Welcome to this portion of our web page. Our desire for new believer's is to see them rooted and grounded in the word of God and growing in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here are a few suggestions for you to pray over and apply as the Lord leads. These are principle truths from the word of God and will help you to grow strong in the faith and pleasing to the Lord in every good work.

1. Live by faith- You came to Christ by faith, believing in His sacrifice to pardon you from your sins. God would have you continue to live by faith. Galatians 3:11 " But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith." The writer was rebuking the Galatians for having added something to Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for their acceptance with God. This false teaching was hindering them in their faith and bringing them into bondage. He reminded them that by the law (trying to be acceptable with God by good works) they can never be perfected-Gal. 3:3.

They were to continue to live by faith in Jesus Christ and the acceptance they had with God because of Him. This would cause them to walk in the Spirit and thus, not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. In John 15, Jesus told His disciples to abide (remain) in Him and that in doing so they would bear fruit. We are empowered to live this Christian life by continually looking to Jesus for our strength and guidance. Many people, even good intending Christians will have values based on Christian principles, but where it becomes legalistic and of no help is when they try to oppose it upon others as a means of being holy and acceptable in the sight of God. Always remember, we are acceptable to God and dearly loved because of His Son Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us on the cross.

2. Pray and read the word of God- What the Lord desires most of you is that you spend time with Him, communicating. Prayer is perhaps the most important Christian discipline. For in prayer we are drawn into the very throne room of God where we can continually receive grace and mercy for every need (Heb. 4:16). What a wonderful privilege given to His children, that we can have fellowship with the Lord through Jesus Christ.  You might be wondering, "how should I pray." There is no set method nor time, etc.. What may help is to remember who we are praying to, that should cause us to come in humility before the Lord. Also, we should come with thankful hearts for all that the Lord has done for us in Christ as well as watching over our lives. Next, it is always beneficial to keep a short record of our sins and continually confess them to the Lord (1 John 1:9) and lastly, just to share our concerns and petitions as well as pray for others (Phil. 4:4-7).

3. Read the word of God- It is important to read both the Old Testament and New Testament. I would encourage you to read the whole of the Bible, reading from both the Old and New Testament daily. There are many Bible reading systems, choose the one that fits you and enjoy the glorious truths of God's word. Also, it is important to gain an understanding with the basic doctrinal truths of the faith. The first 11 Chapters of Genesis should be read and re-read. Romans, particularly chapters 1-8 are crucial to understadning and growing in the doctrine of salvation. The book of John is excellent to see the earthly ministry and person of Jesus Christ and all that He is and has done and will do.

Along with that it is important to learn how to study the Bible properly. A couple of Bible helps that can greatly benefit you are "Vincent's Word Study", "Strong's Concordance", also you can go on line to Bible. org and reference the meaning of the original words in the Hebrew and Greek. One of the things that is important is to be able to understand the main emphasis of each book. That can be done by reading and re-reading the whole of the book. You can start with a smaller book of the Bible, like 1 John and read it all in one setting. From there you will be able to get the principle truths of each chapter, then paragraph, then particular scripture, always in light of the big picture of that particular book. This will help you to not take scripture out of context and detect when someone does. Another beneficial practice is to use a Bible that has cross reference scriptures which help shed additional light on a particular scripture verse. Look for repeated words which will show where an emphasis is being placed.

Once you come to the principle truths of a book, a paragraph and particular scripture you are ready to ask the question, "Lord how does this apply to my life." And there the answer will be. The next step is to obey. In addition to that you will at times be convicted of a particular sin in light of scripture, take heart that is the Holy Spirit continuing to reveal and deal with areas of your life the Lord wants to clean up. At that point confess your sin to the Lord and ask for strength to turn from it, etc.. Always remember you are under grace and not law. God deals with you as a son, so remember to bask and absorb the precious promises for the believer in Christ. One of the things you will see as you grow in the Lord is that you have two natures. One is that old nature that still wants to have its way and the other is the Holy Spirit who know lives in you. By prayer, reading the word and setting out to do the word and will of God, you will subdue and continue to kill sin. God promises to supply the necessary grace for each situation.

I would encourage you to go to Grace To You, which is the web site of John MacArthur and look into either CD's or books on how to study the Bible.

4. Fellowship with other believers- Hebrews 10: 24-25, tells us to "...consider one another...to stir up love and good works..." The Lord has purposed His church (called out ones) to be a fellowship of believers that encourage one another, exhort one another and serve one another with the underlining principle of love for good works. The necessity of being in a good Bible believing church cannott be stated enough. Some things to look for, do they model the love of Christ? Is the Pastor Biblically sound? What do they see as the important aspects of church life? A New Testament Church should be a praying church, an evangelistic and missions minded church, is there emphasis on sound Biblical teaching to edify, and equip believer's, as well as encourage believer's to use their gifts in service for the Lord. The problem today is that there are very few Bible believing, practicing churches. Many will have a statement of faith that looks good, but do they preach those very doctrines in truth and boldness and do they actually live those out?

Please seek the Lord through prayer on this and consult mature Christians whom you might know. If we can be of help in inquiring for you and helping in this matter, please contact us.

5. At this point, I'm sure you have an earnest desire to share your faith in Christ. Go ahead. One of the things that can help you grow in your understanding of salvation is to be familiar with the Creation account and how man fell into sin. Along with that, understanding Romans Chapter 1-8 will be of great help and studying how Jesus witnessed to the different people He encountered. For more help please see our "witnessing section." I would also encourage you to go to "the way of the Master" web site, which can help you understand Biblical principles in witnessing. It is normal to think after having come to Christ and experiencing the wonderful joy of being forgiven of our sins and receiving eternal life that everyone would want this. Don't be dejected if they laugh at you, mock you and even persecute you for Jesus said they would. However, know this that the word of God will not return void and will accomplish all that the Lord has determined. Our responsibility and joy is to be faithful to the Gospel message and our Lord Jesus.