Advice for New Christians

Being a Christian in the strange world we live in today isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but then again life isn’t a picnic for anyone right now, is it? When I gave my life to Jesus, I had no idea what I was doing, zero, zilch. What’s wrong? What’s right? How do I get myself on track with my faith?

I imagine you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with all the new information you think you’re expected to absorb and you probably feel you need to ‘catch up’ to all of the believers who have been following Jesus since before you were even born. Denominations, prayer, reading the Bible, sharing your faith with others… Yikes! That’s one heck of a tailspin into confusion.

The truth is you’re not expected to know anything by the one who matters - God. All God wants is your heart, which you have already given to him. It’s as simple as that and I urge you to hold onto that fact whenever you doubt whether you’re doing enough.

With that being said, I'm going to give you a few pieces of advice I would tell myself back at the start of my own journey of faith, in the hope that it will help you to orientate yourself in your new life.

1. Get your hands on a Bible and read it.

I know, I know. Bibles are so thick and full of words we don’t understand and talk about people who lived thousands of years before us, so how is that relevant? Well, let me tell you. The Bible is God’s instruction manual to humanity, his words written down by human beings who loved and followed him, just like you and I. I’m not the kind of person who usually reads instructions before doing things but it doesn’t make sense not to read the guide to life, especially because living is way more confusing than assembling Ikea furniture. And, yes, the people in the Bible lived a long time ago but what will strike you when reading their stories is there’s literally nothing new under the sun. Everything we go through, each awkward, painful, humiliating or joyful situation, they went through as well.

In terms of the language of scripture, there are hundreds of different translations to choose from. My top picks are the New International Version (NIV), which reads like a classic book, and The Message (MSG), which goes into detail explaining everything in terms which are simple and easy to understand, a version for us millennials and Gen-Z.

I would highly recommend getting a Study Bible, which gives context about the people and stories and helps make sense of what God is telling us through each passage.

The way you choose to read the Bible is completely up to you and you should do whatever makes sense. For me, it was reading the Bible cover to cover over eighteen months. For you, it might be starting with a particular book in the Bible which catches your eye. I found that once I started, I couldn’t stop and I would definitely advise you make a habit of picking up your Bible everyday. It may seem daunting at first but after a few months, it will become like second nature.

The amazing, crazy, wonderful thing is you will meet God, the creator of the universe, the creator of you and I, in the pages of the Bible. What are you waiting for?

2. Community

Finding Christian friends and mentors isn’t easy, especially during the Covid pandemic, but it’s not impossible and will make things so much easier. If churches are open near you, the best way to find Christian friends is to take part in social activities the Church puts on, like Bible studies. If you are looking for a Church to join I would recommend steering towards one which is sociable and has plenty of opportunities to meet other people. Go and try out a few and see which you like and, most importantly, which fires you up to live all out for Jesus.

If online Church is your reality for the foreseeable, there is a huge community of believers on social media which you can join from the comfort of your home. Filling up your Instagram feed with people who are also living for Jesus is so motivating and inspiring and will definitely give you the confidence to be open about your faith online too.

These are some of my favourite Christians on social media:

Tori and Chad Masters (@torimasters @chadmasters)

These two are young, married and on fire for the Lord. They make fun and wisdom-filled YouTube videos, have a daily devotional podcast ‘The Messy Masterpiece with Tori and Chad’ and share their lives and faith on the ‘gram.

Sadie Robertson Huff (@legitsadierob)

This girl is a celebrity in her own right after appearing on the reality show Duck Dynasty with her family and competing on Dancing with the Stars. She preaches to Gen Z and millennials, has a great community for Christian women on her website Live Original and has an unmissable podcast as well, Whoa that’s good.

Max Milton (@themaxmilton)

This guy is so cool! He makes funny and relatable TikTok videos about his faith and advice to other believers and is very honest about his struggles with sin and shame. He is especially passionate about the topic of singleness and desiring a godly relationship - he even writes letters to his future wife. Race you to his page…

There are so, so many more and you can check out my YouTube video Christian Starter Pack to find out all about them!

3. Build your relationship with God

Ok, let’s get real for a second. Praying, if you’ve never done it before, seems pretty daunting. It’s like talking to yourself or delivering a monologue. You have to start with ‘Dear God’ and end with ‘Amen’ but what the heck was that middle section again?? I’ve got stage fright just thinking about it.

Let’s take a step back. How would you get to know someone you just met? You would hang out, talk about stuff, tell each other stories. That’s praying!! It literally means talking to God, hanging out, telling him what you’re going through, what you’re scared of, what is holding you back, what you need.

The difference between a conversation with God and one with a girl you met at the bus stop is that you won’t usually get God’s reply straight away and it probably won’t be verbal. You have to tune in to God. What I mean by this is keep your eyes open when you’re reading the Bible, listen out when you’re talking to other people or when you’re listening to the radio. You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘God moves in mysterious ways’. It’s right. Once you start talking to God frequently, you’ll get to recognise a God response.

Here are some ways God has responded to my prayers:

• Guiding me to a particular Bible verse which gave me my answer.

• Playing my favourite songs on the radio at work when I felt like I was going to crumble under tiredness and stress.

• Cancelling my plans for me through unforeseen circumstances when I was suffering from burnout.

And so many more.

You’ve already made the most important decision of your life - to follow Jesus. I’m so proud of you for taking the leap of faith. A relationship with him is everything you’ll ever need in this life. I hope these tips will help you as you start out on this lifelong path towards heaven. Isn’t it so cool to say with confidence that one day you and I will be heaven buddies. Lol. Anyway, feel free to DM me (@_luisawebster) or send me a message through chat on here if you have any questions, want some advice or just want to talk. Always more than happy to help or become part of your new Christian friendship group!

Love,

Luisa x