The New Birth
God gives everyone an open invitation to New Life in His Son, Jesus Christ. To enter into that New Life, you need to make a decision that you alone can make. If you do not make the decision, Jesus does not enter into your life. Even if you are a conscientious churchgoer, and a very good person, He will enter your life only if you make a conscious choice and ask Him to enter into your life.
God created you to be His friend, but He is holy. Because He is holy, He cannot be the friend of a sinner. He cannot enter into the life of a sinner. Yet, God’s Word makes it clear – we all sin, and therefore we are all sinners. God’s love for you and me is so great though, that He found a way to make us holy. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sins and mine. His blood washes us clean from our sins, and makes us holy.
We enter a New Life in Christ when we acknowledge these truths and accept them. If you accept these truths, you can invite Jesus Christ into your life right now.
Would you like a New Life? Would you like a New Beginning? God is waiting for you. Are you already born again, but find that your way of living has not changed for the better? Or did your way of life change only to find yourself sliding back into unwanted old ways of living? To receive a new life in Christ, please pray the prayer below.
SALVATION PRAYER
Father God, I come to you today in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. I thank You for His death on the cross. Today, I accept the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood for me, and ask that His blood wash me clean from all my sins. Right now I ask Jesus to come into my life as my Lord and Savior, and I thank You Father, because I know that I have a New Life in Christ Jesus. I am now born again. Amen.
G.R.O.W.T.H.
When you are born again, your spirit is made new. It is alive in Christ Jesus. Even though there is no outward change, your spirit has become a new baby. God’s baby, responding to God’s voice. Your body however, does not change. Unless God intervenes supernaturally (and He sometimes does) your body still has all its old habits and peculiarities, and finds it easier to respond to other voices – than to the Voice of God. You can train your body to hear God’s voice and obey Him. Here is a mnemonic to remind you how to train your body to grow in Christ.
1. Go to God in prayer daily.
Like a child, you need to speak to your Loving Father daily. If you wish to be like your Father in heaven, you must talk to Him constantly. Prayer is talking to God. When Jesus, our Example was on earth, He prayed. He left us a blue print for prayer popularly called the Lord's prayer, Matthew 6: 9-13.
You can follow that blueprint, when you pray. Here is the structure it follows:
ADORE God.
CONFESS your sins and ask for forgiveness.
THANK God for what He has done for You.
INTERCEDE with Him for yourself and others.
PRAISE God. He is worthy.
2. READ your Bible daily.
Your Father loves to speak to you, and He speaks most clearly through His Word – the Bible. Develop a habit of hearing His voice daily, by reading your Bible every day. To do this, you need: A bible, a pen, a journal and a good devotional book (like Open Heavens). A good devotional book will lead you to a portion of scripture daily, and explain it clearly.
Find yourself a special place for daily Bible study. It may be in your home or outside it. Make a habit of going to that place every day to be alone with God.
When you go there, open your devotional to the date for that day. The Bible Reading (Scripture) for the day is the most important part of study.
Read the Scripture slowly from your Bible.
Think carefully what it says to you.
Then, read what the devotional writer has written. It may tell you the same things, or it may be different.
Treasure the Scripture in your mind and think about it all day.
Journal what God says to you daily.
3. OBEY the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as a guide to help you live a Christ-centered life. The Holy Spirit is God-here-on-earth. He is never more than a thought away. Acknowledge His presence and ask for His help and advice.
4. WITNESS to others what God has done for you. What do you do when something wonderful happens to you? If a friend gives you something really valuable what do you do? Tell all your friends (and anyone else who will listen) of course! Its much the same with receiving Jesus Christ into your life. To give others a chance to have the same wonderful experience you must tell them what happened to you! Be a witness.
Clearly, the best witness, is a changed life. When Jesus Christ comes into your life, you cannot hide His life in you. Jesus said, “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14). People around you read your life as a letter from God. As the Holy Spirit helps you to live a new life in Christ, your friends and family will notice the difference.
5. THANK God in every situation. One of the most significant changes in a life into which Jesus has come, is a grateful heart. God has given you and me a mandate, to thank Him in all things (Ephesians 5:20). That is easy when things go well. When things do not seem to be going so well, it can be very difficult. And yet we need to obey.
To obey, you need to remember, that even when you are in a seemingly negative circumstance or a challenge, God is working it for your own good (Romans 8: 28). While it may not be clear until you have the benefit of hindsight, it is important that you thank God. You will find that you may not always understand God but you can always trust Him. His Word says His thoughts towards you are all good and they are planned out to eventually bring you to a wonderful end (Ezekiel 29: 11).
6. HOLY SPIRIT is your ready Helper in all things. The Holy is in you, and right by you. He is ready to guide you in every area of life that you invite him into. He is your greatest friend and will help you to live your life as a true friend of God.