This blog post aims to help Catholics – people like me – become better followers of Christ.
Although I started writing this for Catholics, I discovered that these keys apply to Christians of any denomination or none. The 4th review was required to arrive at this.
Spending time to learn and understand any topic, work, or game is necessary before we start enjoying it or benefiting from it. We gain more from the gymnasium when we are guided by a good gym instructor. Reading books, spending time learning, and having a good friend willing to explain matters helps.
The same is true about becoming a better follower of Christ. Many Christian denominations, including Catholics, do not spend time and effort learning the Word, the instructions, thinking, and commandments of Jesus Christ.
For easy navigation of this blog post, click on any of the questions that strike a chord in your heart.
1) Which is the 1st key for Catholics to be better followers of Christ?
2) Which 2nd key transforms a Catholic into becoming a better follower of Jesus Christ?
3) Which third key makes a Christian a better follower of Jesus Christ?
4) Describe the 4th key that makes a Christian a better follower of Christ?
5) Which is the 5th Key that makes a Christian a good follower of Christ?
6) Which is the 6th Key to make any Christian a better follower of Christ?
7) Which is the 7th Key to make any Christian a better follower of Christ?
8) Which is the 8th Key that makes any Christian a better follower of Christ?
9) Why are Catholics important to Christians?
10) Why am I qualified to write this blog on transforming Catholics into better Christians?
Here are the answers. Your life will never be the same as you have a closer walk with the Lord Jesus. Hearing him, doing His will, bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
Answer) The Holy Bible is the Word Of God. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Read this verse again – given in blue font. It’s important to get a complete understanding of what the Holy Bible is.
The Gospel of John mentions that Jesus Christ is the Word become flesh. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The Holy Bible is from God. It’s God’s laws and instructions for our lives. The user manual for man, from our creator God. Jesus Christ is the Word Of God. The very best starting point to know about Jesus Christ is the Holy Bible.
Reading, hearing, and learning are important. Often, we do not have, as we do not ask. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Mathew 7:7-8) This verse is special. It’s a verse with a promise clearly mentioned in it. If we ask Jesus, we will receive what we ask for.
Ask for a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ. Earnestly desire it. Pray for this. Pray with expectation, knowing that God fulfills our earnest desires.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)
A stronger relationship with Jesus will make us better followers of Jesus Christ.
Answer) Daily reading the Holy Bible with hope and expectation of an encounter with Jesus. For this, start the Bible reading with a prayer (link given within this answer, in blue font). Remember, it’s your expectation and hope that opens a door to possibilities.
Often, many Christians read the Bible to complete a daily task. Only a few read the Bible with the expectation of getting a specific message and instruction for the day.
These changes do not come easy. After a few days of going to the gym, many wish to stop because of the pains and aches. Only if you persevere beyond this point will you reach a point of benefit.
Why should you read the Holy Bible daily?
Jesus is the Word become flesh. This is mentioned in the Gospel of John
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. ( John 1:14)
Continuing from the first answer. Jesus is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life to the Father. And the best option to know Jesus Christ is to read and think – read and ponder on the Word of God – thus read and think about the Holy Bible.
Jesus is the bread of life. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35) We also know the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the. (Mathew 6:11-13). We also know the bread meant is the spiritual bread, the Word of God. Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus also explained the spiritual nature of bread in the following verse. But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ (Mathew 4:4)
During the meeting with the Samaritan woman, when His disciples return to him, Jesus explains that doing God’s will is food to Him. In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore, the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. (John 4: 31-34) Essentially, all these points show that reading the Bible is most important. You will get to know God’s will. God’s word – as you read from the Bible – is your daily bread. Doing God’s will is your food.
Here are a few blog posts on the Bible, the power of the Bible, reading the Gospels often, and understanding the Bible. If you are prompted, do read them.
Prayer before reading the Bible
Pray and seek God’s Wisdom, Grace, and Guidance. Pray, pause, and then read the Bible. This prayer is uniquely powerful as it is based on the scripture.
The Holy Bible’s Unparalleled Uniqueness and Power
The Bible is a treasure trove for those who live life using it. It has great power because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Why should you be reading the Gospels again and again?
These books are foundational in our Christian faith. Having a good understanding of these books is important before gaining an understanding of the other books.
Why read the Bible?
Reading the Bible is like milk for a baby. By reading, we get to know Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the very foundation of Christian faith.
Why is understanding the Bible essential?
Understanding the Bible, we step into the inheritance of Jesus Christ by His cross and His resurrection. The lies of the enemies can be rejected.
Answer) When we have the Word of God abide in us, by daily prayerfully reading the scripture, by daily thinking on it through the day, we can have a daily conversational relationship with Jesus Christ. Eagerly desire it, and you will start experiencing this shift.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (John 15:4)
Many Christians ignore Jesus Christ for six days of the week, neither recognizing His presence nor considering pleasing Him. After each week, we remember Jesus only when we are back in church. Is this not hypocrisy?
We would never do so to our close friends or relations. Why should we take Jesus Christ for granted and ignore Him without shame? Don’t we remember that He died on the cross for us?
In a good relationship with Jesus, we experience Jesus guiding us and leading us. Just as He was with the disciples in the New Testament. Jesus told us that He would never leave us or forsake us.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8). As He was with the disciples, He is with us. So he is with us. Only when we choose in our free will to close the door of our heart do we stop encountering Him.
Right from what to prioritize for studies to marketing/business strategies, farming ideas, the Lord can guide us in any matter – these become the point of Christ’s encounters with us.
I have experienced supernatural grace when I prepared for meetings – He led me to prepare on specific topics, which were discussed and were useful for the meetings.
My wife bought a specific gift, which was the very same gift the child had desired very much.
Instances abound when you are led to make decisions, and even led to help and guide and spend time with specific people, elders, and young.
These can affect your farm’s yield when there is drought for farms around you.
Even with less experience, you get to deliver a creative and powerful solution among your friends, relations, and colleagues.
Recently, when I asked Elisha, a smart young design student, to share moments of God encounter in the last month, she was blank. So aI shared instances of God encounters. The next day, she pleasantly surprised me as she voluntarily shared a few testimonies of God encounters with great joy.
Answer) This is foundational Christianity. Yet many Christians do not know this.
The wages of sin are death and consequent separation from God. Jesus Christ was the one without sin – the lamb without blemish. Yet He chose to die on the cross for us sinners. Thus, He paid for the wages for our sin by choosing to die on the cross for us – suffering all the pain and shame. You can watch this to some extent in the online movie The Passion of Christ.
Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), reminding us of the complete and finished work of the cross. The finished work is available for us. By faith in the crucifixion of Christ and His resurrection, we can have the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The psalms declare: As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
By believing in Jesus and His crucifixion, we walk as righteous believers. Not remembering this truth once in a blue moon will not do. Do you think any spouse would accept if their partner ponders and acts on their marriage relationship once or twice a year?
Do we not remember?
Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. (Proverbs 6:21) When you bind on your heart, “always” happen only by continuous reminders?
Does not “tie around neck” – have to be repeated so that it remains in the neck?
When God sees you, He sees you as righteous in Christ. This is the only identity you ought to have. Anything else is a lie from the “evil one”. God does not see our sins as a sinner; He sees us as a righteous person in Christ. This is our identity – forgiven and accepted as Christ.
Remember, God gave His only Son to die on the cross – because of His love for you. You. Yes, You!! Replace the word “world” in the below verse and read aloud instead with the word “me”. Do so for both the verses below.
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.
For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. (The above verse is John 3:16 – the greatest love verse. They are from the NKJV version & AMPC version, respectively.)
We are to be willing to walk as God sees us and calls us to be is important. We have been given the faith to do so.
We need to own the truth conveyed in these verses. It belongs to everyone who believes in Jesus.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) Jesus Christ is the person who did not sin.
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3 NKJV) This implies that our old self, a slave to sin, is dead after we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we accept that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sake, our old self also dies on the cross with Jesus.
When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we can declare this faith statement – so speak it aloud.
I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and inequities. The wages for my sins and inequities have been paid by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I am not a slave to sin.
As mentioned in 2nd Corinthians 5:17, I declare I am in Christ, I am a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
In Jesus’ name, I declare this. Amen
Paul mentions this beautifully in the epistle to Galatians.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)
Answer) The fifth key is the first of the ten commandments – given by God through Moses – in blue font as given in the Bible.
And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:1-6) This is from the Old Testament portion of the Bible.
In the New Testament, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NKJV)
Both the verses point to Jesus Christ being the only worthy one to be called our Lord and Saviour. And only through Jesus Christ do we come to the Father God. Read both the verses above a couple of times so that this truth sinks in deeply.
Here is a short word of prayer.
Lord Jesus, I desire a closer walk with you.
I want to change.
I am not pleased with my walk with You, Lord Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
I want to be a new creation in Jesus Christ.
I desire to walk closer to You and hear your heartbeat.
I desire that the light of your Living Word shine within me.
I ask that every kind of darkness be expelled from within me.
Let the Truth of your Word be exchanged for every lie within me.
In Jesus’ name I ask, believing that I receive it. Amen.
Answer) Jesus is the groom, and we, the church, are His bride. The church is the glorious church – united across denominations and beautiful, eagerly awaiting His second coming. No denominational differences. With the first love, we eagerly await Him. The timing mentioned in the book of Revelation is drawing near.
We are not the widow, to be saddened, but the eager bride, beautiful in heart and attire, beautiful inside, radiating to the outside. We ought to always be ready for the Lord Jesus to come. The mindset to have is being prepared for the Lord to return anytime, while being planned for a twenty-year window.
He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20 NKJV)
Here are two blog posts relating to the book of Revelation.
Bible Quiz: Book of Revelation (Advanced)
The Book of Revelation is unique in various ways. It’s the last book of the Bible. It points to the day of the Lord’s 2nd coming
Read the Book of Revelation, be blessed!
The book speaks about the 2nd coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Written by John based on the visions he had when on the island of Patmos
Answer) We know that a little yeast changes the whole lump. Here are two verses on this.
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Galatians 5:9)
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (1 Corinthians 5:6)
Each of us has testimonies of the goodness of God. Once we start sharing these, the ripple effects are many. The expectation about the Lord’s goodness increases. Hopeless cases are replaced by hope.
I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)
Thus, each time we testify, another person gets quickened into faith and expectation of the Lord’s touch.
I have seen innumerable testimonies of healing, signs, wonders, and lost goods restored.
The testimonies and one breakthrough leading to another prove that the Lord Jesus is near us, in all our life situations and circumstances. Faith grows, and all Christians have a closer walk with the Lord.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and save them. (Psalm 145:18-19)
Answer) Jesus Christ healed all who came to him for healing.
And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. (Luke 6:19)
We know that the lady with the issue of blood was sick for many years, and all her money was spent on treatment and meeting many physicians during the 12 years of suffering, before she was healed by touching the hem of the garment of Jesus. One touch and she was healed completely instantly.
The disciples healed a man who was lame from birth – he was lying near the entrance of the temple.
And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. ( Acts 3:2-9)
We see what Jesus did; His disciples did. This is true to this day. Many believers heal the sick. You can check the healing video of Randy Clark, Bill Johnson, Benny Hinn, and 100’s and 1000’s of others. Many of them prayed for healing, and after many attempts and still pursuing, they started succeeding.
Jesus Christ has clearly asked us to heal the sick, clean the lepers, and bring freedom to the oppressed. Every one of us should step into this. Jesus clearly instructs us to perform greater miracles.
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (John 14:12 NKJV)
In the videos on the page below, a link is shared right below this. You can see Richard Gordon from Bethel, Redding, being used by God for miracles across various Christian denominations, Catholic, Anglican, and others. I would urge you to watch specifically the 2nd video towards the bottom of the page – watch a Catholic Priest based in Switzerland, how he desired to flow in healing. Watch this interesting video! As he changed His mindset!.
Earnestly encourage you to desire and step into this. Remember, Jesus Christ is the healer. All healing is in the name of Jesus Christ. Once we earnestly desire it, we should start pursuing it by praying for the sick in our family and friends circle. Pursue it despite favorable outcomes as well as delays in favorable outcomes. Persist in this.
Answer) Catholics number 1.4 billion. Christians number 2.8 billion.
Very clearly, the Catholics are the single largest denomination among Christians. They account for nearly 50% of the worldwide Christians. Thus, Catholics are the single largest Christian denomination in the World.
Answer) I am a young catholic, with six decades of life experience behind me. As a school boy, I used to greet the Pope on their birthdays. On two occasions, I sent birthday wishes to them. They responded – their secretaries. In those days, written communication was through birthday cards placed inside covers with postal stamps of high value, as the cover was to be physically transported from Kochi in India to Vatican City in Italy. It would take a week or two weeks of journey by flight or by sea. The thrill and joy of receiving these covers from faraway cities in distant continents was much. It was like a celebration of possibilities.
Using the postal communication in those days was also an exercise of experiencing “patience,” which is mentioned in Galatians 5:22 as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Hope and faith – Christian virtues were growing richly in my life garden as I used the postal service of India and many other nations through which the cover was physically transported.
God was a reward for growing these Christian virtues and the fruit of the Holy Spirit within me. After I had waited patiently without losing hope and having faith that one day I would receive a response. After six weeks or more, I received a reply. The reply, since it was from the office of the Pope, excited my class teacher. He encouraged me and got it posted on the school notice board when I was in the sixth standard. I received the glory. There was pride in me. Today, I would have given more of the glory to God, who gave me the thoughts to write in the first place.
I have visited the Vatican – thanks to my Chittappan, who was the ambassador to Italy. My firstborn was also baptised at the Vatican church. I used to have a secret desire to become a Pope. But God, in His loving kindness and tender mercies, enabled my namesake to become the Pope. Something that was not imaginable earlier took place when a man named Francis was chosen to become the Pope. So the Heavenly Father, in His love and great humour, literally gave me my desire. I felt like becoming the Pope, without having the burden to carry.
I have many Catholic priests and nuns among my relatives. All through the Catholic heritage of six decades and many unique Catholic life experiences, I have always loved the Church, the bride of Christ. I believe the Bride of Christ is beautiful and resplendent, as it includes many of the churches, including the Catholic Church. I cherish the many good and beautiful dimensions of the Catholic church.
30+ powerful declarations for victory, based on the Living Word - Holy Spirit-filled Bible…
We either build relationships with good conversations or weaken relationships when we do not care…
When the wine was over during the wedding in Cana, Jesus transformed water into wine.…
For easy navigation through 600 prayer declarations packed with life-changing scripture promises, click on any…
These prayer declarations, made for families, will bless your family! God's perfect will, as stated…
The Book of Revelation is unique in various ways. It's the last book of the…
