Mountaintop Wanderers

I am so glad you clicked on this page. Let’s have a chat. What does it mean to “follow Jesus?” Are you curious? Have you already joined a church and/or been baptized? Surprisingly, that’s not the end of the story. So, let’s start at the beginning…

1. Jesus was/is the Son of God. He was sent from Father God down to earth to give us the “Good News.”
2. The Good News that Jesus gave us is three-fold.
3. First, God loves us, every single one of us, no matter our race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or sinful nature, with an unconditional love that surpasses the love any human could ever show. It’s called Agape Love
4. Second, Jesus wanted to teach us the secret of the universe. There is eternal life. There is life after this life. This isn’t all there is. The things we do in this life, good or bad, will impact us in the next life, but we will also become a new creation, with second chances and a clean slate.
5. Third, Jesus wanted us to know that in order to please God, we don’t have to follow all the man-made restrictive rules that the Jewish people had imposed on the people at the time, or other restrictive man-made rules imposed on people since then. Jesus wanted us to know that there were three things that mattered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. And Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Now, Jesus made it clear, we shouldn’t kill, steal, lust, lie, etc. but we can’t earn our salvation by following the rules. Paul said “it is by grace you are saved, through faith, and not of yourselves. It is a gift from God. Not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
6. When you decide to follow Jesus, Jesus asks that you confess your sins, or shortcomings to Him. Ask for forgiveness. He has already forgiven you, but lining it out and asking for forgiveness will help you put a period at the end of your old life, and a clear starting place in your new life.
7. What is faith and how can it be measured? So, the Good News is that you are saved. God has given each of us eternal life, as a free gift. You don’t have to do anything other than receive it, in your heart. And, that requires belief and faith. You need to learn to believe, and sometimes this takes time, according to your background and history, that Jesus really was/is the Son of God. He was who He said He was. You need to learn to believe, that because Jesus was the Son of God, He was telling the Truth when He talked about who God is, what eternal life is, and how we should live our lives. That “blind belief” is called “faith.” We don’t have 100% documented proof that this is true. You have faith that you will wake up in the morning. You don’t have 100% proof that you will, but you hope that you will, and you believe that you will. You don’t have 100% proof that when you flip a switch to turn on a light that the light will turn on, but you hope it does, and you have belief that it will. Maybe these are lame examples, but work with me here.
8. So what happens when you “come to believe”? When you come to believe, and have decided to have faith that Jesus was the Son of God, that He proved His love for us by not chickening out and denying His identity, but by going all the way to the cross to show us His devotion to saving us. He proved His identity as the Son of God by raising from the dead three days after dying on the cross. He ascended to Heaven in front of bystanders to prove His identity and to prove that there is a Heaven and there is eternal life. It is hard to believe, but when we “come to believe” we start trying to understand it and relax in that belief and assurance.
9. At this point, according to which resources are available to you, you will want to learn more about Jesus, about God, about Jesus’ teachings, and about eternal life, so that your belief, hope, and faith can become stronger and more rooted in your life. If there is a good church in your area, who are not bound up by political beliefs or old traditions that hinder instead of help, go there, check it out, and talk to the pastor. Investigate. Don’t get sucked into political talk, a book of traditional rules regarding hairstyles, dress, or dietary requirements, or a hellfire and brimstone atmosphere that makes you feel condemned no matter how much you ask for forgiveness. Those churches are out there, everywhere unfortunately, and they are no place to grow in Jesus.
10. Most churches will ask you to publicly profess your newfound commitment to Jesus. It’s more like an induction ceremony to join that group. The Bible says, that “we should confess with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved.” So, churches often ask you to publicly profess before the members of the church your belief that “Jesus is Lord” in order to join their church. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Most pastors just do a quick introduction of you to the members at the end of the worship service, and then often the members of the church will come up and say hello and introduce themselves afterward. The church will probably ask that you have a public baptism. Once again, this is a symbolic gesture for both you and the others in the church that you are committing to begin a new life, one rooted in devotion to Jesus and His teachings. You are washed clean of your old life, and are a new creation.
11. If you are unable to find a “safe” church in your area, or you are unable to physically attend, email me at mountaintopwanderers@yahoo.com and we can work around that, together.
12. Next, you need to commit to learning more about Jesus, God, His teachings, and eternal life. There are Bible studies you can join, both in-person and online. You can read books, listen to podcasts, listen to Mountaintop Wanderers Radio Network ;). Most of all, you will need to read your Bible and pray. These books, podcasts, Bible studies, etc can help you learn how to get the most out of that study.
13. As we grow in our belief about who Jesus is, what He taught us, and what eternal life is, we begin to want to live like Jesus wants us to live. Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, filled with joy, love, and hope. He gave us a blueprint in the New Testament of the Bible for how to have an abundant life. Hopefully, through Bible study, books, and other resources, you will find that blueprint and start trying to practice what Jesus asked us to do. I will try to put up regular Bible study devotionals, and studies to help with your growth.
14. If you have decided to commit to a life with Jesus for the first time, or for the tenth time, I want to hear from you. Email me, DJ S’ammy Tea, Creator and Songwriter for Mountaintop Wanderers Radio Network, and tell me your story! I want to hear all about it.