Hello, there! I'm 19 years old, and from New York, USA!
I remember when I was 19.... 43 years now....
Welcome to the family!
I wasn't raised Christian at all, but a couple months ago, I've accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior! However, unfortunately, my faith was very shallow, I don't know much, and haven't acted like a Christian. I don't want to be like that anymore, though! So, I'm here to learn and grow in my faith, so I can be a better Christian! I'm also here for fellowship, as I don't have any Christian friends, so I'd like to meet other Christians and make friends here!
I'm very glad to be here, and I'm happy to meet you all! God bless!
According to Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5, Romans 8:15, 23.....
You are now an adopted child of God.
God is your heavenly Father and according to Matthew 12:46-50, Jesus is your brother.
Then, according to Philippians 4:6-9, you have complete access to God, through Jesus and are invited to bring everything that we struggle with to him.
I'd also like to encourage you to read
Titus 2:11-14
2 Peter 1:2-13
Romans 8:3-8
Do you have a bible teaching church you're involved with?
In my early days I was instructed to engage in 4 basic activities.
1- read the bible daily.
It's easy to get overwhelmed with so much information. I read one chapter a day and as I've been at this for decades now, I've read it several times through....
I.e., you're not in a sprint race. We're in a marathon. A steady run will get you to the end.
2- pray daily. I typically spend a few minutes when I wake up and a few before I go to bed.
Again.... this is not to overwhelm or intimidate anyone. God is your heavenly Father. He wants you to come to him with everything you're experiencing in your daily life. The big, little, seemingly insignificant, and seemingly impossible. God loves doing the impossible in and through our lives.
3- engage in discussion and community with others who are also following Jesus.
Like sports fans, people who hang at the pub, and other activities, it's good to hang out with others who are learning to follow Jesus. It opens the door for conversation about how you're doing, praying for each other, and just being together through the good and bad in life.
4- tell others what Jesus has done for you.
You do not have to know everything. I'm pretty sure that you will feel intimidated by the experience, and you may feel goofy, inadequate, like you don't know enough, etc.... Jesus tells us that God's Spirit will give us the words we'll need at the moment we need them. Matthew 10:20.
We who are following Jesus are his student/apprentice.
I use the word apprentice because it's a combination of classroom learning and hands on experience learning in your every day life.
Hang in there.
And again....
Welcome to the Family of the Creator of the cosmos.
According to Isaiah 57:15, He indeed inhabits eternity, yet he dwells with the humble and contrite.