Christian Salvation

How do people become Christians? What does the bible say about salvation? Why do you want/need salvation? How do you know you have and will always have salvation?
These are all words and can mean just words.
The standard lines I've heard in evangelistic circles are:
-"Ask Jesus into your heart!"
-"Make God the lord of your life!"
Lets read the most common verse that people bring up when it comes to salvation:

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

I think our modern take on the word "Believe" has not as much meaning as perhaps was intended. But I think most people in evangelistic circles feel the same way and that's where the whole asking Jesus into your heart, etc. stuff comes from.
If our salvation is wrapped up in the word believe, then...
(read john 3:14-17)
-are we clinging/cleaving to God in our daily living? When you have a little kid with you that knows they need you, they cleave to you. Are we that way with God? Do we know we need him?
-are we trusting God with everything in our life? Money, children, family, friends, job(s), loss, health, etc? or are we worried and troubled, trying to control all our problems?
-do we rely on God to take care of us, to lift us up, to correct us, to comfort us, to calm us, to guide us? Is Jesus the first thing we think of when we think of something?
If we are saved because we "believe" then shouldn't we exude all the signs of belief? If we don't then are we truly saved, or are we living a lie? If we are saved but aren't living like we believe then what's the problem? What's stopping us? Perhaps that is where our attention should be.