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This Page is For the One Who "Want's More"!

Important! All of us need to take a "Spiritual Check-up" for assurance that we are ready to meet our God! http://www.ablesoftexchange.com/spiritualcheckup1.html

Now, assuming, you have appropriated God's gift of salvation, here are some thoughts that will help you to experience growth, living the victorious Christian life:

Here is a good article, "Assurance of Salvation", http://www.allaboutgod.com/assurance-of-salvation.htm Of course we can and should pray, often, thanking Him for what he has done for us, but once you have seriously, with your whole heart, repented of your sin and trusted Him for your salvation, it is a "done deal" and you need never fear again!

I like to caution believers about the difference between our relationship with God, secure in the finished work of Christ for us, and the fellowship, which is tenuous, depending upon ourselves!

It is good to have as a goal that we "will not sin", but in reality, as long as we are in this life, we are in a struggle with the flesh. In the 7th chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul spoke of this struggle he had, as a believer, and the discouragement he experienced. Then he went on in the 8th chapter to tell of the help and victory he experienced as he trusted in the Holy Spirit to help him live a victorious life. I highly reccomend that you prayerfully read both chapters and rejoice in the security we have as described in the last section of chapter 8! Please read these passages often!

This little booklet, titled, "Have you made the wonderful discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life?", is a great help. http://www.greatcom.org/english/spirit.htm

(By the way, you might want to try this method of reading His Word - - - Here is a web sight that has my preference of translation, The New American Standard Bible version. http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-American-Standard-Bible-NASB
If you scroll down, there is a complete table with each chapter of each book of the Bible shown as live links. When you select a chapter you will be able to read it and if you click on the little "speaker" icon you will get the text read to you in audio.)

The wonder of it is that when we have trusted Jesus' death on the cross in our place, we are forgiven of all our sins! All of them, our past, present and future sins! He has erased them! Isaiah 43:25, "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins".

And He has declared that we will not be judged for our sins, because He has forgiven them. Romans 8:1, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (judgment) for those who are in Christ Jesus."

You see we are in a relationship with God as His child. That relationship is secure. But like a child that misbehaves against his human father, the fellowship can be injured and even broken if it goes on unattended. When that happens, it is up to the child to confess his misbehaviour (sin) to the father and the fellowship is restored. The relationship was never broken!

1st John 1:8-10 was written to believers for this very reason. We are to be honest with God: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

So, when we think on what Jesus did at the cross to purchase our forgiveness, it causes us to want to avoid sinning. When we find that we have sinned, we can have fellowship restored by being honest with God.

Now, speaking of thankfulness, You will find that it is important to really thank God for all things that come your way! For both the good and the bad! I know that seems crazy, but we have His Word on it: Phillipians 4:4-7,

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Note that it says "in everything".

Look at this great promise: 1 Peter 1:3-7, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

I have found that the sooner I become obedient and thankful, the sooner the problem is lifted, eased or even removed. It is not easy to thank Him for the trials but we should.

For longer term studies, I suggest you visit http://www.transferableconcepts.com . This site will provide you with an assurance of salvation; teach you how to experience God's love and forgiveness, be filled with the Holy Spirit, love by faith and much more.

Selecting a Bible based Church fellowship: http://www.ablesoftexchange.com/selectingchurch.html

Here is a thought that occurrs to most of us: If you are puzzling about porn and masturbation, see the following: http://www.ablesoftexchange.com/pornmasturbation.html and help overcoming temptation http://www.ablesoftexchange.com/helpwithlust.html

By the way, to get an 80 minute overview of the entire Bible, I suggest that you go to and view the audio/video, "God's Story, from Creation to Eternity", http://www.christiananswers.net/godstory/ This will give you a "picture" of God's entire plan seen in His book, the Bible. You will enjoy it!

Our web site, http://www.allaboutgod.com has over 2600 very good Bible based articles which you can search for by topic. I hope you will use it for specific help. In fact here is a complete list of the articles, http://www.allaboutgod.com/all-subjects.htm arranged by topic. In addition, http://GotQuestions.org has a huge number of questions addressed, with Biblical answers.

A good explanation of the Christian faith is a streaming video called, "The Ultimate Question", which you can see at: http://www.downtownbible.org/resource5.html This will be a good review for you and will be something you can share with others explaining what has come to be so important to you

I am available to try to answer any additional questions to help you in your spiritual journey. mailto:ablesoftex@comcast.net?subject=Duane, I have a question

Finally, if you participate in a blog, vlog, or social networking site, please use any of our articles, resources, audios, or videos in your discussions. Here’s a handy tool for creating attractive links: http://www.allaboutgod.com/link-to-us.htm

Sincerely in Christ Jesus,

Duane

P.S. I realize that I have given you more than you can absorb at one sitting! I truly hope you will save this document for handy review and reference.
Speed the Day! 2 Peter 3:11-12, Phil. 1:21-23 Duane Gilchrist