This article is for people who have recently come to believe in God and are wondering what to do next. You’ve probably had a recent revelation that God is real. If you’re still on the fence about that, please read my other blog, “Is There a God”. Now, if you are a believer, congratulations and welcome! I’m so happy you’re here! It can be scary and life-changing, but rest assured, you’ve made the first step in a wonderful new journey with the Lord. So now, you want to know what to do next. If you’re like me, and you prefer very clear instructions before doing anything, you’re in the right place! If your faith is still a bit shaky, that’s ok too. I would suggest that you first pray to strengthen your faith, and watch some testimonials on encounters with Jesus. Yes, God can even help you with your own faith in Him! Next, you should understand that being a believer means you believe Jesus was and is who the Bible says He is. He was crucified in order to make atonement for our sins. Basically, He gave His life to buy our forgiveness from God (His and our Father/Creator) which created a way for us to reach Heaven, where there wasn’t a way before. Finally, belief in Him is the only way to Heaven. However, we don’t inherit this forgiveness automatically. This is a common misconception. You actually have to ask for it in order to inherit this forgiveness. This will be your next step.

Sin and Forgiveness

Let me explain this in a little lesson on sin and forgiveness. We are all guilty of sin, and that’s what separates us from God in the first place. We need to be sorry for what we’ve done. We’ve been separated from God by our own choices and now we need to reconnect. Think of it like you’ve offended him by something you’ve done and He’s not going to talk to you until you apologize. Sin is no simple matter to God, it is a huge problem. He basically condemned all of mankind because of it – if that gives you an idea of how it grieves Him. So you can’t be flippant or casual about it. It’s a serious matter. Big or small, all sin leads to destruction. You may even already be sorry for something you’ve done because it hurt someone or yourself, or caused some havoc in your life. If you’re already feeling remorse, that’s good, because it means your request for forgiveness is genuine. At the same time, there may be sins that you’re not even aware of, or you think something is so minor that He couldn’t possible care about it. Only God knows all of your transgressions, so it’s best to acknowledge that we’ve committed a multitude of sins and need forgiveness from them all. By the way, repentance means you never want to commit that sin again, or that you’re promising never to do that again – if you’re at that point, it’s a great place to be! Keep going! If you’re not sure if you can commit to that, that’s ok too. At this point, all you need is forgiveness.

Now, this is why we need to ask for it… Being forgiven is like being given a gift. Imagine someone hands you an actual wrapped gift. You always have the option to hand it back with a smile and say “You shouldn’t have!”, “I can’t accept that”, or “No thank you”. In other words, you can refuse to accept it, and many people do. Even if you do want it, you technically don’t own it, until you physically take it from the person into your own hands, unwrap it and choose to keep it. This is essentially what you’re doing when you ask Jesus for forgiveness. You’re accepting the gift. It’s required because He won’t force anything on us that we don’t want. So, first of all you have to want to be forgiven and saved. Then, you need to say a prayer, asking for it. Some call this the “sinner’s prayer” and there are many examples out there. You don’t have to say any specific words in any particular order or format. You simply have to ask God or Jesus (preferably Jesus) to forgive you. It doesn’t need to be long and drawn out. I’ve heard of people simply crying out to God or Jesus, not yet really believing, really not knowing who would answer, or if anyone would answer, just desperate for relief… and they were answered.

This prayer needs to be genuine of course. You’re not just saying those words, you really want this to happen in your life. Maybe you’re tired of life the way it’s been, and you’re ready for a change. In a way, you are kind of begging for him to help you, and you may be going through some life experience where you truly need Him in an urgent way. Just be sure that the prayer is genuine and it comes from the heart.

Now, you should have experienced something when you did this, you should have sensed some sort of new feeling or change, even if it was minor. Some describe a strong feeling of love and peace. If you didn’t feel, see, or experience something, then you may need to examine yourself and assess if you were genuinely asking for Him to help you and that your heart is in the right place. Remember, you’ve got to reach the heavens with this prayer, and there is a lot of noise in the way. It’s like trying to hear something when there’s a ton of background noise going on, or getting a message from someone with a strong foreign accent – you can’t fully understand the message – you may get every other word, but you’re not going to clearly understand what comes through. You need to be really loud or really clear to get through. So your prayers sometimes need to come from a place of strong emotion to break through that noise. If you are honestly trying but you feel like nothing is happening, I’ve included some information later in this post that could explain why this is happening.

Read the Bible

Ok, so if you believe and asked for forgiveness (some say call this “accepting Jesus”), now you need to learn more about Him. So you’ll need to start reading the Bible. Of course, sometimes these things can happen out of order. You may have already read some of the Bible but you haven’t asked for forgiveness. That’s totally fine, just start where you’re at. Now, reading the Bible is a big undertaking, but you can break it down into more manageable parts. I don’t recommend trying to read the entire Bible at once. I guess I just like to read, and I didn’t want to miss anything, so I actually wanted to read the entire book at once, cover to cover. So I did, and it took me 2 years – and guess what? I don’t wasn’t confident about my salvation until I was near the end. So, I really wish I had done it differently. I would have understood things a lot sooner. Even if you have read all or part of the Bible, if that was before you really believed, you will need to read it again.

So, there are a few chapters that I recommend reading first, because they contain critical information. Then, once you are finished with that, you can go back and read everything else as you are able. I don’t want to say that any part is less important, but some is more time sensitive. In my opinion, it’s more important that you learn some things up front. So my recommendation is to start with the New Testament, and NIV preferably. It’s just the easiest to understand, especially for beginners. Get one if you don’t have one. Again, once you have a basic understanding of the material, you can go back and read other versions to get more depth. It’s also important to find a church, though not technically required to have a relationship with God. It’s important for fellowship, to learn from other Christians who have been where you are, and to learn more about what you are reading. Many parts of the Bible can be confusing to new readers and it’s helpful to hear an interpretation from a paster (who has studied it in depth) during the sermons. All churches are not created equal, though, so you need to be cautious and selective. The most important thing is to be sure they believe in Jesus, as the son of God, and that every sermon is supported by Scripture. Reading the Bible should happen every Sunday as that is the word of God, and that is what the church should be based on. Some churches are even false churches with false preachers or even downright demonic, which will lead you further away from God. So again, be cautious and selective, and trust your intuition. Find one that feels right to you. If you’re not quite ready for church yet, don’t worry. You can begin to learn on your own and work that in later. In fact, I may make another blog for this topic alone.

So, exactly where do you start in the Bible? I recommend starting with 1-2 of the first 4 Chapters. That will help you learn all about Jesus; who He was, what He told people, how He lived, His death and His resurrection – and what all of that means for us. Arguably, this is the most important thing that anyone can learn. Now after you’ve read 2 of those (any 2), it is going to get a little repetitive. That’s because the first 4 chapters are 4 of the disciples’ testimonies about Jesus. They are each telling the same story, but from their own perspective. Of course, they all corroborate the same story, but you’ll get a glimpse of their personalities by how they write. For example, some are more meticulous and detailed, some are more general, and some are more scholarly.

After you’ve done that, you can skip to Acts and then read to the end of the New Testament. This strategy gets you the most critical information first; how to get saved and how to live life after getting saved – and if your church is like mine, most of the sermons will be on the New Testament, so you’ll be learning about what you’re reading at the same time, which I think is a great way to stay engaged. You’ll get familiar with where the Chapters are as you’re flipping through at church. Also, the New Testament is most relevant to us because it’s the new covenant (or the new promise) from God. You won’t be confused about what is or isn’t still in place. Once you’ve done this, though you should absolutely go back and read everything else. In fact, you probably already know a lot of the stories from the Old Testament, about Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Moses, Noah, and many others. So it will be like a refresher. The Old Testament is valuable too because it helps you to get to know God the Father. It gives you more of an idea of what God is like. It includes the testimonies of the kings and prophets that were led by God and knew Him much better than most people today.

Get Baptized

Once you’ve read through Acts, you’ll know what was said about baptism. If you don’t know what that is yet, you can search for the Scripture online. In summary, John the Baptist came before Jesus and prophesied His coming. He was baptizing people in water, as was his calling from God, for the repentance of sins. Baptism is symbolic of how Jesus died and was resurrected from death to life. In the same way, you are symbolically putting to death your old life where you were spiritually dead, and beginning a new (eternal) life in which you are willing to follow God. There are different opinions out there on what being water baptized signifies. Some say it’s a public profession of faith. In my opinion, it is a profession of faith to God. You are telling God that you wish to follow Jesus. There isn’t anything in the Bible about professing your faith to others through baptism. The purpose of baptism was for repentance of sins and because Jesus told us to. It signified a change of heart, that people were willing to turn from sin. I also believe that it washes you clean from the original sin (of Adam and Eve). Jesus was water baptized and his disciples were telling people after Jesus’ death to get baptized, so yes, we are still supposed to do it today. Especially because Jesus was sinless, so for Him it was either to be cleansed from original sin (because He was still born of woman), or because it was a sign of obedience to the Father. When John the Baptist nearly refused to baptize Him, Jesus said, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Then, after He was baptized, God said that He was well pleased with Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17). I also think that it sort of qualifies you for the next step with God, which I’ll get into later. Ultimately, (like many of the mysteries of Christ) I don’t think we necessarily need to know the exact reason why. God simply wants us to do it, and it shows Him that you want to be obedient and follow His instructions.

Now, you can’t wait until you’re sin free to get baptized – because that will never happen. It’s like having kids, the perfect time never comes. You’ll never be perfect, that’s the whole point. You do have to earnestly want God in your life, and to follow Him. I think that’s all you really need. You may want to stop living in sin and start following Him. You may be ready to leave your old life behind and begin a new one – but you’re just not exactly there yet. If that’s your intention, though, you’re on the right track. So, just talk to a Pastor, get it scheduled and do it. You can also be baptized by any Spirit filled Christian in any body of water. I do believe in full immersion, as that is what was done in the Bible, but this can be in a pool, a lake, at the beach, or really any body of water.

Some say this is an outward expression of faith. You are sharing with the world that you are now ready to follow Jesus. Some believe it is required to cleanse us from the original sin (of Adam and Eve). Whichever, you believe, God’s model was for us to get baptized. That’s why he sent John the Baptist before Jesus and why Jesus told His disciples to baptize people. Even Jesus was baptized. So it’s clearly a command that He gave us. In my opinion, it is a sign of obedience and we know it pleases God, and it sets you up for the next great gift that you can receive from Him. So if you can do it, you should. If you can’t physically do it, then I’m sure God understands that and will make a concession for you. Just pray about it. He may ask you to get baptized in a different way. Some Scripture about baptism include the following: Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved”. In John 3:5 Jesus says, ‘unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” and Acts 2:38-41 “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” To learn more, read Matthew, Chapter 3 and Luke Chapter 3.

Be ready, however, after being baptized, for some serious spiritual warfare. If you don’t know what this is, do some research on it. A lot of people have testified that this was one of the most difficult times in their lives; the time near their baptism and directly after. Satan is going to come at you hard now. If you’ve been living in sin, and headed for hell, there was no reason for Satan to really get involved with you. When you start trying to break away from that, that’s when you’ve got his attention, and he is going to pull out all the stops to win you back. You’ll be tempted like never before. People that encourage you to sin are gonna show up outta the blue. However, Jesus will also fight for you. So just be prepared to be tempted back into whatever sin has plagued you and understand where this is coming from. Be strong, stand firm in your faith. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). God will never test you with sin, so you can be sure that what tempts you to sin is not from God.

The Holy Spirit

Finally, you can seek the Holy Spirit. So the first 3 steps I’ve mentioned, belief, forgiveness, and water baptism are like qualifiers for this. It’s all part of your sanctification process. God can’t bring us to Him in our broken, sinful state. He needs to clean us up to get us ready to meet Him and to be ready for Heaven. So, get ready. Things in your life are going to begin to change, and you will have some choices to make. If you don’t feel different after these first few steps, and you’re not able to confidently avoid sinning, then I would say this is what you need.

When a Christian says they are born again, they are not just giving themselves a title of a “born-again Christian” because they have become a believer or devoted their life to God. It is actually a spiritual event that happens to you and you will know when it does. You will know and feel the very presence of God. Now, again these steps don’t have to happen in any particular order. Sometimes when people say their prayer, they are baptized in Spirit right then or it happens during their water baptism with no real effort. It just happens. I think this is more often the case for people who are being especially tormented and kind of at their wits’ end, and they finally say the prayer and then have some major supernatural experience that they come out of it “born again”. Like physical birth, this is a huge, life-changing event. They’ll say they were changed forever, and they never wanted to drink again or do ‘x’ again, and stuff like that. Everyone’s story is a little different. Though this first way seems to be more common, for some people each step is a separate event with time in between. You can get the spiritual baptism even before being water baptized. God can do anything. In fact, there’s even an example of this in Acts. Interesting to note, however, that they were still commanded to get the water baptism immediately after the spiritual baptism (Acts 10:45-48). However, this is much less common. Generally, as I’ve mentioned, I think the water baptism kind of qualifies you for it. So, in other words, it’s much easier to get the spiritual baptism after you’ve been water baptized.

I’ll reiterate, it’s something that happens to you, it’s not simply a belief. Like being born of your mother or even breaking a limb. These are events in your life that happen to you without any personal effort. Of course, these are obviously physical events, and not spiritual. If you haven’t been born again, or experienced the Holy Spirit, it’s probably hard to imagine what a spiritual event is or what it would feel like. You’ve been living in the physical world all this time, probably with little knowledge of your soul or other spirits. I would say the closest feeling I had to something spiritual before being born again was probably when I felt very strong love for someone; like when I was holding my children or hugging someone who I loved deeply. That is about as close as you will get, only times this by 10. There’s no uncertainty about it. So if you’re not sure, you probably aren’t. It’s when your soul awakens, and you can literally feel as if your own spirit has been awakened from the dead. It’s when you receive the Holy Spirit, and you can recognize that you have been made a new creation, with a new heart and a new Spirit (see Ezekiel 36:26 and 2 Corinthians 5:17). After being born again, or Spirit filled, your spiritual intuition awakens and you will be able to feel and discern all sorts of things in the spirit realm.

So how to we get the Holy Spirit? Now, this one may be a bit more difficult because this isn’t something you can just do. It can only happen by the will of God, by His will and His power, but there are ways that you can prepare yourself for it, or position yourself in a way that He will bless you with this gift. Just like being saved, the easiest way to receive the Holy Spirit is to simply to pray for it. Pray for the spiritual baptism. What you want is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So if you want it, just ask for it, and keep asking and keep asking. Just like being forgiven of sins, it’s a free gift but you need to really want it, accept it, and again break through the noise. My prayer was something like this: “Lord please fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want to be closer to you, I want to be baptized in your Spirit.”

This might sound a little scary to you at first, as it did for me. Do you really want this unknown Spirit inside of you? We’ve all heard of demon possession. Those people who speak in ancient languages they’ve never known, climb up walls, and terrorize people. We all know that’s not a good thing. There’s a big difference here though, demon possession is usually against a person’s will. These spirits seek to control your body and emotions, and ultimately destroy your life. Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean you’re possessed or that you’ll be brainwashed or lose control over your body and mind. It’s just not like that. The Holy Spirit is more like a helper (as it says in Scripture), like an angel that stays with you to guide and protect you. He gives you more strength to overcome sin and temptation. And even Spirit filled believers, always maintain their free will. The Lord may strongly suggest something to us, but we always have the choice to follow or not. Of course, what he suggests, is always in our best interest, but still we don’t always obey Him. Also, He tells us, in reference to the Holy Spirit, that He would never give us something evil when we ask Him for something good (Luke 11:9-13).

Anyway, like it or not, we are living in the midst of spirits, and you can either deny it and hide from it, or learn about it and deal with it. You can either be on the good side or the bad side. You can be on the side of the God who loves you and wants the best for you, or you can be on the side of yours and God’s enemy who hates you and wants the absolute worst for you. You can be filled with light or you can be filled with darkness. And unfortunately if you don’t make that choice, you default to the side of Satan. It’s a pretty simple choice to me.

So in summary, as a new believer, your mission, or next steps (if you so choose) are to strengthen your faith, ask for forgiveness, read the Bible, find a church, get water baptized, and seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now if you’ve tried some of these and you’ve experienced some resistance in any of these steps, or you feel as though God is not answering you, please read on.

So if you’ve prayed for some of all of these things and you feel like nothing is happening, you’re not getting answers, you don’t feel any different – you probably have a deeper issue that needs to be dealt with first. Not that God can’t reach you if you’re having some of these issues, because of course He can. I actually felt I was getting more direction when I was further from God. I just wasn’t ready to listen. I think perhaps this is the case, because it’s more of an urgent issue when you’re in this state (ie your salvation is at stake). So, just know that, whatever your situation, He does hear your prayers and He will answer them. However, if you feel like those prayers aren’t being answered, there may be something you need to do to open that pathway of communication, or to help you better understand why something is or isn’t happening in your life.

Disobedience can be a major obstacle, possibly the biggest one. If you’re feeling a kind of urge not to do something anymore, and you’re resisting. You’re trying to convince yourself that it’s ok, even when you feel deep down it isn’t. This is probably what’s holding you back. You may be getting recurring messages from your Pastor, your friends, your research, what you’re reading in the Bible. This is a clue that God is trying to get a message to you. Even situations in your everyday life are leading you down a certain path – ask yourself what the message is there. You probably already know, but don’t want to admit it. What are these situations pressing you to change about your behavior or your mindset? Or what are you supposed to be doing, but aren’t? And why are you resisting? If it is some kind of self-destructive behavior, think about how much better your life will be without it. Try just giving it a few days or a week, while praying and asking for help, and see what happens. Sometimes God wants us to give something up because He has something bigger and better in mind for us. You have to trust that His plan is better. If you’re having difficulty stopping or starting something. If it’s not just a simple decision for you that “ok I’m going to do this now”, see Habitual Sin and Demons later.

Unforgiveness is another potential problem. The Bible tells us that if we don’t forgive others who sin against us, we won’t be forgiven. God always leads us by example. He want us to learn by doing. We can learn so much about Him, by learning what it takes to do what he does. Think of all of the ways you’ve sinned against God. Yet, He was willing to forgive you. We need to follow His example. How can we hold a grudge against someone else, but expect our own transgressions to be freely forgiven? If you’re holding on to some hate and wishing ill will against someone because they hurt you, you’ve got to let that go. I know that’s hard to swallow. Some of us have been deeply wounded. But still we need to learn how to forgive. It doesn’t mean you have to be best friends with the person or even let them be a part of our life. It just means you have to get rid of that hate and anger in your heart and let yourself heal from it. Stop letting it eat you up inside. If you have to have a heart to heart with them, do it. If you can’t talk to the person, talk to God about it. Just tell God that you forgive this person (or want to) and let God deal with them. Again, you’re not hoping something bad happens to this person, it’s not your place to judge whether they go to Heaven or Hell. In fact, knowing what Hell is now, eternal torment, I would not wish that on my worst enemy, no matter the gravity of their sin. If they truly repent, I hope that all people would be forgiven and this is God’s will also. All you have to do is let go of the anger, hate, and ill will toward them. If you can earnestly pray for this person’s salvation, you’ve done it correctly. If you can’t yet, keep working on it and praying about it. Sometimes even just saying the words, “I forgive <name>” can be very helpful even if you’re not sure you’ve completely let go.

Probably the person who hurt you was dealing with their own trauma, possibly even demons. So that realization may make it a little easier. If you’re struggling with this, I would encourage you to read the book The Shack, by William P. Young. There’s a movie on it as well, though I prefer the book. It’s about a guy who goes into a deep depression after a family tragedy and then he has this amazing experience with God, and he eventually learns to forgive one of the most atrocious acts against his family you could imagine.

Habitual sin and lukewarmness are other problems that will make it difficult for you to truly know God. Are you still struggling to avoid sin? By the way, this includes any of the 10 commandments and any other wickedness that we’ve been told to avoid; gossiping, drunkenness, sexual immorality, the occult, being prideful, lying, etc. If so, you are probably what’s described in Scripture as a lukewarm Christian. Are you a good Christian on Sundays, but living in sin the rest of the week? Do you love God, but not enough to change your lifestyle? Or are you under the impression that you don’t need to change anything?

And you simply need to make an effort. God knows we aren’t perfect and we can’t change everything about ourselves in an instant, but He wants to see that we love Him enough to try. Start doing what you know is right. Stop doing the things you know are wrong. And watch how He will change your life. Especially if it is something that’s a big part of your life, or something that you value the most. Are you prioritizing something above God? What is more precious to you right now than having God in your life? What part of your life are you still hiding, or are unwilling to let God into? You’ve just got to trust God and take that leap of faith. You’ve got give Him everything. You have to be willing to let Him drive, so to speak. Give it to Him and let Him fix it. Trust His plan for you. It is good. His plans for you are far better than anything you can plan, control, or even imagine yourself. And by the way, God isn’t trying to control every aspect of your life. Like any parent, He wants what’s best for us. He want’s us to avoid danger. So if He wants you to stop doing something, it’s bad for you. If He wants you to start doing something, it’s going to be good for you. So just give Him a chance. If you can’t commit to something indefinitely, just trust Him and listen to Him for a week or a month. What He has waiting for you on the other side of this hill is far better than what you are doing now. Keep reading your Bible. You may get some direction there. Fasting can help as well.       

Finally demons could be your issue. Yes, demons are also real. If you’re struggling with addiction, depression, any type of habitual sin, even chronic sickness, fatigue or mental problems – it’s likely a demon. Most people think that full demonic possession is the only evidence of demons, something like The Exorcist movie. This is not always the case. In fact, that is the rare case. What’s far more common is a different type of demonic possession. It’s not full body and mind control, it’s more like a partial possession where they control a certain part of a person’s life, or a part of their personality. They show themselves when the person get’s angry, embarrassed, afraid, etc. and you see a major change in them from the norm for a period of time. It’s like a different person takes over, and that is actually what’s happening. You may want to be closer to God, truly love God and you want to change your life but you just can’t seem to get away from some particular sin that has you entrapped. Similarly, when someone is prone to all types of sin, or has some extreme negative or self-destructive personality traits, like obsessions with death or the occult, constant tragedy/drama, and they habitually destroy the relationships around them and seem to have no control over it – they can’t help themselves – these are all evidence of demons. The truth is, most people have demons and don’t even know it.

Demons will absolutely hold you back from spiritual baptism. Or you may even already have the Holy Spirit, but can’t fully experience it because those demons are hindering it. They kind of put up a barrier between you and God that make it even harder for you to hear Him. It’s like that noise I mentioned earlier. Demons are creating all this interference, background noise, and distractions so that generally you’re not hearing anything above the noise. That’s not to say that God can’t break through and reach someone in any state. Of course he can! But you have to remember that you probably brought those demons in through willful sin, and He is not going to interfere with your will. So, unless you have a major change of heart, or He has an urgent mission/purpose for you, in which He will come to you in a big way – you are probably going to have to come to Him in a different way.

If If this sounds like you, then you must be delivered. Deliverance means that you are being freed from spiritual bondage. You are freed from demons that are either inhabiting your body or oppressing your life in some way. Common testimonies seem to support evidence that once you get free from the demons, the baptism of the Holy Spirit just automatically happens for most. I think mine, however, was not at exactly at the same time, or at least I wasn’t sure of it at the time. You should immediately and continually start praying for deliverance, and God will open doors for you to get it done. More than likely you will also need actual deliverance, meaning you or someone else has to command the demon out. Please read my other blog on Demons and Deliverance (coming soon) for more information on that.

Once you’ve dealt with these issues, you should feel much healthier and happier, maybe even lighter (like a weight has been lifted). If you get to this point, and still don’t think you have the Holy Spirit, just start praying again for the spiritual baptism. Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-17, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth”. Also in Acts 2:38-39, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

Please share in the comments what your journey was like, or any questions you may have. Did it happen all at once for you? What did you have to do or change before you were able to experience the Holy Spirit?