Born Again
(Spiritual Rebirth)

There is a burden that I have been carrying
and I believe that God has brought me here
to release and to share it. So often I hear
about the people who are saved and those that
aren't saved. I know that is the only way it
can be... you are or you aren't. My burden
though, is with those who think they are
saved, but aren't. I pray that the Holy
Spirit guides me through this page, because
it is through Him that I choose to pray.
When I speak of and to God, I am in prayer!

Can I ask, are you saved? Do you know that
you will spend eternity with our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ? Have you asked the
Holy Spirit into your life? If you just
hope so or think so, maybe you need to find
out for sure.

So many people are deceived into thinking
that; just because they were baptized,
received First Communion, were confirmed,
etc. that they are saved. Too, because they
dutifully put their 10% in the offering
plate and they attend church every Sunday.
It's wonderful to think that these things
that have been done are pleasing in the eyes
of God, our Father. They probably are
pleasing, though they alone won't give you
salvation. I need to ask though, what kind
of a commitment have you really made? If
you stop and honestly think about God and
what you know about Him, is this really
enough? Is this Scriptural? Tell me, in
all or any part of this, what would tell Him
so that He would know that you have given
your life over to Him?

Have you read the Bible? Do you try to live
your life accordingly? For alot of people
(and I was one of them), the bible is some-
thing that we take for granted. It's there.
It belongs in religion classes or bible
studies. Maybe it's only for those 'bible
beaters'. Maybe we've been deceived into
thinking that it's just there because it is!

In God's Word, it does tell us that we are to
be "born again". We need to accept Jesus
Christ, Son of the Living God into our lives.
We need to make a spiritual commitment and
ask Him into our hearts and souls. This is
something that a baby baptism doesn't cover.
This is a commitment that you need to make on
your own, your parents could never make this
for you. This is a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ. This is necessary for your
salvation!

See what God's Word says about being "Born Again".

John 1:12-13 ~ Yet to all who received
Him, to those who believed in His name,
He gave the right to become children of
God. Children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband's will,
but born of God.

All who welcome Jesus Christ as Lord of
their lives are reborn spiritually,
receiving new life from God. Through
faith in Christ, this new birth changes
us from the inside out, rearranging our
attitudes, desires and motives. Being
born makes you physically alive and
places you in your parent's family.
Being born of God makes you spiritually
alive and puts you in God's family.
Have you asked Christ to make you a new
person? This fresh start in life is
available to all who believe in Christ.

1 John 3:9 ~ No one who is born of God
will continue to sin, because God's seed
remains in him; he cannot go on sinning,
because he has been born of God.

We are "born of God" when the Holy
Spirit lives in us and gives us Jesus'
new life. Being born again is more than
a fresh start; it is a rebirth, receiving
a new family name based on Christ's death
for us. When this happens, God forgives
us and totally accepts us; the Holy Spirit
gives us new minds and hearts, lives in us,
and begins helping us to become like Christ.
Our perspective changes too, because we have
a mind that is renewed day by day by the Holy
Spirit (see Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:22-24).
So we must think and act differently.

John 3:36 ~ Whoever believes in the Son has
eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will
not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.

Jesus says that those who believe in him have
(not will have) everlasting life. To receive
eternal life is to join in God's life,
which by nature is eternal. Thus, eternal life
begins at the moment of spiritual rebirth.
John, the author of this Gospel, has been
demonstrating that Jesus is the true Son of
God. Jesus sets before us the greatest
choice in life. We are responsible to decide
today whom we will obey (Joshua 24:15), and
God wants us to choose Him and life
(Deuteronomy 30:15-20). The wrath of God is
God's final judgement and rejection of the
sinner. To put off the choice is to choose
not to follow Christ. Indecision is a fatal
decision.

Acts 9:3-5 ~ As he neared Damascus on his
journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed
around him. He fell to the ground and heard
a voice say to hi, "Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

Paul refers to this experience as the start
of his new life in Christ (1 Corinthians
9:1;15-18; Galatians 1:15, 16). At the center
of this wonderful experience was Jesus Christ.
Paul did not see a vision; he saw the risen
Christ himself (9:17). Paul acknowledged
Jesus as Lord, confessed his own sin,
surrendered his life to Christ and resolved
to obey Him. True conversion comes from a
personal encounter with Jesus Christ and leads
to a new life in relationship with Him.

Romans 7:4 ~ So, my brothers, you also died
to the law through the body of Christ, that
you might belong to another, to him who was
raised from the dead, in order that we might
bear fruit to God.

When a person dies to the old life and belongs
to Christ, a new life begins. An unbeliever's
mind-set is centered on his or her own personal
gratification. Those who don't follow Christ
have only their own self-determination as their
source of power. By contrast, God is at the
center of a Christian's life. God supplies the
power for the Christian's daily living.
Believers find their whole way of life looking
at the world changes, when they come to Christ.

Hebrews 10:22-25 ~ let us draw near to God with
a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from
a guilty conscience and having our bodies
washed with pure water. Let us hold
unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who
promised is faithful. And let us consider how
we may may spur one another on toward love and
good deeds. Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
let us encourage one another - and all the more
as you see the Day approaching.

We have significant privileges associated with
our new life in Christ: 1) We have personal
access to God through Christ and can draw near
to Him without an elaborate system (10:22);
2) we may grown in faith, overcome doubts and
questions, and deepen our relationship with God
(10:23); 3) we may enjoy encouragement from one
another (10:24); 4) we may worship together (10:25)

By asking Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
into our lives we shall live life! Not only
life here on this earth, but life in eternity.
Today we live for eternity. Now is the time
to ask Him into your life and to pray for an
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We never know
what the future holds, only who holds the future!

Are you ready to be "Born Again"?