Following Christ

There is one true and living God. God is three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons and each is God. Yes, they are not three gods, but one God in three Persons, usually called the Trinity. The Bible clearly teaches that God is three Persons, so we believe it, even though we can't completely understand it.

The Bible speaks about all three members of the Trinity from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation. Jesus clearly taught about all three in John 15 and 16.

Our minds can't completely understand how one God can be three Persons, because the Trinity has unity that is much greater than any unity people can have. Although God is three Persons, He is one, in perfect unity of purpose and love. If we study what the Bible teaches about each member of the Trinity, it will help us understand this truth more clearly.

God the Father is our Creator. He is the maker of the universe and the giver of all life. God the Son (Jesus Christ) is our Savior. He became a man to show the world what God is like. He paid the penalty for our sin and has provided everlasting life to anyone who will receive Him.

God the Holy Spirit is our Helper. He is always with us because He is in each person who has received Jesus Christ as Savior. He helps us receive God's forgiveness and obey Him in our daily lives.

Each member of the Trinity is working in the world and in our lives. Though God the Father is our Creator, the Bible teaches that Jesus and the Holy Spirit also had a part in creation. Jesus, God's Son, is our Savior, but the Father and the Holy Spirit also are involved in the work of salvation. The Father and Son work in our lives to help us as the Holy Spirit does. Each member of the Trinity is an individual Person, but they think and act together and can't be separated.

All important relationships need to grow. You need time with God every day. Start your day with prayer. Let God be the first person to hear your voice each day! You can pray anytime, wherever you are. You don't have to speak out loud if you don't want other people to hear you. Just think what you want to say to God. He knows your thoughts (see Psalm 139:1-4).

You also need to choose a regular time each day to get alone with God. You might want to call this your "quiet time." Start doing this immediately. Make it a daily habit of your new life! Most of us have more time available in the evening, after the day's work is done.

The daily readings in this site will help you begin having a "quiet time." The readings come from the Gospel of Mark. This short book is in the New Testament, which is part of the Bible. The Bible is God's written message to all people and is the largest-selling book in the world.

The word gospel means "good news." Mark's story is the good news about the life of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Mark is the earliest record of Jesus' life on earth. In Guidance For Life, The Gospel of Mark will simply be called "Mark," to make the name shorter.

Mark, who wrote this book, was a young boy when Jesus lived on earth. When he was older, he traveled with Peter, one of Jesus" closest friends and first followers. Mark wrote the things Peter told about what Jesus did and said.

Guidance For Life will give you spiritual help and strength in your new life. It is an investment in your spiritual life. But the more important investment is yours, as you spend a few moments a day in this guided Bible study, and beyond that, a lifetime following Jesus.

1) God Has A Plan For Our Lives

Two great moments in our lives are when we are born and when we discover why we were born.

Our life did not happen by chance. Psalm 139:13 says that God was working in our lives even before we were born. God loves us. We are special to Him, and He has a special purpose for our lives in this world and for our everlasting life in heaven!

2) God's Plan Cannot Happen For Us Because Of Our Sin

The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV). Sin is disobeying God's laws and not doing what He wants us to do.

Everyone knows there is a difference between right and wrong, even people who have never heard of God's law or read the Bible. Jesus taught that God's two most important laws are to love God and to love our neighbor the way we love ourselves (Mark 12:28-31). The second of these two laws means that we must act toward others as we want them to act toward us. This law has become known as "The Golden Rule." We know what we do not want other people to do to us. So when we do those things to others, we know we have sinned. That is why anyone can understand that they have sinned.

3) We Must Be Forgiven To Have God's Plan For Our Lives

When we sin, we must be punished. The Bible says the punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). The death the Bible is talking about is not just our body dying. It means our spirit, which lives forever, will be in everlasting punishment in hell. Jesus explained hell is like a "lake of fire," and that everyone who goes there is separated from God forever and burns in fire that never ends (Mark 9:47, 48). Our sin separates us from God both in this life and also after this life.

We can't have God's plan happen in our lives when we are separated from Him. Our sin comes between us and God. It separates us from His plan for us.

Many things in our lives have gone wrong because of our sin. God still has a plan

4) God Made A Way For Us To Be Forgiven

God made a way to forgive us, save us from everlasting punishment and receive His plan for our lives. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be punished for our sins. God loves us so much that He gave His Son to die for us, as payment for our sins.

John 3:16-18 says, that "For God so loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son."

Three times in the book of Mark, Jesus told His followers that He had to suffer and be killed. He also said that He would come back to life after three days (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 14:27, 28). He said, "Even the Son of Man did not come to be served by other people, but to serve them and to give His life to pay for the salvation of many people" (Mark 10:45).

Jesus gave His life to be punished for our sins and pay for our forgiveness! We do not have to be condemned for our sins anymore. He will forgive us and save us from everlasting punishment in hell. He will give us a new life! All we must do to receive this gift is ask Him to forgive our sins and come into our heart, Jesus said, "The person who believes and is baptized will be forgiven, but the one who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). Romans 10:9, 10 says, "That if you confess with your mouth, that 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved" (NIV).

God's plan to save man from death was to give His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins. His Son Jesus was born as a man, but He lived His life without sinning. Men lied about Him and judged Him guilty of things He had never done. Then they hung Him on a cross to die. The very large curtain in the temple was torn into two pieces when Jesus died. It was torn from top to bottom to show it was not done by men. God did this to show that His Son's death had made a new way for us to come back to God.

Jesus never sinned, but He was punished for sin. So death had no power over Him, and He came back to life after three days. Now He gives everlasting life to anyone who receives Him.

You received everlasting life if you confessed your sins to God and asked Him to forgive you through His Son.