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CONTACT DAVID FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS:

davidhiggtx@gmail.com

• People who were “Disciples of Jesus” were first called Christians at Antioch. The term meant “Little Christs” or “Little Messiahs” (Christ means Anointed One/Messiah) Originally intended as a slur, it was eventually embraced as a badge of honor by the People of the Way.

• WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REALLY BE A CHRISTIAN?
• It’s NOT about:
  • cleaning up your act so you’ll be acceptable to God.
  • “Finding Religion”
  • Turning your life around or turning over a new leaf
  • Joining a Church or religious group.
  • Reading the Bible and praying regularly
  • Embracing and/or practicing Spiritual Disciplines
  • Becoming someone who prayed a prayer, jumped through some religious hoops, and checked off items on a spiritual to-do-list.
  • Not doing bad stuff anymore and starting to do good stuff
• It IS about becoming a person whose life has been and is being, transformed by God’s Holy Spirit who lives within you.
• It IS about living a life that looks more and more like Jesus, as we learn to cooperate with Him living His Life through us.
• It IS about a few things that you believe AND about how you live your life toward others and in this world.
• It IS about Beliefs AND Behavior!

• HOW DOES ONE BECOME A BELIEVER IN / FOLLOWER OF JESUS? (Christian)
• Repent- Change your mind
  • About God (Who is He and what is He up to?)
  • About yourself
  • About your need for a Savior
  • About your inability to be your own Savior

• Believe (trust in) the Good News (Gospel)- The Gospel declares what God HAS done:
  • God has broken down any barriers between you and Him,
  • He has completely and fully forgiven you thru what Jesus accomplished on your behalf.
  • Has made peace between Himself and you.
  • He has made His Love, His Light, and His Life available to you.
  • Will you receive this Gift?

• Receive Him as Lord (King) & Savior (Source). This means giving yourself to a journey of learning to live life every day with Jesus as your King & Source of Life…This is becoming a Disciple of Jesus.

• Living life in Christ is an Incarnational journey. It’s about learning to allow Jesus, by the presence of the Holy Spirit, to live His Life in & through you. It’s not about you, using your own abilities and trying your best to live like Him.

• HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN? Great Question! The simple answer is that we know we are Christians by Faith (Relational Trust in a person).
• His Spirit convinces our spirit that we are His children. (Romans 8:16)
• Living life in Christ is a miracle and a mystery.
• BUT I STILL MESS UP AND SIN!
• Living life in Christ always involves OJT! (on-the-job training) in much the same way that being a human involves OJT. (age appropriate)
• Living Life in Christ means learning to live in harmony with our growing understanding of who God is, what He has done for us, in us, and what He can do through us.

• LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS NOT A “THING THAT YOU DO.” IT’S A COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR CREATOR. IT’S A JOURNEY IN WHICH YOU LEARN TO RECEIVE HIS LIFE, LIGHT, AND LOVE IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE BRANCH RECEIVES ITS LIFE FROM THE VINE.