What Comes Next?

In the Great Commission, Jesus sent His followers into the world to make disciples. Disciples are devoted to doing God's will, to love and serve Him wholeheartedly, and to be on a path of spiritual growth. Jesus taught in John chapter 8:
29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."
30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Because we have surrendered our lives to the Lordship of Christ, if indeed we have, we can know that we have someone who walks with us and in us, empowering us daily and drawing us closer to Himself. A disciple is committed to loving the Lord with our entire heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as God has loved us.  Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot meet the standards of discipleship that God has set.  But we can be confident because of His abiding presence that we can know and follow Him.

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A passage in Romans 6 directs us to put aside sin and to embrace new life in Jesus Christ; we can read these words:
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

She apparently has had a multi-faceted career, including acting, singing, and even being a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. While achieving a modicum of success in her endeavors, she has reportedly made the truly most important choice in her life - whether or not to follow Jesus Christ?

ChristianHeadlines.com reports that Jana Kramer has announced to the world via Instagram that she has been baptized. The story relates that the actress and singer posted a video of the event and wrote: I don't have the words yet … I will … but for now … In the name of Jesus there is healing..."

The article goes on to say:

In a follow-up post, Kramer elaborated on the special moment, noting that God has always been there for her even when she wanted nothing to do with Him.

"This is my battle cry. This is the day I stopped walking alone. The beauty is … I was never alone. He was always walking with me," she wrote. "I just didn't think I deserved that. If I'm honest, I didn't know how to trust it or if I could trust it at all."

Kramer related how she had a hard time accepting God as her Father, due to what seem to be trust issues in her past. But, her views of God changed within the past year; the article quotes her as saying, "God was just waiting for me to come to him. And I have … and today I made my faith public, and it feels really good to know no matter what happens next on this journey of life, HE is next to me walking with me..."  Christian Headlines also notes that...

...Kramer also encouraged anyone reading her message to let God into their lives, noting that He is walking with them "through all the good and bad times."

She also wrote, "In the name of Jesus there is healing."  The article states:

According to Faithwire, Kramer's post was met with praise from her followers and other Christian celebrities.

"Praise the Lord. And all the angels sang in Heaven and rejoiced! Praise His holy name!! A step-in faith reaps eternal reward," actress Candace Cameron Bure commented.

This apparently occurred in a Nashville church.  And, the next steps for her will certainly be challenging - to live out the Christian life in the entertainment industry.  The Faithwire article encouraged readers to pray for Jana Kramer.  Fortunately, she has a connection to a local church, where there is the opportunity to grow in her walk with the Lord and truly be a disciple of Jesus.

Water baptism is an incredible representation of what has occurred inside the heart of a born-again believer: we have died to our old life and have been raised to a new one.  Our sins have been washed away and we have been cleansed on the inside.  It could be considered the first major step in a life of obedience to Christ.

The question can also be posed: what comes next?  That's certainly a question for someone who has become a follower of Jesus or re-dedicated his or her life to Christ. But, it can also be something for us to consider with respect to our spiritual life. The Christian life is a progression, a process - of growing in more in love with Jesus and of developing a greater love for and knowledge of His Word.  We are all walking the road to discipleship.