"Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3 (AMP)
Jesus says that in order to enter the Kingdom of God you must be born again. Not physically but spiritually. You must be inwardly transformed and made a new creation through Christ. We are saved by grace through faith but then we are told to work out our salvation. Like we exercise our bodies for strength and health, we exercise our spirit to godliness and holiness.
To be born again is to enter through the narrow gate that leads to life. It is to enter through the door that is Jesus Christ. It is to have the Spirit of God living in your heart. Many things happen when you make Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of your life.
- You recognize you are no longer your own. You where purchased at a high price– the blood of Christ. Your washed, transformed and made new.
- You are adopted into the family of God. Made a son or daughter of God and an heir of all the promises of God.
- You begin to walk by the Spirit. Hearing God’s voice, obeying His word, heeding your convictions. Crucifying the flesh and putting off your old man. As you abide in Him and Him in you, good fruit is produced.
- You grow in Christ from faith to faith, maturing in relationship to Jesus, and becoming increasingly like Him.
To be born again is to look radically different then this world. To be set apart which is what the word “holy” means. To follow Jesus is to live for an eternal Kingdom and not this world. What we have in Jesus has the power to transform lives, bring the dead to life, heal, deliver and set free.
My encouragement to you today is to tune out the world’s noise, get in the word of God and believe. Be radical in your faith in Jesus. Have courage and be bold. Be led by faith over feelings. Seek Jesus with renewed vigor. It is His promise that when we seek Him, we will find Him, and in the pursuit of our creator we become ever more like Him in image.
"Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?"
2 Corinthians 13:5 (AMP)
I see too often people claiming Christ yet still walking in the flesh, not pursuing the Kingdom or His righteousness, living with dead idols and never truly bearing any fruit. No different from this world. No walk is perfect but we get to choose how we exercise our free will. Today, test yourselves — are you born again?
Prayer:
Jesus, You are Lord of my life. Let my life be a living sacrifice. Make me holy as You are holy. Help me to cast off the old man and reveal any and all idols in my heart. My life belongs to You. Amen.
Called By Name 
Leave a Reply