LolitaAi (post: 1447368) wrote:Hi, my name's Catherine and have finally decided to walk the christian walk but I'm quite scared and nervous on what to do.
I guess I'm still having doubts ..and just so confused on what to read first in the bible.
First of all, welcome to the family of God! Choosing to follow Jesus is a huge decision; it's absolutely natural to have doubts about it no matter how long you've been a Christian, but the key is to deal with them as they show up, seeking for God's help as you do.
Now, the Bible...it's a pretty daunting book at first, but it's the key to learning what God wants in our lives and why. Since it was written in parts by all kinds of people, each one dealing with slightly different issues, you'll find something in there that you like.
First of all, find a translation that you feel comfortable reading and can understand - luckily, there's lots of translations out there, and you can get plenty of them online nowadays. (Better yet, find two or more - translation from the original Hebrew and Greek the Bible was written, or between any language, can be a very imprecise business, and different people will translate it in different ways, so it's good to get another look at .) The New International Version's a good one; not a whole lot of frills, but it's in modern English and it's designed to be as clear as possible.
There's a huge variety of genres and within the Bible as a whole, and even within each book of it, from poetry to historical records, letters to churches and people, travelogues, romance, fire-and-brimstone preaching...pretty much any type of writing you can think of. Trust me, you'll find something you'll enjoy. Start off with one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) - they're the story of Jesus, each with a different style. Mark is my favorite, and a good starting point, since it's written for people who weren't familiar with the Jewish customs of the day, but all four tell the whole story, and they all focus on different things.
Romans is a great outline of Christianity and its basics. It starts out by explaining our need for Jesus, the hope we have in Him, and how to live for God. Try reading it all in one sitting and following along with the logical thread that's in it - it'll take maybe half an hour. Dip into some of the Psalms - they're a whole bunch of poems, written in almost every kind of mood. Try out some of the minor prophets (basically everything between Daniel and Matthew), which are sermons to a country God had chosen and loved, but whose people had abandoned that over the years. They show God's hatred for sin, but also His infinite love for the world, His desire that we would show justice and mercy to one another and the hope that He is coming to set up His perfect world one day.
But don't just follow my advice - there's lots of fun to be had in exploring the Bible on your own. Pick a book and just go through it, because you're bound to find something good in it! Look up things and places you aren't familiar with in other sources - you're going to find some, what with being written in the Middle East, two thousand years or so ago. Find a plan to read through the whole Bible, so that eventually you'll get the whole picture when you're done, and because it'll be easier to stay consistent when you've got a track to follow
Anyway, happy hunting, and God bless! I'll be praying that you'll find comfort and things that challenge you to think in new ways about how you see God as you read.