Katharine of Aragon

Good Queen Katharine

Faith.  That word holds different meanings for different people.  In a religious context it means believing without seeing.  That is what has built and strengthened the foundation of Christianity from that moment when doubt seized St. Thomas.  The belief that there are three persons in one God; and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary and died for the sins of humankind.  For Catholic Christians there are perhaps even more challenges for it’s members in understanding faith and practicing it:  the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, the forgiveness of sins through the Rite of Reconciliation and the many examples of true faith from all the saints through the ages – although a dim reflection of the one who had perfect faith:  Mary.

Over 500 years ago a Spanish Princess become Queen – beloved by the people of her adopted English homeland, and dying in the arms of the friend who had accompanied her to their new world when they were girls.  Yet she died abandoned by her husband of nearly 25 years, cast out from the royal life she was born to, separated from her daughter, so poor she had to be provided with food by the people in the village who loved her and , at last, dying in conditions less than hospitable or decent.  Such was the end for Katharine of Aragon, Queen of England – wife of King Henry VIII and the central figure of the English Reformation.

She was abandoned by her husband, by her nephew, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and by the Roman Catholic Church.  And yet, she never waivered in her faith.  Katharine of Aragon lived the model Christian life; one of piety and devotion to her faith.  Why then, has she never been considered a holy person worthy of recognition by the Roman Catholic Church.  If not recognition by including her on the List of English Martyrs or sainthood, then some special recognition acknowledging her faith and sacrifice as a devoted daughter of the Church and true Servant of God?

I have written a paper that poses this question and gives proof why I think a movement on her behalf is justified.  As with any “cause” there must be a grassroots movement of like-minded people to promote the cause.  As we all know, the Church, although the gift of Christ to his followers, is, at the same time, a bureaucratic institution with rules and regulations in its various branches.  Therefore, protocol and form must be followed to promote a cause for any individual.

If any of the above strikes a cord, please read the paper.  If you agree with its offerings and wish to place your name on a list that will become the basis for the grassroots movement to promote Katharine of Aragon’s cause, please do so. Before you begin, and if you wish, here is a prayer to Katharine of Aragon that encapsulates the essence of her life as a holy person of faith.

Good Queen Katharine, ever steadfast in your faith to your marriage and to Christ’s Church; bravely enduring unkindness and betrayal, yet never betraying your faith by succumbing to the false promises made by those who abandoned you.  Teach us the way of your faith. Grant us the grace to follow the example of your faith, courage, piety, kindness and compassion. Pray for Us.

The Way, The Truth, & The Life

"Then Moses said to God, 'If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you', and they ask me, 'What is his name?', what shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'. And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'.'" (Exodus 3.13-14).

When Moses stood before the burning bush on Mount Horeb centuries ago he asked for the name of God. He did this because, in Hebrew nomenclature, a name revealed something about a person. For example the Hebrew name for Moses was "Mosheh" which came from "mashah" meaning "drawn out" and it was applied to Moses because Pharaoh's daughter drew him out of the bulrushes in the Nile river. The Hebrews knew of the covenant which God had made with Abraham and which had been renewed in Isaac and Jacob, but apart from the existence of the one true God and his favour upon the nation of Israel, they knew no more. After four centuries in Egypt which had seen them brought into dreadful slavery, the Hebrews assuredly wished to know more about their God. For this reason God answered Moses "I AM" so that the Jews would know who God is. The name used throughout the Old Testament for God is YAHWEH from the Hebrew "ehyeh" meaning "I AM".

Now what does "I AM" indicate? Much, to say the least. There is so much revealed in this expression. It indicates that God is unbounded in any way. He is not in any way confined by time. I AM he declares. He neither was in the past nor will be in the future. I AM, he declares. I AM the God of Abraham, he said to Moses. He transcends time and is unaffected by it.

"I AM", God declares. He is not bound by space. The expression denotes omnipresence. He is not limited by anything. There is a sense of eternal completeness in the expression. There is no hint of any 1imitation of power, knowledge or understanding. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. The completeness of the expression beautifully illustrates this. God is.

In his Dictionary of the Bible, Davis describes the expression as indicating "He who in the absolute sense exists and who manifests his existence and his character." "I" indicates absolute personality, "AM" a perfect and absolute existence. The further content and purpose of the expression is further seen in comparison to two other names given by God. "Elohim" is the description of God in his position as the creator, upholder and moral governor of the universe. "E1 Shadday", God Almighty, is the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of promise in whom one could hope. But "I AM" reveals God as personally interested in the affairs of his people, revealing the manner and character of his nature. As we turn now to Jesus we will consider his statements in this light, as compared to God who declares and speaks of himself: I AM.

The Gospel of John.

1. Jesus declares absolutely, I AM.

In the Gospel of John there are three ways in which Jesus uses the expression "I AM" with regard to himself. In a few cases, Jesus declares himself absolutely by this expression In other instances he elaborates on a particular content of his deity and work through a statement introduced by the expression and he thirdly veils the expression in the present tense of a sentence where the expression in context nevertheless again declares his deity. We deal firstly with his absolute declarations as recorded in the Gospel of John. 

(i). "Jesus says to her, I AM, the one speaking to you." (John 4.26).

This is a direct translation of Jesus' answer to the woman of Samaria who half-questioned Jesus in speaking of the Messiah who was to reveal all things. It is conventionally translated "I who speak to you am he" but we find a direct declaration I AM in the original Greek, the language in which John wrote his Gospel. The words are "ego eimi". The woman had said that the Messiah, who was called Christ, was coming. By this she meant the one who was promised, the Deliverer, the Saviour of the world, the anointed one of God, declared in the prophets to be the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9.6). Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, in essence, "The One who is even now speaking to you, that I AM".

It must be noted that this is the first occasion in the Gospel that this declaration is made. It is a beautful climax to the narrative which thusfar builds up to it. he Gospel introduces Jesus Christ immediately as the "Word of God", the "Light", the "only Son from the Father". John the Baptist described him as "One whom you do not know" (1.26) and the "Lamb of God" (1.29,36). He declares him to be the Son of God (1.34). Then Andrew describes him is the "Messiah" (1.41), Philip as "Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote" (1.45). Then Nathanel describes him as the "Son of God, the King of Israel" (1.49) and so the glorious descriptions increase. Jesus, however, nowhere describes himself as anything but the "Son of man" (1.51, 3.13,14) until this great declaration where he himself finally declares just who he is and in so doing exceeds all the titles given in claiming deity. "Jesus says to her, I AM". The woman knew the Messiah was coming, he who would be the greatest man who would ever live. Jesus answers her "I AM". Need she ask further? 
(ii). "I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins " (John 8.24).

This is again a literal translation of the Greek to bring out the full import of what Christ said. Again we find the declaration, EGO EIMI, meaning, I AM. Again we find Jesus Christ absolutely claiming deity and declaring it in the course of a discussion with the Jews about his relationship to their God whom he called his Father. The whole discourse with them wondrously contains the very manifestation of the deity of Christ as linked to the Father as opposed to the fleshly, devil-linked nature of fallen man. He began the discourse "I AM the light of the world" (8.12). This use of the divine name to begin his discourse is an example of the second way in which Jesus declares himself as mentioned above, that is, in reference to a particular quality of his nature or work. We will return to this verse.

Jesus concludes the discussion with the very words he began with: "Before Abraham was, I AM" (8.58). He began with a declaration of deity and so concludes his discussion. In between we have the statement which we are now examining and a further declaration in verse 28. How beautifully the use four times of the divine name clearly distinguishes the nature of the Son of man as one in the Godhead with his Father in contradistinction to the nature of his hearers whose very wills were directed to the nature of their father, the devil. Let us now consider this particular declaration. "You will die in your sins unless you believe that I AM", Jesus declares. In this very declaration of deity he tells them what it is they need to believe. He is not saying that they must believe that he is the Messiah, or that he is the saviour or a prophet; in no way is mental assent to these characteristics sufficient. It must go further than that. "Unless you believe that I AM", Jesus declares. He is saying in essence just this: God made man in his own image. All men have sinned and so have brought condemnation upon themselves, including you, my hearers. I have life in myself, it is I alone who can restore that lost relationship, it is I alone who can restore that life. Unless you therefore receive the life I have by believing on me, in me, through me, indeed partaking of myself as a branch does of its vine, you will remain in your fallen state and will die in it. Everything you hope to receive from God is vested in me. It is I alone who can bring you to the one whom you call your God for as He is, so I am. This is in fact what Jesus is saying.

John 3.36 also illustrates further what Jesus is saying: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him." The contradistinction between Jesus and his hearers was very real, eternally so, but he came for the express purpose of removing it and gaining access to God for men. Hence his warning to them: "You will die in your sins unless you believe that I AM". His warning holds good for all men in all ages
(iv). "Before Abraham was, I AM". (John 8.58).

A closer translation of the above would be "Before Abraham ever came into existence, I AM". This brings a distinction between the eternal existence of Jesus Christ and the creation of the man Abraham. The Greek word is "genesthai", meaning "to become". The translation I have used, however, succintly brings out the depth of his statement. "Abraham was" - he was bound by time. At one time he never existed Then he came into existence and was bound by time in turn. Jesus says in effect, I am not bound by time. what does he say? Before Abraham was, I have been? No, he does not. The statement is quite out tune of with English grammar but we are dealing with Divine grammar! After the aorist infinitive clause "Before Abraham was", properly the perfect clause and tense should follow but does not. Jesus says BEFORE Abraham, I AM. He uses the present tense because he is eternal and always exists in the present as God does! He does not merely claim to have existed before Abraham, he claims to be eternally existent.

Not only does he claim to be eternally existent, he leaves his hearers in no doubt as to who he was claiming to be. They immediately took up stones to stone him for they considered that this was blasphemy. By doing this they showed that they had not failed to grasp the import of Jesus' claim. Have you grasped it?

Through the seed of Abraham God had given a great promise of life. Through his seed came Joseph who saved the other tribe leaders from death through famine, but he was not the Promised One. Moses delivered the whole nation out of bondage and slavery but it was not him either. Joshua led the Israelites victoriously into Canaan and they possessed the land but they were all now dead, as were the people of the time of Joseph and Moses. Despite their great works, none of these was the Saviour. How would he ever be distinguished or recognised?

"Before Abraham was, I AM". Here I am, Jesus declares, yet another of the seed of Abraham, except that I was before him, I exist eternally, and it was I in fact who gave him the promise. I AM. The Jews were told in the very clearest terms that their Deliverer was with them. How could they know him? "I AM", Jesus declares. All other men come from the dust. This man is from God. Could the Deliverer, the Life-Giver ever be greater than this One in their very midst? "We are descendants of Abraham" the Jews said (v.33) but they had to admit that Abraham was dead (v.53). They considered that they were secure because they were physically descended from him, but he was dead. It was one of his descendants who would bring them life, this was the promise of God. It was to this descendant that they should come and seek kinship. He was standing there with them, and they knew him not. Of all the opportunities men have ever missed in all ages, this was assuredly the greatest.

Over against Abraham's short span of life inseparably linked to passing time, Jesus declares his timeless present. Not only has he existed all through time, his existence in fact transcends time! In this statement "Before Abraham was, I AM", we obtain a beautiful illustration of the substance and essence of God's word to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM". 

jesus son of god

BELIVE ME..I'M THE WAY..THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

NO ONE WILL GO TO THE FATHER EXCEPT TROUGH ME...

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

The Lectionary Texts

The lectionary texts for the day were as follows—I’ve quoted the verses that were most important for the sermon. The congregation read the psalm as a responsive reading.

Genesis 6:9-22

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
—Genesis 6:22, NIV

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
     an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
     and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
     and the mountains quake with their surging
—Psalm 46:1-3, NIV

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

     For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
     This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
—Romans 1:17, 3:22-24, NIV

Matthew 7:21-29

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
—Matthew 7:21-23, NIV

The Sermon Notes

I preached the scriptures in this order: Romans, Genesis, Matthew, Psalm, and then I went back to Matthew for the conclusion.

Romans

To understand what Paul is saying to the Romans, we have to keep in mind that Paul identifies himself as a Jew and a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5). Paul’s argumentation is that obeying the Law of Moses does not save anyone. This is an astute observation, because there is no promise of eternal salvation in the Law; all of the benefits and penalties in the Law are this-worldly—it is actually an abuse of the Law to try to be saved by it. The purpose of the Law of Moses is not to save the Jews, but to make the Jews holy, as witnesses to the gentiles of the One True God.

Paul does not argue that we are saved by thinking pious thoughts, which is evident because he quotes, “The righteous shall live by faith,” not “the righteous shall think by faith.” Paul’s faith has hands and feet, for he says in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works [of obedience to the Law of Moses], so that no one may boast. For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Without God’s grace, our faith would avail us nothing. We cannot force God to save us. Some people maintain that you can be saved by saying the words, “Jesus is Lord.” All the demons in the New Testament acknowledged Jesus as the Holy One of Israel, but Jesus did not pronounce any of them Christian demons. Some people maintain that we can be saved by saying, “Lord Jesus come into my heart,” but that formula is not scriptural. Scripture tells us instead that we must confess, repent, and be baptized. There are no magical incantations, no magic words, no pious thoughts that can compel God to save us. Ultimately, we can only be saved because God is predisposed to save us, and that is what we call God’s grace.

Paul says that God is gracious, so that if we trust Him, He saves us, and this motivates us to live a life of good works, which is what God designed us for. We can generalize this to say that works do not cause salvation, but faith causes works of obedience.

If you trust someone, you take his advice. If you say you trust someone, but you never take his advice, you don’t really trust him, you are just humoring him. So do we have faith in Jesus Christ, or are we just humoring Him? If we trust Him, we will obey His commandments; if our entire spiritual life consists of sitting in an armchair and thinking religious thoughts while we read the Bible, we are humoring Him. Surely God is neither mocked nor fooled into thinking that in humoring Him, we are trusting Him.

Genesis

Later in Romans, Paul gives an example of living by faith that falls outside this Sunday’s lection: Abraham. Paul’s description of Abraham’s faith consists of an account about how Abraham obeyed God by relocating to a distant land with a wife who appeared to be barren. Today, however, the lectionary gives us the story about Noah as an illustration of living by faith. Noah trusted God and therefore took His advice, and as a result, Noah and the others with him were saved from the flood. If he had said, “Yes, I believe God, but I don’t have to actually build a boat to be saved, because that would be salvation by works,” he and the others would have drowned.

Noah built the ark, because as we are taught in the doctrine of the Incarnation, our bodies are as much a part of us as our spirits are. No one says, “Why did you punch that stomach? I was using it.” Instead we say, “Why did you punch me in the stomach?” Our intuitive speech is more insightful than our cogitations. Instinctively we know that our identity is not complete without our bodies, and that means that our faith is not complete without our obedience. Noah shows us that there are two parts to faith: we should have faith with our minds by believing, and faith with our bodies by obeying.

Matthew

Jesus teaches us that in the end, what counts is not religious professions (“Lord, Lord”) and not public religious observances (prophesying, casting out demons, doing great works in His name—perhaps we can add church attendance), but what we have become. On television, you see a person who acts like a doctor, but when you get sick, you see a person who is a doctor. Occasionally we see a commercial on television in which an actor, dressed in a white lab coat, says, “I am not a doctor, but I play one on television.” What kind of spot are we in when we say by our comportment, “I am not a Christian, but I play one in church”?

Jesus makes it clear that if I say, “Jesus is Lord,” and I preach a sermon every week, and show up for all church activities, I am acting the role of a Christian. That’s not enough. I have to actually be a Christian.

Psalm

One good place to for us to start becoming Christians is to obey Jesus’ commandment not to be afraid. If we truly trust Jesus, we take His advice; if He tells us not to be afraid, how can we fear anything? The worst anyone can do to me is kill me, but if I trust that Jesus has a remedy for that, why should I be afraid? Of course I would be apprehensive, because I’ve never died before, but I should not be terrified. As the psalmist says, “Therefore I shall not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake”—and even if the government puts us on ultraviolet alert. Jesus said not to be afraid, therefore I will not be afraid. Whether I am afraid or not, the same things will happen to me anyway; my fear changes nothing. If I am not afraid then at least I will have a clear head in the crisis. So Jesus’ commandment is very wise. I will strive not to be afraid. If someone tries to scare me, they are trying to manipulate me, and if I succumb, I disobey my Lord. Therefore I will not be afraid. This is how I can start going beyond acting like a Christian to actually being a Christian.

Matthew Again

There are people who talk like Christians, they say, “The Lord willing, I will wash the dishes,” and “Praise the Lord! Gravity works downwards!” People like that can really get on your nerves, can’t they? And there are other people who play the role of a Christian, because they attend all the activities of their church and serve on various boards and committees. Many of them impress us as phonies, don’t they? That is why Jesus told us that we have to go beyond talking the talk and walking the walk to actually being a Christian deep inside.

So talk the talk and walk the walk, but beneath it all, be a Christian, in your body as well as your spirit. You cannot truly be a Christian when you act out of self-interest, whether that self-interest is to enter into heaven, to escape from hell, or to join an elite and favored group. You are truly a Christian when you have fallen in love with Jesus, and your innermost urge, your deepest desire, and your greatest joy is to please Him, and it surges out of your spirit and through your body to all the world around you. Let your mind think the thoughts that Jesus thinks and let your ears hear the cries of the needy as He would hear them—but don’t neglect to let your feet carry you wherever He leads you and to let your arms embrace the ones whom He loves. It doesn’t take much effort to love the lovely does it? Even worldly people can do that, so do as Jesus commands and love the unlovely—the lonely, the outcast, the unpopular, and the sinful. Love them with that perfect love of God that lifts sinners into sainthood and saints into glory. If we truly believe that we have a rich inheritance coming to us, we can afford to be generous without limits to all who are in need—whether they need food and clothing or someone to accept and respect them. We don’t need to worry if they are worthy, and we don’t need to worry if there will be enough left over for us. If you believe you have an infinite inheritance, you cannot possibly give too much of it away.

Let us live by faith—that is, by trusting Jesus—so that on that last day, when the house lights of the universe are turned up, and everything is out in the open to see, we are revealed—not as people who thought pious thoughts, or played the role of a Christian on television—but as people who have been transformed from the innermost parts of our souls to the outermost tips of our fingers by our faith and by our obedience into the very likeness and glory of Christ.

Have you asked Jesus into your heart? Congratulations, that is the beginning of your salvation, not its perfection. Ask Him into your hands and feet as well.

If you would be righteous—if you would be saved—live by faith

BE SAVED

How to be saved -- Why does man need to be saved?
How to be saved is the most important quest of any human life. This quest begins when a man or woman first realizes their true state before a holy God.

The intimate and sweet fellowship that the Father longed for with man, the crown of His creation, was lost when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commandment in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned they lost their right to eat of the tree of life which would have enabled them to live forever. They were expelled from the garden and as such denied the loving relationship that God desired to have with them. Their sinful state made them unfit to linger in the presence of God. Far from being a minor event, this Fall and expulsion of man was the cataclysmic turning point of history and set humanity on a descent which continues to this day.

Man without God makes his own plans, follows his own counsels and lives by his own rules. Nevertheless, because man was created for fellowship with God, there remains a dissatisfaction and longing within man that can only be fulfilled by God Himself. As man is now hopelessly decadent and God is perfectly holy, there exists the need for God and man to be reconciled so that the fellowship may be restored.
How to be saved -- What has God provided for man’s salvation?
How to be saved has been outlined for every man in the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ. “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. . .” (2 Corinthians 5:19). God, fully knowing that man would fall, provided a means of reconciliation for man; He knew that there was nothing that a man could do to make mankind acceptable to God.

God sent Jesus Christ, who provided restoration for man with God by giving His own life, shedding His own blood. There was no other way to eradicate the effect of sin except by blood. “. . .Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). This shedding of blood indicated that the penalty for sin had been paid; a life had been sacrificed for the lives of all who have sinned. Jesus Christ’s willing submission to the massacre on the cross paid the price for our sins and affected the means of reconciliation. “Because one person disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many people will be made right in God's sight” (Romans 5:19).
How to be saved -- What must a man do to be saved?
How to be saved is within the reach of every human being on the face of the earth. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He provided salvation for all. “‘And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself.’ He said this to indicate how he was going to die” (John 12:32-33). Salvation has been provided; it now must be accepted. Once a man or woman recognizes the need for salvation and realizes that God has provided for their salvation through Jesus Christ, he or she must go on to embrace it.

Salvation is simply a process of confessing and believing. A man must confess that Jesus is Lord, which signifies his realization that Christ must have full rule over his life with all of His righteous requirements. This confession of Christ as Lord also assumes that it is Christ who will work and fulfill His own righteousness within man.

Next, he must believe that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. This belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus carries with it the realization that the penalty has been paid for sin and power is provided for man to live a life free from sin. Thus man’s relationship to God is restored. “For 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 by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Bible tells us, “For 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 by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-11). Do you feel unworthy to “go to heaven”? Peace with God is within your reach.

Do you understand that you are a sinner, and you believe that Jesus Christ came as the one and only Redeemer of sin? Are you ready to receive God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? If so, believe in Christ, repent of your sins, and commit the rest of your life to Him as Lord:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)

If you decided receive Jesus today, welcome to God's family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

• Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
• Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
• Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
• Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
• Find a local church where you can worship God.

Did you become a follower of Jesus today?