Here’s what Paul had to say and why as a Christian, it’s something to dance about…

2 Cor 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ…”

1 Cor 15:57 – “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Contrary to what many think, the Christian life isn’t an up and down life. We’re meant to win in life no matter what situation we find ourselves in, not sometimes, but always. It’s entirely possible to have a meaningful spiritual life, happy marriage, successful career, healthy friendships, great health, financial success and more – all at the same time!

According to the scriptures above, Jesus didn’t die and rise again so that the economy, environment, social pressure or sickness could push you around.

Through Christ, we always have the victory. That doesn’t mean you won’t have a fight of faith on your hands, it just means that if you stick to the word, you’ll always come out the winner.

ALWAYS, no matter what.

If that sounds unrealistic, that’s because it is. See, God isn’t big into being realistic by normal human standards. He has more than enough power, wisdom and love to get you through absolutely anything, every time.

BUT…there is a condition to all this – which is why some born again Christians haven’t lived this victorious kind of life;

You have to believe God. You have to accept that the word of God is superior, more relevant and more accurate than everything else, including whatever your past experience maybe. Accept what God says about you as fact and soon you’ll be able to say with conviction “All i do is win, no matter what”. And what’s better, your life will show that it’s true.

In the first chapter of John, he describes the arrival of the Word (Jesus Christ) on earth in human form. Who he was, how and why he came and what he came to do. It’s a beautiful power packed passage – you should read it. The chapter shines light on who the real children of God are…

John 1: 12

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed his name, he gave the right to become children of God – Children born not of natural decent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Cant get much clearer than that can you? Notice 2 things

1) This does not refer to the whole world. The right, or privilege to called a child of God is reserved strictly for those who have received Jesus (the word) and believed his name. Have you done this? If you have you’re a child of God! If not…you’re not..

2) He clarifies Further by emphasising how this is NOT for everyone born, but those born of God. Big difference. Not everyone born a natural birth from their mothers womb, by an earthly fathers will is born again. Only those who have undergone the ‘rebirth’ or born again experience are born of God.

The verse prior to the one quoted above explains how He (Jesus/the word) came to the world that he created and they didn’t recognize him and in fact refused to receive him. These people may call themselves God’s children…but have refused to acknowledge his lordship in their lives. They’ve refused to accept his free gift of salvation. They’re not God’s children.

Good News…If you’re not yet a child of God, you can be. Everything Jesus did, he did because of God’s love for the WHOLE world (John 3:16 – read it), excluding none and including all. God doesn’t want a single person to perish – especially not you!

It’s easy to be born again!

You need not worry about how much you’ve sinned or how bad you’ve been – it’s 100% irrelevant. All you need to do is acknowledge with your mouth that Jesus is now lord of all and of your life, and believe and rely on the fact that he was raised from the dead – then you’ll be saved. Born again.

As soon as you’ve done that, you’re a child of God – and you’ll need never ever doubt it again – and of course the benefits to being the children of God, are many.

Rom 3: 20 (NIV)

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

It says that NO ONE will be called righteous by observing the law. In other words, you can’t please God with good behaviour. True righteousness comes through faith in Jesus to anyone and everyone who believes.

The point is – no one will EVER be good enough to be saved. Everyone who ever tries ends up feeling too sinful to be born again or too good to rely on God – either way, they’ll remain with their old life.

Faith means taking your focus off yourself and your behaviour. It means believing and acting on what God says in the word instead of what you feel or see around you. You don’t get born again by focusing on your own ability to do good or obey a set of commandments. All you have to is trust in what Jesus did for you through his death and resurrection.

Any how do you know your faith will work?

Romans 3: 27

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

This verse says that no one can boast about how good he is, because no one can be saved by his own works. Receiving from God is based on the law of faith.

You don’t have to ‘try’ faith. Faith always works. It’s a law, just like gravity is a law. You can be assured that for as long as you’re alive – anytime you step outside your house, you’ll be able to use gravity to get where you’re going – you need never fear that you’ll float off into space!

The law of faith is the same way. If you come to God in faith, acknowledging his lordship over you and confessing in faith that Jesus was raised from the dead for you – you WILL be born again – by law!

Maybe it’s not your fault, the truth is, very few REALLY know what God’s plan actually was in sending Jesus – Hint: it was alot more than simply to die so you could go to heaven.

Jesus Himself Was Born Again!

The best way to be sure that you’re a Christian is firstly to understand a few basic Born Again Christian truths.

1. Going to church will not make you a born again Christian
2. Being a nice guy won’t make you a Christian
3. Simply believing in God doesn’t make you a Christian
4. Having Christian parents doesn’t make you born again

The point of the above points is to show you that there is specific way to become born again. You see contrary to popular opinion, it’s not up to you how to do it. Many peopel want to fit God into their way of doing things, when in fact it should be the other way around.

God in the Bible lays out very specific instructions about how to be born again and what it means. In the next few days i’ll be explaining in detail how you can do that.

If however you cant wait…

please feel free to email me with your questions and i’ll do my best to reply you quicker

Third Day’s – Born Again Song lyrics

Verse 1

Today I found myself,
After searching all these years,
And the man that I saw,
He wasn’t at all who I’d thought He’d be,

I was lost when You found me here,
And I was broken beyond repair,
Then You came along and sang Your song over me

Chorus 1

It feels like I’m born again
It feels like I’m living
For the very first time
For the very first time,
In my life

Verse 2

Make a promise to me now,
Reassure my heart somehow,
That the love that I feel,
is so much more real than anything

I’ve a feeling in my soul,
And I pray that I’m not wrong,
That the life I have now,
It is only the beginning

Chorus 2

It feels like I’m born again
It feels like I’m living
For the very first time
For the very first time

It feels like I’m breathing
It feels like I’m moving
For the very first time
For the very first time

Bridge

I wasn’t looking for something that was more,
Than what I had yesterday,
Then You came to me,
Then You gave to me,
Life and a love that I’ve never known,
That I’ve never felt before

Final Chorus

It feels like I’m born again
It feels like I’m living
For the very first time
I’m living for the first time

It feels like I’m breathing
It feels like I’m moving
For the very first time
I’m living for the first time,
In my life

So there you go…Born again by third day.

Some have wonderful feelings that accompany the born again experience but others feel nothing. It makes no difference. You see the wonderful thing about being born again for sure is that it’s not measured by emotion. Allow me to illustrate beyond any doubt why feelings are completely irrelevant.

The Family Feeling?

1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given us in letting us be called God’s children. And that is what we are!

When you are born again, you become God’s child. Think about your current parents now. Aside from what you may feel about them science has yet to discover a ‘family feeling’ by which someone may be sure that they are the child of someone else. Doesn’t matter how you feel, a biological reality cannot be measured with an emotional reality.

The Location Feeling

Col 1:12 – 13 Giving thanks to the Father…who rescued us out of the dominion of the darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

When you’re born again, you take transported from Satan’s kingdom and brought into God’s. You now live in a different place. Which feeling do you know of that can measure geographical location? Is there an American feeling? A Zimbabwean feeling? No there isn’t.

Blind folded, and transported to a different place without your knowledge, you emotions couldn’t even offer a clue as to where you were now located. In fact, if anything you may even still feel as though nothing has changed. Emotions are a poor geographical instrument of measure. Same goes for you now being in the Kingdom of God’s son Jesus.

Emotions cannot measure biological, geographical and even less so spiritual realities. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with having wonderful feelings when you are born again. No in fact they can make the whole experience all the more exciting for you and that’s good. However, they are by no means a measuring tool or any kind.

As humans, it’s unfortunate we’ve been trained to measure with emotions any reality we cant experience with our 5 senses. It often leads to trouble as feelings, being so fickle come and go.

Remember Thomas the disciple of Jesus in the Bible?

After Jesus had risen from the dead, he refused to believe Jesus was alive. He’d seen Jesus die painfully on the cross, there was no faking that. He’d seen Jesus wrapped up like a mummy and put in tomb. That was real, he’d seen it with his own eyes.

John 20:25

So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he (Thomas) told

them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into them, and put my

hand into his side, I will never believe!”

Just moments later Jesus appeared to them all, and he let Thomas see the nail marks and put his finger is his side. And after that Thomas did in fact believe, But Jesus wasn’t pleased.

He told him

“Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.”

Jesus wanted Thomas to have faith, not sight. He also wants for you to live your new Christian life by Faith, not feelings.

Think about it.

Max Soutter

5 Myths About Salvation

Just because someone says it, doesn’t make it true. That’s why we use the Bible as the ultimate authority in showing us what’s truth and what’s myth. Believing a lie can keep you from being born again, here are a few common myths about salvation to watch out for.

Christian Myth #1 – Many roads lead to God

Is God really that fussy about us coming to God only through Jesus? It’s not about God being fussy, it’s just that through Jesus is the only way it’s possible to be saved or born again. Would God have sent his only son to die such a painful and humiliating death, if it really didn’t make a difference which path you take? Jesus said salvation is a single and narrow road, that many have missed (Matt 7:13-14). He also made it clear that He was infact the ONLY way to God (John 14:6).

Christian Myth #2 – Nice guys go to heaven.

Being nice, truthful, loyal or any other good character trait has nothing to do with getting to heaven. Jesus showed that to see God’s kingdom, you have to be born again (John 3:3). That’s how you become a Christian and that’s how you get to heaven.

Christian Myth #3 – If you sin, you’ll lose your salvation

Not even close to truth. If you sin, you can simply repent (1 John 1:9). Remember, when you’re born again, you’re in Christ and condemnation or guilt can’t reach you (Roms 8:1). You don’t need to fear sin, or even focus on it. Focus instead on the grace that comes through Jesus, and pleasing God with your life.

Christian Myth #4 – I’ve sinned too much to be saved.

Is it possible to be so bad that God can’t forgive you? Actually that’s a pretty arrogant way to think. To say that you’ve managed to achieve a level of sin, that is greater than the Death of Jesus, the son of God. That you’re more sinful than Almighty God is able to forgive. That lie comes from the devil who wants to keep you from being saved. The bible says that “EVERYONE who call upon the name of the Lord WILL be saved” (Acts 2:21). It’s not the level of sin that keeps men from being saved, it’s a refusal to accept God’s free offer of salvation.

Christian Myth #5 -I’m not ready to be saved.

If you could sort out yourself first, you wouldn’t need Jesus to get saved. Don’t let feelings of guilt, self righteousness or condemnation keep you from being born again. God made salvation a free gift because no one was even remotely good enough by themselves. The bible says, “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus…” Rom 3:23.

Christian Myth # 6 – I’m saved because I go to church.

Will climbing a tree every Sunday make you a monkey? Will sleeping in the garage every weekend make you a car? Neither does going to church make anyone a Christian.

You become a Christian by being born again – accepting what Jesus did to make you God’s Child and rid you of all your sins. After that church starts to make sense – as a place you can learn and grow as a Christian.

You can get rid of false beliefs by recognizing the truth, and meditating on it until it becomes your new perspective on the matter. Once you know and do the truth, it will make you free and allow you to enjoy the benefits God intended for you.

As always, i welcome your comments

Max Soutter