January 18th, 2022 – New Life
Experiencing God Devotional
Matthew 5:24 -“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
You do not become a Christian by asking Jesus into your heart. You become a Christian when you are born again. Jesus said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Saying a prayer or making a public commitment or signing a decision card will not save you. Only being born again will do that. The apostle Paul said that when you are “in Christ,” the old things pass away. In the moment of your salvation, every sin you ever committed is forgiven. Healing for every hurt you have ever suffered is available. Love and acceptance are yours despite every failure you have ever experienced. Your past, no matter how difficult or painful, is completely and thoroughly provided for.
Some will seek to diminish the awesome reality of your spiritual rebirth. You will hear them say, “Even though you’re now a Christian, you must still undergo years of counseling to overcome the hurts you’ve experienced” or “You may be born again, but you’ll continue to struggle with your sin, and hopefully you will eventually gain victory in areas of your weakness.”
The problem is that we seek changes by our own will rather than by turning our lives over in faith to the One who has given us new life. The profound testimony of Scripture is that the blood of Jesus Christ and the death of the Son of God is sufficient to completely free you from your sin. Satan will seek to convince you that it is not. Whom will you believe?
Blackaby, Richard. Experiencing God Day By Day (p. 18). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Pastor’s Thoughts
“You do not become a Christian by asking Jesus into your heart. You become a Christian when you are born again.”
I can’t AMEN this statement enough. There are going to be a lot of people that will be in Hell who said a prayer and thought they would be in Heaven.
Are you one of those people? Do you know one of those people?
There will be no one in Heaven by accident. Every human that is in Heaven are there because they had placed their faith in the Messiah who we know as Jesus Christ.
Saying a prayer is nothing if there is no transfer occurring. When a person gives their life to Jesus Christ they transfer their will for God’s will. It really is that simple. If God’s Word says it then that is how I will live my life. If God’s Word doesn’t say it then I will pray to God and seek His wisdom on what He wants me to do.
Having Jesus be my Lord is the most freeing thing I have ever done. I don’t have to worry about making the wrong choices, instead I go to God and ask Him what He wants me to do. And I wait for Him to give me His answer. Sometimes the wait is short and other times the wait is long. But it doesn’t matter because I have made a covenant with God that I know longer live for my will, I live for His.
Now, obviously I am not perfect at this and neither are you. But I continue to strive to do more and more of God’s will. To sin less and worship Him more.
Does this describe your relationship with God? If not, you need to ask yourself if you actually ever made the transfer of your will for God’s will.
Have a blessed Tuesday everyone!
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