How to Live as a Christian : Three Easy Steps to Get You Going

If you've ever lost weight, I'm sure you've stumbled across articles telling you to start slow then work your way up to a more strenuous diet and exercise program.  It may say to take the steps once a day instead of an escalator.  Maybe it tells you to cut down on soda.  When you start exercising, it may say to start with only 10 minutes of activity until you're ready to add another five minutes and then another five minutes and then another.

The point is that when you're faced with a long journey, no matter what type of journey it is, it's sometimes a  good idea to start small.

This is the approach I took when I wanted to start living a more Christian life.  Now before I go on, I want to make something perfectly clear.  There is nothing you can do to get into heaven.  The only way is to accept Jesus as your savior and acknowledged that he died so that your sins are forgiven.  This is a HUGE concept and one that I struggled with for a good ten years so please know that if you don't readily accept it, that's ok.  We'll talk more about it in later blogs.  In my experience, even before I understood this concept, I still wanted to "walk to walk" of Christianity.  So if you're interested in getting started and showing actions that model a Christian lifestyle, here are three simple ones to get you going.

1.  Stop using the Lord's name in vain.  This is a commandment and it's a really simple change to make in your life.  Just take a second and think before you shout God's name at the driver who cut you off in traffic, or yell out the name of Jesus Christ when you stub your toe on the sofa.  (I used to do these things.)  Once you stop using the Lord's name in vain, you'll probably start to feel a little bit more respectful towards God and his Holy name.

2. Rest on Sundays.  Again, this is a commandment but my family has noticed what a gift it is to have an entire day off.  Also, it makes us work harder during the week since laundry, vacuuming, school work and preparation, ect., ect,. all has to be done by Saturday night.  So decide what you consider work, then take a break!  It's a gift!  Enjoy it!

3.  Occasionally, listen to some Christian music.  Ok, so this was tough for me.  I love driving because I love cranking my music loud and singing along.  Let's face it.  Music evokes a certain feeling within you and I really didn't want to mess with it.  Besides, I didn't know any of the words to any Christian songs, and I love singing along.  Oh, and all Christian music is just hymns right?  Nope.  Here is what I suggest.  Just start small.  Tune into a Christian station every now and then and start paying attention to the artists.  Find some you like and listen to them more.

Now you certainly don't  have to listen to Christian music to be a Christian.  But listening to that type of music evokes a deep spiritual awakening.  I know it sounds cheesy, but give it a try.  Here are some songs to get you started. The Skillet song is Christian rock:

Chris Tomlin is contemporary Christian:

Natalie Grant is contempory Christian but this song is more rock:

There's a lot out there and there's something for everyone so have some fun looking around!

So like I said, there is nothing you can do to get into heaven.  That's a gift from Jesus that we'll go into more at another time.  In the meantime, you can still get started on your path!  I hope these three steps are a good starting point!  I know they helped me in the beginning.