The Second Step

A devotional for new believers

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

Welcome to ‘the second step’ devotional guide

This series of devotional readings is created to help you commence your journey towards knowing Jesus Christ. So, before you do this, there are some things that are important to know…

  • You already did that – you have decided to follow Jesus; you have accepted the gift of His death and resurrection as an act of faith and believe in Him.

    So ... this is the second step. Hopefully this will help you along the way.

    As a new “believer in Christ” there are a couple of ideas that you will learn that will help you understand the message of what you are reading.

    So, let’s look at a couple of meaningful things...

  • The Christian good news is referred to as the “Gospel” and over the centuries has come to mean something that is true and cannot be disputed. The first 4 books at the beginning of the New Testament tell the good news about this guy called Jesus (English) or Yeshua (Hebrew). There’s nothing mystical nor magical about the stories - they are first-hand accounts from people who were eye-witnesses or, in one case, a good reporter.

  • Secondly, you’ll note the use of the word “Yeshua” above. This was most likely the given name in Hebrew for the middle eastern child we know in the western world as Jesus. It is a word that means “Yahweh is salvation”. Yahweh is God the Father’s personal name. So Jesus’s true name actually describes what he does. He Saves. Commonly in the western world we use the word Jesus, instead of Yeshua. Regardless of the word, He is the same person, the only Divine Son of God the Father, simultaneously fully human & divine.

  • The tiles below contain mini-messages or devotionals for a daily focus on Jesus and you. They all follow the format of:

    •    Title

    •    Key verses or Passages, with references for you to read them in the Bible or elsewhere

    •    A discussion based on a topic

    •    Some questions to answer or a statement to reflect on

    •    A suggested prayer (talk with God) that you may follow

    Read just one per day, giving yourself the time to think about what you have read or heard.

  • You may read and say this word “Amen” at the end of the personal prayers. The word literally means “so be it” or “I agree”.  So, if you agree with what has been said, you can confidently tell God that you agree with what you have read.

It is important for your growth to not be overloaded, rather to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18).

An encouragement as you read: Be diligent, applying scripture, so that you will be able to give a reason for your hope to anyone who asks (1 Peter 3:15) (2 Timothy 4:2).

About the Bible

The Bible is the collection of writings that are God’s inspired word. Through the bible,  God reveals himself, his purpose, his covenant faithfulness and his rescue plan through Jesus.

The Bible is a library in one cover, consisting of 66 books divided into two parts call testaments. 

  • The Old Testament (OT) is everything before Jesus’s birth and the New Testament (NT) is everything written concerning and after Jesus’s birth.

    The OT contains 39 books, and the NT contains 27 books.   

  • Each book has a name, which is often abbreviated using the first few letters. The book is then divided into chapters and verses.

    For example:

    “Genesis 12:1-3” or “Gen 12:1-3” means the book of Genesis, Chapter 12, verses 1 to 3 inclusive.

    A comma in the verse section indicates that the verses should be read separately and not everything in between them

    For example:

    “John 3:16, 20” means the book of John, Chapter 3 and the two separate verses 16 and 20 excluding verses 17 to 19.

    Where there is no colon (:) between numbers after the book name, this is referring to whole chapters.

  • There are multiple “versions” or translations of the Bible from the original languages into (relatively) modern English and other languages. Some translations are word-for-word, some are thought-for-thought, good for study, good for reading... and some are not so good.

    A good place to start is the current English Standard Version (ESV); this provides a good blend of both accuracy (meaning literal translation) and read-ability.

    If you have a New International Version (NIV) Bible, that’s ok too. It’s readable and a reliable thought-for-thought translation.

    Create a habit of a regular reading program. Once that’s been going for a while and you have a better understanding of the overall story, then you can begin finding a Bible translation that is suitable for you.

All of scripture is “God-Breathed”

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

Lets begin…