Well, if you have just become a new Christian, you won't need to be encouraged to read the Bible.
You won't want to put it down!
There are really two things we suggest:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
This page is intended for visitors who do not have access to a Bible of their own. If you want to read the Bible go to www.biblegateway.com This will give you access to the Bible in several English translations and several other languages. And it's free! (Please note we do not necessarily endorse or support all the links on this site)
For visitors who are not permitted to read the Bible or be Christians in their homes or countries we suggest you memorize a few verses. It sometimes helps to put the words to a song you know. Don't worry too much if you have to change the words slightly, the Lord understands. Remember: "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love" (Psalm 145:8 and others) And this is not a bad verse to memorize!
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
"Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked to clothe them and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
Jesus replied, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."