Jesus 101

Christianity is simple. Beautiful and amazingly simple. It is only hard, because man makes it hard, but it doesn't have to be that way. Lets start with the basics:

God made man in His image. We are the object of His affection and He wants to be our Father. But we need to be saved from this evil world of sin and death. And God had a plan of salvation for all of mankind so that we could receive the free gift of eternal life through Jesus and be called His children.
The Old Covenant was Gods plan with the nation of Israel for salvation. This was the 10 commandments and civil & religious laws explained in the Old Testament. They were designed to show man how sinful he is and that it is impossible for him to follow this plan. It was also designed to show that man needed a Savior and that man should not rely on his own effort. For example...if you broke one commandment, you were guilty of breaking all ten. And if you have a bad thought such as murder or adultery, you were guilty of breaking that commandment. Impossible, right?
The New Covenant, which is explained in the New Testament, is Gods plan of salvation available to ALL men. It is a free gift of eternal life to those that accept Jesus as their Savior...as the payment for all of their sins; past, present, and future.
--- "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one (Jesus) He has sent." John 6:29
And Jesus commanded,
--- "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' AND, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27

Christianity doesn't get any simpler than this. Believe in Jesus and love so that you can forever become part of a heavenly family. But there are some things that should be explained to help you on this journey.

This a fallen world and the devil is the enemy. Your entire life will be lived in the middle of a spiritual war between your Father and the enemy for you.
There are only two places to go when you die...with the Father or in the lake of fire with the enemy
Jesus is the Son of God and God's greatest accomplishment, but Jesus is also God in the flesh because He inherited everything that a Son can receive from a Father. Jesus and the Father are One. But how does that explain the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Just like water, they are all the same, but can be separate. God has three parts that are one.
There must be a payment for sins to be pure and enter the presence of a good God. Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. God essentially made the payment for sins to Himself with Himself. Your only job is to believe. Why did He make it so simple? Because He loves you.
A believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. In the Old Covenant, people had to be completely pure to be in the presence of God in the Jewish temple or else they died on the spot. In the New Covenant, Jesus has made the believer pure thus making the believer the temple so that the Father can be with them all the time.
It is okay to not understand everything God does. There are some Holy mysteries that God has chosen to keep secret. For example: Why would God go through all the trouble of creating a complex plan of salvation that would stretch over centuries? Why is there a payment for sin? Why doesn't God just reveal Himself? Why the need for the Trinity? There are constant theological debates about this stuff, but don't lose sight of whats important...faith in the Fathers love and the finished work of Jesus.
The Bible becomes crystal clear when you look at it through the viewpoint that God is Dad. A Father would raise his children by loving, healing, teaching, protecting, guiding, and sometimes disciplining them. A good father knows the best way to raise his children to be the best that they can be. A good father also wants His children to cherish each other. And only an enemy to that father would try to divide the children against either each other or against him.
Every person has fruit. A fruit is what you will harvest in your life. If you do good, the fruit will be good and vice versa. Fruit comes from what you plant. Gods justice cannot be mocked. You reap what you sow. But a fruit is not the most important thing because there are many factors that affect the fruit that cannot be controlled by you.
In the end, God is the judge. Your job is to be a healer/lover...a brother/sister...not a fruit inspector. A persons fruit helps you diagnose the problem, but you should focus on helping people sow better seed. Help them.
The cure for every problem in the world is what people sow. If you sow the Love of Jesus into your heart, many good things will flow from you. Your light will shine. You will show brotherly love. But this requires patience because some of the seeds you sow may not be harvested in your lifetime.
And finally...your love is greater than your knowledge.

Thankfully, the children of God have Dad's help through the Holy Spirit. Jesus rose from the dead to demonstrate His Power and make it possible for you to share this Power. Our sins have been paid. We are pure and the temple of God. Dad's Spirit lives in us and helps us. Talk about unconditional love. And the benefits of having the Holy Spirit are unbelievable. Here are some of the gifts and fruits of the Spirit:

Gifts: Knowledge, Wisdom, Healing, Miracles, Faith, Prophecy, Discernment of Spirits, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues.
Fruits: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

But you can't be all things to all people. It would be too much. Dad will anoint you with the ability to do the things that He wants you to do. He will make those things easy for you. Whether it is a career or a relationship or whatever, big or small, He will give you the tools to get the job done effectively. And you shouldn't worry about what you're not doing. That is His job.

Personally, I cannot imagine life without His help. He has healed me when I have asked for healing. He has given me wisdom and guided me. For example, my gut feelings have never been wrong. I've known what to do while making difficult decisions. And I knew people were lying to me when I had no facts or reason to the contrary. He has also protected me and positioned me in life. It wasn't always easy and I have had to learn some hard lessons, but things either have or are working out for my benefit. Sometimes the road has been unbelievably bumpy, but after keeping the faith and walking it out, I can see why He chose that path for me. I am so thankful for Him. But His voice is not loud. It is quiet & still. And I have to listen carefully to His promptings, because when I either don't listen or ignore Him...things always become a mess.

Just know, the Holy Spirit is there to take you from Glory to Glory. To help you sow good seed and reap good fruit. It is the believers choice whether or not to listen. But things are ALWAYS better when you do, because He is the beginning and the end. He can see the future. He knows everything. Dad is good. And He is always trying to help.

The harsh reality is that you still have to walk on this path called life. And there are many things that can cause you to stumble. Stumbling does not jeopardize your position with Dad. You are still his treasure and forever saved, but stumbling can affect your Joy and effectiveness as a child of God. Here are some things that can ensnare you:

Forgetting that this world is in a great spiritual war.
Not understanding that once you have salvation by faith in Jesus that you have won the war, but now there are a few battles that you must still fight as an ambassador of the faith.
Not listening to the Holy Spirit. Have you ever said, “I know I shouldn't do this,” and did it anyways? Did it work out? Dad knows everything and sees all. He is there to help.
Money. Jesus never said you couldn't have money. He just said that the love of money is the root of all evil. Jesus wants you to be blessed and to be a blessing to your family. But the problem with money is that people unintentionally worship and serve it. Their ideology is that if it makes money, it is good. But if it loses money, it is bad. Gods economy and heavenly family don't work like that.
Fear and worry. The devils most effective tool is fear. Fear can make you do hateful and dumb things. It drives you. But the way to overcome fear is to ask Jesus for help through the Holy Spirit and to know that it is simply a tool of the devil. It isn't real.
Knowledge. No one ever said knowledge was a bad thing, but how you use this knowledge is what makes it either good or bad. Plus, knowledge creates a false sense of pride and self reliance. You are supposed to rely on Jesus.
Pride. Do I need to explain this one?
New age nonsense. There are a lot of new age movements that try to counterfeit our faith as children of the Most High. Some think that their energy attracts similar energy or rely on superstitions such as how they set up furniture in a room. There are some that say that they can even get special powers through meditation. This is all bunk. Power can come from demonic forces. The devil is simply trying to keep people from knowing Dad and mislead them by getting them to believe in some watered down lie.
Ideology. Many religions in the world are simply an idea. And they try to get people to look at Jesus as simply another idea. You often see this demonstrated in the university setting. But Jesus is not an idea. He is alive and helping you at this very second.
Rituals, mysticism, and superstition. Your relationship with Dad is not a ritual or some mystical voodoo. It is a daily partnership of love and joy. Superstition wont bring you closer to God or solve a problem. Only a relationship with the Father that understands how much you are loved and appreciated can do that.
Downtime. Life will be exciting during the times when God is moving mountains in your life. But there will be times when things are slow. That doesn't mean that He isn't working in your life, it simply means to wait and be patient and to love.
Sin conscious. Everyone messes up, but Jesus still loves you. Technically, sin is falling short of the glory of God and we all fall short. Don't focus on the bad in your life, but look at the good God is doing. Believe in Him and go in peace away from your past.
Not understanding that Dad has given you both Power and Authority. Everyone in the family has it. Learn about it and use it.
Thinking that Dad is far away. He is here...right now.

This list was not exhaustive. It was simply a quick primer of the pitfalls that a child of God might face. But in the end, the only thing that matter is the love that Dad has for you. You cannot go to Heaven unless you believe in the sacrifice Jesus made for you. And You must decide now where you will spend eternity. But Jesus loves you so much, that He made it unbelievably easy to accept Him as the payment for your sins. Just believe. Then you can learn how to receive His love and the gifts He is giving you. Let His light shine in your life and enter His rest. Please say this prayer aloud:

“Jesus, I believe You came in the flesh and died on the cross to pay for my sins...past, present, and future. I believe You rose from the dead to demonstrate God's Power and I believe You are alive today. And because of Your sacrifice, I can blamelessly be in my Fathers presence. Please give me life. In Jesus name, Amen.”

If you said this prayer right now, angels are rejoicing in Heaven. God and Heaven love you so much. I love you too. Welcome to the Family.