New Life

I was continuing on with my book today, "Victory over Darkness" and in Chapter Two (yah, I'm only that far), it talks about New Life Requires New Birth.

Here are some of the highlights. It takes me back from that very moment, in September when I was 11 years old, that I came to this realization of my own Faith and Life in Jesus Christ. What a walk down memory lane...

We weren't born in Christ. We were born dead in our trespasses and sins (see Ephesians 2:1). Physical birth gains only physical life for us. Spiritual life, the eternal life Christ promises to those who come to Him, is gained only through spiritual birth. (see John 3:36).

What does it mean to be spiritually alive in Christ? the moment you were born again your soul came into union with God in the same way Adam was in union with God before the Fall. You became spiritually alive and your name was written in the Lamb's book of life (see Revelation 21:27). Eternal life is not something you get when you die!

If you are a believer, you are spiritually alive in Christ right now. The only thing that will change wen you die physically is that you will exchange your mortal body for a new resurrected one. Your spiritual life in Christ, which began when you personally trusted in Him, will merely continue on. Salvation is not a future addition; it is a present transformation. That transformation occurs at spiritual birth, not physical death.

Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who is forgiven and goes to heaven. A Christian, in terms of his or her deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transformed you into someone who didn't exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn't' the point; it is who you are. It is not what you do as Christian that determines who you are; it is who you are that determines what you do!

Here is the biggest thing for me...you don't change yourself by your perception. You change your perception of yourself by believing the truth. If you perceive yourself wrongly, you will live wrongly because what you are believing is not true. If you think you are a no-good bum, then you will probably live like a no-good bum. If however, you see yourself as a child of God, who is spiritually alive in Christ, you will begin to live accordingly.

What was happening to me all these months...Satan was distorting my view, the character of God and the truth of who I am! He can't take away my salvation, but he (Satan) can make me believe a LIE, and we will live according to those lies we believe. I was believing a lie that I was "a no-good bum." I was living as if my identity in Christ wasn't true!

So what has changed from even a month ago. I've taken hold of my Faith once again, and told God to take BACK control of ME. He ALWAYS has control of you, but I wasn't letting Him lead me. I was trying to lead myself, which ultimately opened up the door for Satan to come in and TRY to take me down a path that wasn't TRUTH. I'm so thankful that God made me struggle the past 7 months so that I could see what it's like to believe so many lies. Odd thing to be thankful for, huh? Yeah, but I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have that happen!

Not only that, I am FOREVER THANKFUL that I am a Child of God FOREVER, NOTHING can strip me of that, NOTHING! Because I made the decision back 16 years ago to follow Jesus Christ and have Him as my personal Savior, NOTHING in my life ever would be the same, and NOTHING can strip me of it. I know that I am going to Heaven someday and I'm forever thankful! I am forever thankful that I am a Child of God, alive in Him!

Things in this life may come at me, like they have even in the past month, but as long as I remember that God takes the big and the small and will guide you through it. Nothing is too small for Him to help you with! And nothing is too BIG for him to heal! I don't know about you, but I'd want to be a Child of God...not a slave to the World!