“Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My Father.  If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?” 2Kings 5:13 NIV

Aren’t we all a bit like Naaman?  We expect SOMETHING BIG.  We want a SIGN. We think we must do GREAT THINGS.  If everyone thought they had to run a half marathon or climb Mt. Everest to become Christians, I suspect we would see a BIG spike in interest in the Church.  People like the idea of their own hard work paying off.  It is where our pride gets the best of us. We say, “I fought my way to the top”, “Pulled myself up by the boot straps”, “He is a self-made man” or even, “I converted him”.

The truth is that we can never work hard enough to earn our own salvation.  It is a gift that is easily received by those who are willing to follow the simple instructions in God’s Word.  We must, as the song says, humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord.

Acts 2:38 reads, And Peter said to them “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…” That’s it, it is THAT simple! Once you have confessed your faith, then 1. Repent – feel or express sincere regret about one’s wrongdoing or sin and turn away from it AND 2. Be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins – be buried/immersed in water to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

Once we have obeyed and been baptized, then the journey to being a disciple begins.  We learn, and grow, and strive, and teach so that we will remain faithful until death.