God's Foundational Truths for the New Believer

By Gisele Altman

Biblical truths about God, Jesus, and Christianity needed for a powerful Christian foundation.

Congratulations! Welcome to God's family! You are a new creation in Christ, and there is so much to learn about your new self. This book explains Christian fund

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Aug 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887384344

Gisele Altman

After a harrowing, life-changing event, Gisele Altman dedicated her life to God. Remarkably, she learned that everything she thought she knew about God was wrong. Now, to help other new Christians enhance their Christian walk, Gisele shares her epiphanies and foundational biblical truths that all Christians should learn.Gisele Altman served thirty-five years in government service (eight US Air Force and twenty-seven NASA). Afterward, she began writing for God's Kingdom. One of her greatest honors was co-writing pastor and friend Dr. Dan Stallbaum's book Positioning for Breakthrough: God 's Plan for Your Victory, published in 2019. Gisele currently lives in Florida.

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God’s

Foundational

Truths

for the New

Believer

Gisele Altman

Greyscale Trilogy Publishing logo

God’s Foundational Truths for the New Believer

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2023 by Gisele Altman

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-433-7

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-434-4

To God be all the glory!

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

— Colossians 2:6–7 (NLT)

Then they remembered that God was their rock,

And the Most High God their Redeemer.

— Psalm 78:35 (NKJV)

Table of Contents

Preface

My Story

Growth

Two Truths

Introduction

First Things First

What to Do

Salvation/Sinner’s Prayer

So, Now What?

God Will Do the Heavy Lifting

Help Is Already in Place

Moving Forward

But I Feel The Same

So How Am I Supposed to Act?

Stay Strong

Where to Start?

1. God Loves You!

Glory Cloud God

God Loves You!

God Loves You!

God Is Love and Loved Us First

More Good News

God Loves You!

You Are Not a Mistake

You Were Made for a Purpose

His Love Supplies All Your Needs

He Knows You Intricately

You Are in Good Bad Company

Deeper Still

2. The Big Three: Pray, Read, Associate

#1: Pray

The Power of Communication

Pray Genuinely

Familiarity

God Knows Your Future

God’s Timing, Your Patience

How Not to Wait

#2: The Bible

The Bible: God’s Love Letter and Instruction Manual

Find a Version You Understand

Form the Habit

Utilize a Reading Plan

Tend to Your Garden

#3: Associate: Find a Church Home

Fellowship

The Body of Christ

About Christians

Let God Pick Your Church

Serving in the Church

Serving Beyond the Church

Still Hesitant About Attending Church?

Deeper Still

3.The New You: Who You Are In Christ

But I Already Tried Christianity

What Salvation Has Given You: New You

Blameless, No Longer a Sinner

Not a God of Second Chances, But a God of Chances

Characteristics of a Believer

Fleshly You: Understanding Spirit, Soul, and Body

Live Out the New You

Deeper Still

4. Trust, Faith, and Fear: One of These Things Is Not Like the Others…

Satan Is a Jerk

Trust and Faith Go Hand-in-Hand

The Difference Between Trust and Faith

Who Said That?

Trust Because Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Obedience

Fear

Today Is the Tomorrow You Worried About Yesterday

Fighting Fear Through Faith

Do Your Part

Deeper Still

5. The Truth About Forgiveness

Why Forgive?

Because God Says So

Eight Life-Changing Truths About Forgiveness

But What About Not Me?

Hard News to Hear

Heal

Deeper Still

6. Understanding Repentance

Changing Your Mind

Why Repent?

Reminder: You Are No Longer a Sinner!

The True Progression of Repentance

Deeper Still

7. If There Is a God, Then Why ____?

So Why Do Bad Things Happen?

Unholy Transference to a Little g

Devil and Demons

How to Give God Control Again

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Me?

Here’s the Irony

Just Trust

Deeper Still

8. Count It All Joy!

What Is Joy, Anyway?

Joy Versus Happiness

Count It All Joy

Spiritual Warfare

Be Prepared

Deeper Still

Final Thoughts

Homework

Acknowledgments

Further Your Growth Checklist

About the Author

Preface

I cannot recall the exact moment I was on my knees, begging God to forgive me of my sins and asking Jesus to become my Lord and Savior for the first time. Nor the second time. Nor third. Fourth. Fifth. Too many times to count. Why so many? Because shortly after each of those events, I would undoubtedly return to my sinful ways, leading me to think that I had failed God and lost my newly obtained salvation. Hence the recurring episodes of me begging God for another chance.

After each failure, I would think, Well, that God thing sure didn’t last long. Here I am again, in the same situation, doing the same stupid things, just as I’ve always done! Surely God won’t forgive me… yet again! And during each of those guilt trips, I would drop to my knees, crying—no, ugly crying—and begging God to forgive me. Typically, those remorseful, sobbing episodes were accompanied by the promises of I really mean it this time or I’ll never do that [sin] again! But inevitably, I would commit those same sins again. And again, I would feel like a total failure. Failure after failure after failure was my routine. I constantly lived with the sting of disappointment.

At some point, and ironically as not to be a hypocrite, I stopped being remorseful altogether. I knew I would keep repeating certain ungodly behaviors, so I no longer even sought forgiveness. I simply gave up on Christianity instead.

My Story

Throughout various times in my life, I had heard that God loved me, whether from Christian co-workers, a highway billboard, or a two a.m. televangelist, but I honestly never thought I would be good or perfect enough for God to want me, much less accept me. I was wrong.

In truth, I did not have to be good or perfect enough. God already loved me, and He loved me as I was. I did not have to be good enough then, and I do not have to be good enough now. Neither do you.

Paradoxically, I considered myself a good person. I tried not to intentionally hurt people. (Unless, of course, they deserved it! Just kidding.) I gave of myself physically and financially. I fed the homeless, built Habitat for Humanity homes, and donated to causes and charities that I believed in. And for years, I sponsored teen female students in a judicially sanctioned halfway house. I helped wherever and however I could. Yet, I was a bit of a wild child, too. I worked hard, and I played hard. It was because of the play hard aspect of my life that I never thought I could be a Christian.

In truth, the word Christian frightened me. I did feel spiritual, though, and "believed in God," whatever that meant. Do you have similar thoughts? Have you ever said you were spiritual? Personally, I suspect when people say they are spiritual, they mean, I believe that God exists, but I don’t want to develop a relationship with Him or get to know Him because it may require life changes. For decades, I thought that being spiritual was a good enough way to manage my life. It was not.

Leaving God out of the equation and relying completely on myself to change was another thing that I had wrong. The problem was that once I finished praying for forgiveness, I did not know how to proceed. I thought I did. I would wake the next day and think, Now… how should a holy person act? So, I would stop drinking. I would quit smoking. I would abstain from sex. I would stop partying with my friends. And I was successful… for a little while. Sometimes, an extraordinarily little while. The only thing I did not fail at was failing. Repeatedly.

By the time I decided to live fully as a Christian, my life was a disastrous mess. The effects of my dichotomous lifestyle became crystal clear by way of a stalker, continual police protection, and over two years of PTSD. And while I strongly affirm that no one deserves to be the victim of a psychopath, my lifestyle had let the psychopath in. That situation showed me that I was incapable of managing my life, just like anyone else who walks a tightrope between worldly and heavenly places. In my case, learning that I could not serve God and satan nearly cost me my life.

I pray nothing that extreme led you to the Lord, but if so, do you recall the rock bottom moment you realized your inability to properly do life on your own? Did you feel frightened, defeated, confused, anxious, or just plain ol’ tired? Surviving being stalked was my aha moment, and I felt all those things.

But this also happened. While recalling my rock-bottom episode, I had an incredible epiphany: God’s love had been protecting me and keeping me safe the entire time. You see, God loved me and protected me before I was even living as a Christian.

Because of that realization, two years later, I got on my knees and genuinely dedicated my life to Christ. It was, and to this day remains, the best decision I have ever made. I promised God that I would do anything He wanted. I gave Him my life because He had saved mine in more than one way. Not only did I happily embrace a much-needed, radical lifestyle change, but I focused entirely on honoring the One who had kept me safe and alive throughout my living nightmare. I dedicated my life to seeking God one final time, and this time, I unequivocally meant every word.

Growth

The following year, I volunteered for a Thanksgiving initiative to feed the homeless at a church named East Coast Christian Center (East Coast) in Merritt Island, Florida. The event was exceptional; so were the people. From that event, I attended an actual Sunday church experience. During that service, and to my horror, I learned that even demons (satan included) "believe in God."

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

— James 2:19 (NLT)

Wait, what? The devil and his demons believe in God, too? I mean, I knew that satan was a fallen angel, but I had never considered belief from his perspective. All those years I spent believing in God were nothing more than what satan and his staff do. That experience taught me that I desperately needed a church home to properly learn about God, Jesus, and the Bible. If nothing else, I had to step up my Christianity and do better than satan and his demons. Please, you must do better than satan-level, too.

East Coast’s phenomenal pastoral team taught me so many things about our amazing God, which instilled a hunger in me to learn more. As I grew in my Christianity, I was shocked at how little I knew about God or what it meant to be a Christian. In fact, everything I thought I knew about God was wrong. Week after week, I would learn more; and week after week, I was awed by God’s goodness and my naivety.

For example, I learned that in life, you are either living for God or living for the devil.

Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me,