How Can I Become More Like Jesus Christ?

The word Christian was originally a nickname for people who were followers or disciples of Jesus Christ or the Christian faith.
The word Christian means to be Christ-like or an imitator of Christ and therefore that is the aim of every Christian or born again believer: Christians are supposed to conform to the image or character and nature of Jesus (Romans 8:29).

When we give our life to Jesus Christ so that He becomes our Lord & Saviour, our life no longer belongs to us but instead our life now belongs to Jesus and it is Christ who is at the throne of our life.
Galatians 2:20 says: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

So how do we become more like Jesus Christ?

1. We Need To Give Our Life To Christ
We cannot conform to the image or nature of Christ unless we are born again (John 3:3). To be born again means that we recognize our sinfulness and depravity to the extent that we realize our need for Christ as Lord & Saviour.
In other words, you cannot become more like Jesus unless you become a Christian.
Being a Christian means that we have a one-on-one relationship with God through Jesus Christ because it is only through Christ that we are able to please God.

2. We Must Be Motivated By Love
We do not simply follow Christ out of a sense of religious duty or ritual. Instead we follow Him because we are motivated by love.
The more we love God and His word, the more we will express God’s nature and character.
1 John 4:7-8 says: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Therefore as Christians we must be moved and motivated by the love of God and the love of people.
In John 3:16 God was motivated by love when He sent Christ to pay for our sins on the cross. The nature of God is that whilst we were sinners, Christ loved us and died for us (Romans 5:8).
Furthermore, to become more like Jesus, we must love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates (Romans 12:9).

3. We Must Meditate & Obey God’s Word
How can we know who God is? How can we know the nature & character of Jesus Christ? How can we know what God loves and hates?
We can know all these things through the studying and meditation of God’s word. The Bible expresses the mind and heart of God because God Himself is the Author of the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
It’s in the Bible that we know the difference between good and evil. It is also through His word that we receive encouragement, counsel and instruction on how we can become more like Jesus Christ.
Also our obedience to God’s word enables us to experience the nature and character of Christ who was able to obey God’s laws perfectly whilst He was on earth.
Therefore imitating Christ comes with the knowledge and of God’s word and the understanding that all we need to know about Jesus Christ is found in the Bible.

4. We Must Spend Time With God In Prayer
Communication with God is an integral part of every Christian’s life. The Bible tells us that Jesus Himself would spend time to be alone with the Father to pray (Luke 5:16).
Prayer draws us near to God and enables us to intimately fellowship with Him. It is also through prayer that we realize our utmost dependence on God because without God we are nothing.
Just like Christ it is important for us to spend time alone with God to pray and pour our hearts on God.
The disciples admired Christ’s prayer life and they witnessed Christ’s intimacy with the Father.
Because they witnessed Christ’s prayerful life, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray because they wanted the kind of prayer life that Jesus had (Luke 11:1-2).

Conclusion
Ephesians 5:1-2 says: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
So as Christians we are called to imitate the character and nature of Jesus Christ. Our Christian walk must reflect to the world the love and nature of God so that God may be glorified and by His grace many who are lost can be saved.
Ultimately the Christian life is not a religion – but it is a relationship with God. The more we love God and the more we want to know Him and spend time with Him – the more we will desire to imitate Christ.
Therefore to become more like Jesus Christ we must delight in Him and cultivate a desire to know Him intimately.

DO YOU WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN or A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST???

1. ACKNOWLEDGE: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
This means that we have all broken God’s laws and God’s 10 Commandments like those mentioned in Exodus 20:1-17. For example, if you have told a lie; if you have stolen something; if you have lusted after somebody or if you have coveted. This means you are guilty of breaking at least one or more of God’s 10 Commandments. Breaking God’s commandments makes us sinners. The fact that we are sinners who have broken God’s law means that we are accountable to God who is the Lawgiver. Romans 6:23 says that “the wages of sin is death BUT the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
You must acknowledge that you are a sinner who has broken God’s commandments and that you therefore need Jesus in your life.

2. REPENT: “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3), “Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19)
Repenting means: to change your mind; a sincere turning away, in heart, mind and action;
Therefore God wants you to repent of sinful values and of sinful living. God wants you to decide to
follow Him and to make Jesus the Lord of your life.

3. CONFESSION: “If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9)
God is a forgiving God. God will forgive any sin that you have done because Jesus died for ALL your sins and to set you free from the bondage of all types of sin in your life.

4. BELIEVE: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
You must believe that ONLY Jesus can save you and restore your relationship with God. You must believe that Jesus is the ONLY way by which you can have everlasting life and escape from eternal separation from God. You must believe that Jesus died on the cross for you and resurrected from the grave.
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive him, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12)
By faith, You must receive Jesus as Your Lord & Savior and therefore; you become a child of God; you become born again; you become a Christian; you restore your broken relationship with God

Why Not Make Your Eternal Decision NOW?

We become born again Christians by GRACE through FAITH or TOTAL TRUST in Jesus Christ as our Lord & Savior (Galatians 3:26) & (Ephesians 2:8,9). Salvation is a FREE gift received through FAITH in Christ.

PLEASE NOTE: You can choose to pray in your own words. This prayer is a sample prayer and it is only an EXPRESSION of your faith, belief & trust in Jesus. Salvation is by GRACE through FAITH or BELIEVING in Christ Jesus as your Lord & Saviour.

“Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your love. I thank You that You died on the cross for me and resurrected so that I may have life through You.
I confess Lord that I have sinned against You and today I ask You to forgive me of all of my sins, past present and future.
Today I repent and have decided to follow you. Thank you for forgiving all my sins.
From this moment, come into my life Lord Jesus & take full control of my life. I want to follow You Jesus and I want to follow Your ways. Save me and from today, make me the person You want me to be.
I receive You Lord Jesus right now by faith. I trust You as my Lord and Savior – Amen”

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