
What is a Christian & How do I become one?
Hello there! I am glad you found Fixing Her Eyes.
Have you ever wondered if there is more to life?
Christians believe that we are part of a bigger picture; that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) created the world and everything in it. He made men and women in his image. They were his masterpiece and were made for relationship with him and relationship with each other. They were put in charge of the world, under his rule, to care for it and to be responsible for it. God wanted them to enjoy the wonder, beauty and delights of the world that he created and to work in it. The world was good.
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God is present in the world and in control. He is a living God, a holy God in whom there is no darkness. He is almighty and all-powerful.
A Christian believes that we humans reject God’s rule in many ways. We ignore him and his plan for the world. We try to live our own way and the bible calls this sin. Our sin separates us from God and he takes our sin seriously. Our sin leads to death, judgment and eternal hell.
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But people matter to God, so he devised a rescue plan to restore our relationship with Him. He sent his Son in the person of Jesus, who came to show us what it meant to be truly human and to reflect the character of his Father. Yet he wasn’t like the humanity we know, he was perfect.
Jesus was a master teacher, he healed the sick, raised dead people to life, walked on water and lived a life modeling humility, love, compassion and truth. He was servant hearted. He broke with the social norms of the day by ministering to women, the poor, the social outcasts and the lost. By doing so, he gave them value and dignity.
Because of his great love and not wanting anyone to perish, Jesus took the punishment we deserve for our sin. He subjected himself to a humiliating, lonely, painful death by crucifixion on a wooden cross. It was his sacrifice that paid the price for our sins in full. Jesus dying was the only way we could again be in relationship with God. Because he came alive (rose again) we can be confident of Jesus’ power over death and sin. He is now seated at the right hand of God who appointed him as judge and Lord over heaven and earth.
Christians believe that there will be a time when Jesus will return to make all things right again, serving justice and restoring brokenness. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. He has promised to wipe away every tear.
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Becoming a Christian symbolises a new life and a fresh start. It means turning towards Jesus and away from sin. A Christian is a forgiven person, a person who shows faith in God, trusts His promises and lives their life in a way that reflects that. Christians have an inner confidence that they are loved by God and have a purpose here on earth. Christians are not perfect people but they are forgiven people. Our fresh start and new relationship with God is not because of anything we have done, rather it is because of God’s grace towards us.
God was a worker in the creation of all things and continues to work now. Christians join him in work, to bring glory and honour to Him and to deliver God’s goodness to other people. God is gathering people to himself until he returns to make all things new.
Christians have transformed hearts for the purposes of God. We seek to model ourselves on the way Jesus lived and are helped by the power of his Holy Spirit. He works within us through His Spirit to make us more like Jesus. The Spirit of God brings joy, comfort, encouragement and guidance to those who follow him. We see ourselves as part of His church – which gathers all Christians together under Jesus as the head. Able Christians find a local church to worship, learn and encourage one another in just as Christians did 2000 years ago.
A Christian believes that the bible is the word of God and that he speaks to us through the word in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christians are called to be “salt and light” in the world. We are to emulate the life, person and character of Jesus. We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet, going where he tells us to go showing his love and serving others. Jesus said the greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22.37-39)
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The story (parable) in the bible of the Lost Son shows how God forgives those who have run from him, his compassion, how people are valuable to him and there is a celebration when they return.
Then he (JESUS) said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’
“So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.
“That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.
“When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’
“But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.
“All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’
“The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on prostitutes shows up and you go all out with a feast!’
“His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”
Luke chapter 15 verses 11-32
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I invite you to consider starting your relationship with God the Father who loves you and is waiting for you, just like the Father in the parable of the Lost Son. This is the most important decision in life you can make.
To pray this prayer to God means that you are “born again.” You are starting your life afresh with Jesus as your King. Whatever your past, or whatever your sin, in Jesus there is no more guilt or shame. Praying simply means speaking to God.
“Father God, I want what Jesus did on the Cross to count for me. I am sorry for my sin and living my own way. Please forgive me for ignoring you and running from you. Thank you for loving me. I want to start living for you. Please come into my life. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, be assured God heard you and there is a celebration in heaven!
That is great news!
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Here are some steps you can take:
- Please let us know on our contact page and we will try to find someone who can help you find other Christians in your area.
- There are places to read the bible online, via apps or you can buy one here. Reading the bible helps you discover more about the story of God’s love and grace. Knowing the love of Jesus is transforming.
- Read more on our site about who Jesus is here
- Read more on our site about what it means to Fix your eyes on Jesus here
- Read the first 6 chapters of the book of Matthew here. Jesus tells those around him what it looks like to seek God’s heart.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus (John 3.16)
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Apostle Paul (Ephesians 2.8)
Jen Barker
#followJesus
Once you start getting your head around the language used in the bible, we recommend the NIV translation. Quotes above are from The Message Copyright © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson and Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright 2011