strong. All the time the parents are close by, reaching out to help and encourage every step.

You are like that child in some ways. You have a new life from God. But learning how to live it is like learning how to walk. You need to be strong in your desire to succeed. Your heavenly Father is close by, ready to help. But you must try. You must put your hand in His hand and keep trying. If you do, every day you will improve. Your steps will become more firm and sure. You will stumble less often. Your ability will grow, and you will fulfill God’s wonderful plan for your life.

In this lesson you will study . . . 
  • Put Your Hand in God’s Hand
  • Face Problems With God’s Help
  • Do What God Asks You to Do
This lesson will help you to . . .
  • Trust God more.
  • Deal with opposition.
  • Overcome discouragement and doubts.
  • Become sure of your salvation.
PUT YOUR HAND IN GOD’S HAND

Objective 1.     Choose a description of the Christian’s walk.

How happy parents are when their baby takes his or her first steps! And how happy your heavenly Father is when you, His child, begin to walk with Him in this Christian life! Don’t be afraid that you will fall; just put your hand in your Father’s and He will help you. Each day, when you awake, ask Him to help you in everything you do that day.

FACE PROBLEMS WITH GOD’S HELP

Objective 2.     Discover how to overcome discouragement, opposition, and doubt.

Has Satan Tried to Make You Fall?

Satan, the devil, is an enemy of God and of every Christian. He tries to trip you up and make you fall. He may use persecution, ridicule, discouragement, or temptation. He will try to make you doubt that you are saved. Satan always fights against Christians and tries to take them away from God. He especially tries to confuse new Christians with doubts and difficulties. He doesn’t want you to learn to walk with God.

So don’t be surprised if you get a few bumps while you are learning to walk. A child may run into a chair and hurt himself or lose his balance and fall, but this is no reason for him to refuse to try to walk again.

Are You Suffering for Christ’s Sake?

Don’t be surprised or angry if your family or some of your friends make fun of you for accepting Christ. They may even persecute you. It is an honor and privilege to suffer for the One who died on the cross for us. We “carry our crosses” and follow Him, letting Him know that we appreciate what He suffered for our sakes.

Besides, the Lord promises to reward those who suffer for His sake.

Luke 9:23. “If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget himself, take up his cross every day, and follow me.”

Matthew 5:10-12. “Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them! Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven.”

Are You Discouraged or Bothered with Doubts?

Don’t be discouraged if you have a hard time doing what is right. When a person is born again, that person is truly a child of God, but he or she still has to learn how to walk. When new Christians make a mistake, the devil tries to discourage them by making them think: “Now look at what I’ve done. I must not be a child of God, or I would act differently.”

Some new Christians become confused and give way to doubt. They think: “I can’t live a Christian life; it’s too hard for me. I might as well go back to my old life and not try to serve God. Besides, I don’t see the great change in myself that the Christians talk about. I don’t feel any joy of salvation. I guess I’m not a Christian after all.”

Have you struggled with some of these doubts? Remember that they come from your enemy who is trying to discourage you and make you fall. Some people feel more joy than others when they get saved, so don’t worry about how you feel. The more you learn about what God did when He made you His child, the more joy you will have. As you thank Him for His blessings, your   joy will grow. Remember that your salvation doesn’t depend on what you feel; it depends on the faithfulness of God to whom you have given your life and soul.

If you have stumbled and fallen, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to walk or that you aren’t God’s child. Ask His forgiveness for your failures, and then get up and try again.

As to the change in yourself, your desire to please God and the fact that you worry over your failures are proofs of a new nature. So don’t be discouraged. Remember that some children have more trouble than others learning to walk.

Your Father Loves You

Do you suppose that loving parents would scold their baby for falling down, or go off and leave the child when he or she is hurt? Not at all! They would pick the baby up, offer comfort, and then encourage the child to keep on trying until he or she learned to walk well. Do you think God will do any less for His child who is just beginning to walk? Impossible! Look to Him now in prayer and tell Him: “Thank you, Father, for holding my hand and teaching me how to walk. I am weak, but I know that you will help me do what I ought to do.”

You should know that God guides you in your Christian life by His Holy Spirit and by His Word, the Holy Bible. Read the Bible and pray every day. This will help you get rid of your doubts and walk without stumbling.

DO WHAT GOD ASKS YOU TO DO

Objective 3.     Take steps to make sure of your salvation.

Maybe you are wondering if you have done everything God expects you to do to be saved. Christ tells us clearly what a person has to do in order to be saved; so let’s see now if you have done your part. If you need to do something yet, you can do it now and be sure of your salvation.

God asks you to do two things to be saved: repent of your sins and believe the gospel.

Repent

Mark 1:15. “Turn away from your sins and believe the Good News!” To repent means to be sorry for your sins and turn away from them.

Are you sorry for having disobeyed God? Are you determined to get rid of sin in your life, or is there some sin that you want to hold on to? Are you willing to give up your own way and, from now on, do only what pleases God?

Has someone treated you so badly that you don’t want to forgive him? Hatred and resentment are such terrible sins that they keep many people from a relationship with God. God is love, and He cannot live in a heart full of hate and prejudice. If you have something against someone, forgive him or her now. Ask God to help you love those who have treated you so badly.

Matthew 6:15. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”

If you still doubt that you have repented sincerely, you can settle this at once. Turn away from all sin and give up your own way so God can have His way in your life from now on.

 

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