I’m Saved, Now What!

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how to, Juanita Bynum, salvation

I didn’t get saved at church. I had been attending New Covenant for a long while, so I can say my church laid the foundation for me being saved. My mom read me the Bible verses over the phone and I was saved via landlines! But you don’t have to be saved at church. When you are compelled to give your life to God and believe in Jesus, then you can confess, repent and you are saved. Maybe you are at a church and the message touches you deeply. Maybe you are at a church and you aren’t necessarily emotionally moved, but you feel being saved is the right thing to do. Regardless of your reasons, thank God you made the choice!

What happens to a lot of people is that they get saved, and don’t know what to do afterward. You might experience some great euphoria, and you might not “feel” anything. So how do you begin to acquire this abundant life that Christians talk so much about?

This is an excerpt from my Juanita Bynum Topical Bible that can help new Christians and Christians who are lost on their journey. If you follow these steps, you will begin to understand what being saved is really all about!

Now That You Are Saved

1. Receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit

2. Find a Bible believing church that is on fire and alive (read the book of Acts)

(my note: It’s okay to go to a church and not like it. Take suggestions from friends, family and associates and visit churches until you find a place that speaks to you. It may take a while, but ask God to lead you.)

3. Pray and read God’s Word everyday of your life

4. Obtain a Bible that you can understand (Living Bible, NIV Bible, or the Amplified Bible)

(my note: You are not any less Christian if you don’t dig King James!)

5. Learn and know your inheritance in Jesus Christ

6. Obey the Word of God

7. Don’t be decieved

(my note: I thought it was interesting that Bynum feels we have a duty not to be deceived! That means we must be proactive)

8. Know and use your authority in Jesus Christ over satan

9. Tell others what God has done for you

Spiritual Spring Cleaning

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happiness, John Stanko, Juanita Bynum, New Covenant, renewal

The weather is beautiful and I have been opening the windows, which has cast light on some of the corners and crevices of my home. Even the windows are covered in dirt! This is the time for spring cleaning. In our homes, we are scrubbing windows and cleaning out garages and closets that are full of winter junk. But we should also be cleaning and evaluating our spirits so that the junk of the past few months doesn’t continue to clutter our minds.

Christians are given tools to scrub our minds and behaviors. The word of God is just like bleach and ammonia and can take something that is dirty and make it clean again.

Psalms 119:9 says:

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word

What is dirty in your life? Do you have a dirty mouth? Can people respect the things you say, or do they have to wade through profanities and negativity? Is your thinking filthy? Do you assume that people are thinking the worst of you? Do you wake up with a stanky attitude? Is your behavior grimey? Do you talk about people behind their back? Are you a liar or a cheater in your relationships?

These are all things that can hinder you from hearing God’s word. Daily, I ask God to cleanse my heart and give me the strength to do things in a clean way. It is easy to say, but how do we actually change and what steps can we take to be a new and better person?

Renew Your Mind

We can renew our minds through confessing to what is wrong in our lives and using the word of God to correct it. Not Dr. Phil or your homegirl down the street. But God’s word. Because your favorite TV psychologist may tell you to dump your lying husband, but the Word says to forgive. That’s why I love using the Juanita Bynum Topical Bible, because it can take me right to my issues and the scripture I can meditate on to correct it. If you are battling depression, instead of waking up thinking the world is against you, you can make a list of scriptures that uplift you and reaffirm to you that God loves you. It sounds corny, but your faith and commitment to changing is a small step to the miracles God can perform in your life!

Take Your Prayer To The Next Level

Sometimes our prayers are filled with sadness, tears and we beg God to get us out of situations He never put us in. Try focusing your prayers on something besides yourself. I like to start out my prayers acknowledging the presence of God, telling Him how wonderful He is and expressing my gratitude for the many things that He has done for me. The sadder I am, the more I try to enumerate them. Then instead of trying to tell God what I need Him to do, I humble myself and ask Him to have his way in my life. I pray for my friends and my family and ask for forgiveness. I’m not saying I’m the perfect prayer warrior. I come to Him differently now than I did a year ago, and I can say that my relationship and understand that I get from God has changed as well. I try not to complain and whine to God, and my complaints and whining to my friends have changed as well.

Do or Say Something Good To Others

Just being nice, even when you don’t want to, can add a fresh air to your life. I used to hang out with this girl, and she never understood why people would always tell her she looked mean. She was mean! And she looked like she had a bad attitude! As a Christian, we are supposed to light up a room with positivity, not be Debbie Downer!  Being nice starts as a practice and can be a lifestyle. Make a point to be nice to five people a day. Compliment them on their clothing, hair, work ethic or anything! Buy someone lunch who looks sad (or hungry). After a few weeks, increase that number to 10. Before you know it, you will be a nice person!

Find Your Purpose

In the movie Mahogany, Diana Ross sings a song that goes, “Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you?” Some of us are going through life aimlessly, not knowing what God put us here for and missing blessed opportunities! At the beginning of the year, New Covenant invited John Stanko, a speaker and writer who helps people discover their purpose. If you visit his Website (www.purposequest.com) there is an assessment there that can help you to figure out what it is your good at. If you already know what it is that blesses you and others, then why aren’t you doing it? Don’t let your dreams die our of fear!

Cleaning you home can surely make you feel better and opening those blinds after a cold and snowy winter can make you feel good. But cleaning your mind and committing to being a better Christian will change you for the better! Don’t choose to be dirty when you can be clean!

2 Corinthians 7:1 says:

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Learning To Control the Words We Speak

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gossip, how to, Juanita Bynum

This is an excerpt I just found this in my Juanita Bynum Topical Bible about gossip and idle words:

1. Avoid speaking evil, useless and meaningless words

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:4

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, ²¹which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. 1 Timothy 6:20-21

Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 2 Timothy 2:16

2. Evil words are destructive

Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18

3. Don’t talk too much

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

²⁸ Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
and discerning if he holds his tongue. Proverbs 17:27-28

Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37

4. A fool talks too much

A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. Proverbs 29:11

5. You will be judged by the words you speak

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37

6. Think before you speak

Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2

7. Speak positive words

Listen, for I have worthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.

⁷ My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.

⁸ All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse. Proverbs 8:6-8

Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

8. Speak words of wisdom and integrity

For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. Luke 21:15

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. James 3:13

9. Speak the right words at the appropriate time

A word aptly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11

The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. Isaiah 50:4

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6

10. Speak knowledgeable words

Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel. Proverbs 20:15

My words come from an upright heart;
my lips sincerely speak what I know. Job 33:3

Notice how much scripture there is about the words we speak! These are just some of the scriptures from the topical Bible. Being in control of our mouths is pretty high on God’s priority I’d say!

How To Judge Music, TV and Movies in a Christian Way

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discernment, how to, Juanita Bynum, movies, music, TV

This comes from The Juanita Bynum Topical Bible, a good source for those who are learning the Bible and need direction and clarity on a variety on Bible topics. The book offers a questionnaire to discern between media that is good for you, and media that is not good for you. It becomes really clear on what one should do.

1. Would Jesus listen to this music, or watch this TV program or movie?
John 12:46
I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness

2. Through your TV or music, what kind of people or evil spirits are you inviting into your home?
Ephesians 5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

3. Is this TV program,movie or music contrary to God’s word?
Proverbs 19:27
Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

4. is the TV program or music bringing you closer to God?
James 4:4
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

5. Is it causing you to compromise or sin?
1 Corinthians 10:21
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

6. What are you putting in your heart through your eyes and ears?
Psalm 101:3
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.

1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

7. Are you wasting time?

Ephesians 5:16

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil

8. How do you qualify good TV programs, movies and music?
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.