Friends

Salvation Begins With God:

Have you felt the "tug" of God on your heart? Becoming a Christian is one of the most important steps you will take in your life on earth. Continue reading to learn what the Bible teaches about becoming a Christian and what it means to be a follower of Christ.

This call to salvation begins with God. He initiates it by wooing or drawing us to come to Him.

John 6:44

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him ..." (NIV)

Revelation 3:20

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in ..." (NIV)

Human Efforts are Futile:

God desires an intimate relationship with us, but we cannot obtain it through our own efforts.

Isaiah 64:6

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags..." (NIV)

Romans 3:10-12

"...There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (NIV)

Separated by Sin:

We have a problem. Our sin separates us from God, leaving us spiritually empty.

Romans 3:23

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (NIV)

It is impossible for us to find peace with God through our own efforts. Anything we try to do to obtain God's favor or gain salvation is worthless and futile.

A Gift from God:

Salvation then, is a gift from God. He offers the gift through Jesus, his Son. By laying down his life on the cross, Christ took our place and paid the ultimate price, the penalty for our sin -- death. Jesus is our only way to God.

John 14:6

"Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (NLT)

Romans 5:8

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (NIV)

Responding to God's Call:

The only thing we must do is respond to God's call.

But how? How do I become a Christian?

Receiving God's gift of salvation is not complicated. The response to God's call is explained in these simple steps found in God's Word:

1) Admit you are a sinner and turn away from your sin.

Acts 3:19 says: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." (NIV)

Repent literally means "a change of mind that results in a change of action." To repent, then, means to admit you are a sinner. You change your mind to agree with God that you are a sinner. The resulting "change in action" is, of course, the turning away from sin.

2) Believe Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from your sins and give you eternal life.

John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (NLT)

Believing in Jesus is also a part of repenting. You change your mind from unbelief to belief, which results in a change of action.

3) Come to him by faith.

In John 14:6 Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (NLT)

Faith in Jesus Christ is a change of mind that results in a change of action—coming to him.

4) You may pray a simple prayer to God.

You may want to make your response to God a prayer. Prayer is simply communicating with God. Pray using your own words. There is no special formula. Just pray from your heart to God, and believe that he has saved you. If you feel lost and just don’t know what to pray, here’s a prayer of salvation you can pray.

5) Now, don’t doubt.

Salvation is by grace, through faith. There’s nothing you did, or ever can do, to deserve it. It’s a free gift from God. All you have to do is receive it!

Ephesians 2:8 says: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." (NIV)

6) Tell someone about your decision.

Romans 10:9-10 says, "If you confess with your mouth, '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)

We all have friends. A lot gets talked about friendships. Everyone wants a true friend, and many of us believe that we have a friend who can be called a true friend. What kind of relations do friends share? When can we call a friend a true friend, and when can our friends take us as their true friend. After a romantic relationship, friendships are the most important relationships we can have. Though all of us have family and distant family, most of us rely on friends for advice, comfort and inspiration. How do we define a relation that can be called as one of true friendship?

The very first sign of a very good friend, not necessarily a true friend is that we are not worried about courtesies. You will call your friend at any hour and talk without any thought of time in your mind. Similarly, whenever you need support, you will call a very good friend and ask him/her to help you out. They expect the same from you. Another important trait of such relations is that we are not much worried about exposing ourselves. We speak about everything in our mind without worrying about what our friends will think. We are sure that they will take our talk in the spirit it was made. We are unguarded and open with friends in our talk.

A true friend is a little more than a very good friend. A true friend will support you even if it hurts his/her own interest. A true friend will understand your motives and needs and will be with you without any analysis or criticism. A true friend will come forward to help without any request and be with us in need without showing it or expecting anything in return. With a true friend, you can be sure that you will get help to the extent possible by him/her. Nothing will remain unturned. A mother is a true friend of her children. If we share such relations with an adult we can say that we are true friends.

A true friend makes no excuses of having work or appointments or anything but will be with you whenever you need him/her. In your hour of desperation, a true friend will support you even if the whole world opposes you. A true friend is not an opportunist. A true friend means to have someone who is like mother, as I said earlier. Instead of having hundreds of good friends, if you have a true friend, treat yourself lucky. If you can also become a true friend of someone, you will be blessed, because it is much easier for all of us to expect but very difficult to give. Be a true friend yourself first

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship. "