If you recall, during the month of January the church I attend and where I’m employed remodeled our worship auditorium. There was a lot to do in a short amount of time. So we began praying for the project on a daily basis.

One of our prayers was that the critical steps schedule would be maintained. The way this type of schedule works is that certain things must be done on a project before the next item could be started. For instance, the paint of the walls had to be finished before the carpet could be laid. This was just one step in this critical steps schedule.

How blessed we were and are at the end of the project to see that this critical steps schedule was indeed maintained and that no real issues popped up along the way. Yay God!

So what about our relationship with God? Is there a critical steps schedule? I believe there are a few that need to take place before we can advance our relationship with Him.

Believe. This must be the first step on our faith journey. Here’s what you need to believe: That Scripture is God’s inherent Word (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16); that Jesus is God’s Son, sent to be the Messiah, the Savior of mankind (John 3:15-16; 1 John 5:1 and 5:5; Romans 3:22); and that Jesus was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and rose to life to prove victory over death (Luke 24:46-47; 1 Thessalonians 4:14).

Repent. Repentance means to turn completely around. To go the opposite direction of our original path. So for a believer, we must put to death the sinful nature in order for the spiritual nature to be visible (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19).

Confess. You’ve heard Peter’s great confession of our Lord before. Here it is again. “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16 – NIV). We must confess who Jesus is and then we must proclaim it (Matthew 16:16; 2 Timothy 2:19).

Baptism. Jesus teaches that baptism is part of the salvation plan and was Himself baptized. Peter preached it on the day of Pentecost. Paul also was baptized and preached baptism (Matthew 3:13; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 9:18; Galatians 3:27).

Live. Once our critical steps schedule has been met, it’s time to get to work. We must live lives that bring honor, glory and praise to God who has freely lavished grace upon us. There are plenty of passages that lead us in this direction, but I’m just giving you two lists here (Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 2:19).

Tell. If in fact we have the greatest news mankind has ever heard, why do we keep silent? Why isn’t His message on the tip of our tongues constantly? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I know that Scripture tells me to share the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:47).

This is just a start, but at least you’ll be able to begin this journey by following this critical steps schedule. So what’s your next step?

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna