1. Turn and Trust
Recognize that there is nothing you can do to be right with God and live forever with Him in heaven because we have turned away from Him and lived life our own way. 

Turn back to God by speaking to Him. Tell Him that you’re sorry for living life your own way, for not loving Him, not honoring him, obeying Him, and not worshiping Him only, as well as not loving others as you should. (Tell him what you’re sorry for. E.g. lying, disrespecting people, hurting people with words, hating people which is murder at heart, and lusting which is adultery at heart, being uncaring…). Ask Him to forgive you. 

Thank Him that He sent Jesus to take the punishment you deserve by dying on the cross and rising again. Thank Him that you don’t have to feel shame, guilt and fear anymore for dishonoring, disobeying and not worshiping Him. Thank Him that you can be in a right relationship with Him now and forever with Him in heaven because of Jesus. Trust Jesus alone to save you, not anything good you have done.  

Then tell God that you want Him to be the boss of your life, not yourself. 

2. Bible
God speaks to us through His word in the Bible. Ask someone for a Bible and start reading from Luke chapter 1. It tells us about the life of Jesus. If you don’t have a physical Bible, just go online to www.biblegateway.com and type in “Luke 1”. 

3. Prayer
Because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He made a way for us to have direct access to God. So we can simply just speak to Him anywhere and any time. So speak to him regularly. Thank him for Jesus and other things in life that He gives you. Tell him what’s on your mind, what’s bothering you and requests you have. He hears you. He might not answer the way you want but he will do what’s best for you even when you think so. He will help you grow your character to be like Jesus.”

4. Be aware that life will not be easy
Life is hard sometimes and life can even be harder because you follow Jesus. Some people may not like the fact that you are following Jesus. So they might not treat you well. Also, sometimes other common difficult times related to health, job, relationships and more might try to stop you from trusting God. Be aware of this and ask God to help you keep trusting Him no matter what. 

5. Church
Church is not a building, but a group of people who follow Jesus. God has provided this community of people to help us along the journey of life as we seek to honor Him. God has provided other followers of Jesus to rejoice with us in the good times and to help us in the hard times. We need each other. You are welcome to join Fellowship or find a church close to you, and commit to doing life with Jesus in your new community. 

(See www.fellowshipdubai.com/in-person for service times and locations)

6. Get Baptised
Baptism is a physical symbol of what happens to someone spiritually when they turn and trust in Jesus (step 1). Going down into the water symbolizes that we were spiritually dead and coming up out of the water symbolizes that Jesus has made us alive through His death and resurrection. Also, baptism is a public symbol to others saying that you are no longer going to live for yourself with yourself as boss but you will live for Jesus. Baptism is done once, not many times throughout life. 

7. Tell others about Jesus
We have something better than the cure for cancer. We have the cure for eternal death. But ultimately, we have the amazing privilege of being in a right relationship with God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We can live forever with God in perfect peace, and we can have a relationship with Him now, knowing that He loves us and cares for us. What a great opportunity we have to tell others how they can also experience God’s love for them in Jesus!  

To learn more about what it looks like to follow Jesus, why not join the Just for Starters course that Fellowship will be running online: www.fellowshipdubai/equip