Placing your faith in Jesus
What the Bible says about placing your faith / trust in Jesus:
Old Testament
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. -Deuteronomy 18:15
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. -Isaiah 7:14
Jesus
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. -John 14:1-3
New Testament
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. -Romans 3:22-24
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:7
4 Methods for Placing your faith in Jesus
#1 - Reading the gospel
What is it:
The Gospel is the “good news”. In the New Testament, the Gospel is comprised of four books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four books tell the story of Jesus life and contain His teachings, miracles, and proclamations
Why you should try it:
We read the Gospel because it shows us who Jesus is as our savior, and was as a human being. The Gospel books are the best way of understanding what it means to be a Christian. When you read the Gospel you will begin to understand who Jesus is and why you should place your faith and trust in Him. The better you get to know Jesus, the easier it will be to trust Him.
How to read the Gospel
Read one chapter of the Gospel at a time.
Write down what you learned about/from Jesus in that chapter. Was there foreshadowing of what Jesus was going to do? Was Jesus talking to us as followers? What events took place in the chapter?
Close your time in Prayer. Ask God to help you remember what you read and offer up your day and experiences to Jesus.
#2 - Prayer of surrender
What is it?
The prayer of surrender is an opportunity to give our lives over to Jesus, and accept Jesus’ leadership in our lives. It is an opportunity to accept that Jesus died on a cross to take away our sins, and that we can not do everything alone. Jesus’ ways are greater than our own. We show this through prayer. Surrendering to Jesus is the first step in trusting Him and saying: “I will follow where you lead me”.
Why you should try it:
It’s a way to verbally and prayerfully place your trust in Jesus.
How to do the prayer of surrender:
Get comfortable, and begin to pray to God, repeating these words:
Lord, I know that my love for You is not as strong as I would like it to be, but I desire to give you my spirit, soul and body to be a living sacrifice to You, so that in every area of my life I may do only those things that are pleasing to You.
Help me to keep my selfish ways in the past, and walk towards the love of Jesus Christ in my present and future. Help my heart and mind to be centered on the everlasting love of Jesus Christ; trusting His will to be done through my life.
May I grow in grace and mature in faith and draw ever closer to You with every passing day. And as I rest in You, I pray that day by day I may be increasingly conformed into the likeness of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ, in Whose name I pray,
Amen.
#3 - Journaling
What is it?
Writing down all the things you want to tell Jesus. Leaving our thoughts, concerns, and prayers on paper.
Why you should try it:
It is a good way to see how Jesus has worked in your life over time. Journaling is a physical place to offer your honest heart over to Jesus. As you begin to write to Jesus, you will be able to enter a closer relationship with Him. By noticing patterns in what you write, you will also notice Jesus’ work and consistent grace in your life.
How to do Journaling:
Write down whatever thoughts have been reoccurring throughout your day. What can you surrender to Jesus in this moment?
Write down things that you are grateful for. Why are you grateful for them?
Write down moments where you saw Jesus working through yourself or others.
Ask Jesus for His help where you are struggling or feel insufficient.
Offer your day to Jesus expressing that you need Him.
End your time praying and reading all the you wrote about.
#4 - Devotional
What is it?
A devotional is an often daily passage of scripture. This passage is usually accompanied by a guided prayer or reflective prompts. Devotionals are created with the intent of having time in God’s word daily, and applying that scripture to your life.
Why you should try it:
Devotionals are a great way to start the practice of walking with Jesus. If you are intimidated by reading the bible on your own, they also offer you ways to reflect and understand scripture. It is easy to forget that Jesus is with us every day. Devotionals help to turn our attention back to Jesus’ promises as well as His presence.
How to do a Devotional:
Decide if you want a daily devotional or something less frequent.
Look at the length of devotional is available
Do you want it to be a focused topic or related to you? There are many options!
Schedule the devotional time into your life. If it isn’t on your calendar, it probably won’t happen.
Want to Know More?
5 Resources to help you on your faith journey.
The Bible Project – www.bibleproject.com
Study Bible: The Life Application Study Bible
App: The Bible App
Podcast: For The Gospel by Costi Hinn
Book: Follower: Beginning your walk with Jesus by Lifeway Students
We want to hear from you: Did you try any of these Methods? Let us know so we can hear how your relationship with Jesus is going! Contact us!