"for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable,
that is, through the living and enduring word of God."
Peter 1:23

Last Update 01/17/08

By now, April 1, 1995, I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. I was disappointed and disillusioned with my life and had given up on trying to make it work. My mental and emotional pain had drained me of my strength and I had come to the end of myself. That night, alone and lonely, I informed God, "I don't want to live like this anymore!" So I asked Him, "Please take my life!" There was only silence. Yet, something or was it Someone, inaudibly urged me to start searching…for Him. The process of overlapping my Personal World with God's Real World began. So, in a last, grave attempt to find God, I opened the New Testament and asked Him to reveal Himself to me. Even though I believed in a distant and uncaring God, I desperately wanted to know after all, if He was truly, a loving, intimate, personal God. After I stopped reading, I said aloud, "God, I give You my life, my will, my needs, my hopes, my future, my dreams, and my desires. Please, take my life or reveal Yourself to me." For some reason, I repeated this process day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month, without anything happening.

My First Attempt to find God. My journey to find God and experience His presence started during my high school years. I attended the Methodist church and was very active in the MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship). I always looked forward to MYF summer camp. It was so much fun. But, the last year I attended camp was different. I did many of the same things such as going on hikes, competing in sports events, clearing and cleaning the tables after dinner, and going on the nightly raids on the girl's cabins. One night, I went to a campfire sing-a-long and the minister made an appeal for us to give our lives to God. I am sure a minister had done that every year before, but this year, I heard him. So, I decided to do just that: give my life to God.

My Second Attempt to find God. In 1961, Judy, a high school friend of mine, became visibly upset because her Sunday school teacher said that Judy's father had not gone to heaven because he had not been baptized. Judy was devastated. The New Testament passage the teacher used seemed to support her teaching. I did not know how to console Judy. I was in high school and did not know what the Bible really taught about baptism. I was very upset. When I went home after church, I asked my folks if they knew of a school that taught the Bible. They didn't. However, about a year later, my grandmother saw an advertisement about a Bible college and called my mother. I drove all the way from East Mesa to West Phoenix, Arizona for an interview. After I talked with the school administrator, I decided to enroll that same day. Bible College was the vehicle for my second search to find and experience God.

My third attempt to find God. By 1995, I had come to the end of myself. Then, suddenly, God spoke inside my mind, not with a booming voice, but with a quiet, subtle impression: Give Me one more chance. So I decided to give God one more chance. I prayed, "I am going to pick up the Bible and start reading. I am going to search for You. Please reveal Yourself to me. I can't go on living with this horrible pain." I continued to seek God's Real World.

So, I began a 400-day search for God. In tears, I prayed, "God, are you there? Are you a personal God Who cares about me - Who will help me?" ...Silence... During those 400 days, I repeated my "search for God" routine. I threw out my Bible education and church experience. I read the Bible "as if" it was for the first time. I asked God to reveal the truth about what I was reading. Each night I said, "God, take my life, I can't live like this, or please…reveal Yourself to me." During the weeks and months that followed, my life was not worth living or so I thought. I was so fatigued that I would spend each lunch hour sitting in my car, trying to get enough strength to make it through the rest of the day. When I went home, I would collapse into my chair, exhausted. I thought I was coming to the end of my life.

Then it happened. In August of 1996, He changed my life. God revealed Himself to me. I could not hear the words, but the impression was so strong, it was "as if" God was saying, "I love you. I forgive you. I accept you. You belong to Me. I will be with you always." I wept and thanked God over and over for letting me know He was real, He was personal, and He cared for me. I knew that day I would always be with God and He would always be with me. I was thrilled. Finally, I had found God and experienced His presence!!! My Personal World was beginning to overlap God's Real World. I simultaneously formed a new hypothesis and belief: God loves me. He is here with me. He has forgiven me. He accepts me. My Personal World was transformed.

My experience with God by-passed the normal channels of sensory input. Instead, He provided me an experience with Him that was inside my mind. I had an immediate realization of truth that instantly became a belief. The Holy Spirit validated my new awareness of God's presence. I knew in my heart and mind that God was real and personal. This was an internal experience with God. It was the first time that I had experienced God's presence in my life. One moment I was searching for God and the next He was there.

The experience transcended everything. It was between God and me. It was a calm assurance of His presence. I can use words to tell you what happened, but I cannot transfer the personal experience. You have to experience it for yourself.

Salvation is about freedom. Salvation is about escaping slavery. Salvation is about living. Salvation is about today.

Salvation is not about Heaven or Hell. Salvation is not about escaping Judgment. Salvation is not about after you die. Salvation is not about your future.

Salvation in Christianity certainly determines whether you go to heaven or hell. But heaven or hell are simply by-products of who you are today. Yes, judgment is part of the world's future, but judgment is not God's primary focus.

Salvation has many goals. First, it is the restoration of your relationship with God. Second, it is freedom from slavery to Satan. Third, it is freedom from slavery to the sin nature. Fourth, it is the establishment of a symbiotic union with God.

Jesus talks about a spiritual birth. The apostle John quotes Jesus, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God'" (John 3:3). The word translated born comes from the Greek word (ghe nah' o) and it has been translated be father of; bear, give birth to. It has the idea of procreation or figuratively, regeneration. The word translated again has been translated from above and/or again. Then Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

It is apparent that Jesus is stating that a person has to be born through normal childbirth, of earthly parents, and then through another birth, of the Holy Spirit. He goes on and reveals that a person born of the flesh "old self" is fleshly and the person who is born of the Spirit "new self" is spiritual, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). Being born again (from above and of the Spirit) makes you and me a new creation and a new person: it is the second birth (see Titus 3:5).

Residuals of Slavery. Perhaps you have yet to throw off your "old self," also known as your "sin nature," so it seems like it is still in charge. It seems like it is in control of your thoughts, observable behaviors, and body-emotions. Perhaps you think that your past is still controlling your present. However, your new birth, being born again, frees you from your "old self" and frees you from the Law. We encourage you to embrace your freedom and live for God and His righteousness.

On What Does Spiritual Birth Depend? Nicodemus asked this question, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" (John 3:4). Of course, he was talking about physical birth. Jesus spoke of spiritual birth.

Do you think that you can coerce God in to giving you spiritual birth? Perhaps you can perform certain rituals to become born again. Would you be born again if you walked down the church aisle and professed that Jesus is your Lord and Savior? Could you be born again by saying, "I accept Jesus as my personal Savior?" Maybe you could attend all the church services, go to prayer meetings, teach Sunday school classes, read your Bible, and give all your money to the poor. Do you think that would be enough to be born again? Is there anything you can do to be born again? NO! It does not depend on what you want or how hard you work, but on God's will and grace (see Romans 9:16; 12:2; Ephesians 1:5,9,11; 2:8,9; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:9; 4:12; Hebrews 13:21; James 1:18; 1 John 5:14).

Recognize Who is in Charge. First, you must realize that you are completely at God's mercy (see Titus 3:5). God is merciful to whom He desires and hardens whom He desires (see Romans 9:16-20). Second, it is God Who gives you life through a new birth. He speaks and you are born again. Third, He performs the new birth according to His will and in His time. Fourth, it is by His grace; you cannot earn your new birth. God alone is in control of the universe and all that it contains. Fifth, being born again is not a process as much as it is establishing a relationship with God that is personal, intimate, inter-dynamic, interactive, and mutually beneficial. The new birth is becoming a part of God and God becoming part of you: it is symbiosis. When you are born again, your old self dies and you receive your new self.

Believe that (1) Jesus is the Son of God (see Acts 10:43; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 John 5:10,12,13; 20), (2) that God exists (see Hebrews 11:6), and that (3) God raised Jesus from the dead (see Romans 10:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14).

Tell God that you acknowledge the fact that you cannot save yourself: that you believe you are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Acts 15:11).

Prepare your heart and mind by giving up everything to God. Tell God that you give up your money, your possessions, your treasures, your desires, your hopes, your pleasures, your goals, your dreams, your expectations, your time, your life, everything (see Matthew 6:33; 16:25-27; Mark 8:25; Luke 17:33; Romans 12:1).

Confess that your specific behaviors and lifestyle have been in opposition to God by agreeing with God about your sins: that they were wrong (see 1 John 1:9).

Repent (change your mind and heart, turn from your sins) and turn to God (see Acts 3:19; 26:20; 2 Peter 3:9).

Accept God's forgiveness of each of your sins.

Receive and Accept the oral teachings (now recorded in the New Testament) regarding Christ (see Acts 2:41; 8:14; 11:1; 17:11; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Colossians 2:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:13).

Commit to doing God's will instead of your own will (see Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 7:9; Ephesians 6:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 10:36; 2 Peter 2:15; 1 Peter 4:2,19; 5:2; 1 John 2:17).

Ask God to replace your purposes with His purposes (see Romans 8:2; 9:11,17,19; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 6:17; 1 Peter 2:21; 3:9; 4:6).

Place your trust and confidence in God (see 2 Corinthians 1:9; 3:4; Hebrews 2:13; 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:4; 1 John 4:17; 5:14).

Declare (confession) that Jesus is your Master (see Romans 10:9).

WAIT for God to perform His will in your life and to give you birth.

God Loves Me. In 1996, I began to become aware of how much God loved me. Since then, my understanding has grown. My summary of how God Loves Me, based on 1 Corinthians 13, follows:

He loves me by refraining from complaining about me when I fail to think and act according to His ways. He endures my frailties. He loves me by walking and talking with me and relating to me politely. He loves me by teaching me about His Word so I can understand Him better. He loves me by revealing to me His thoughts and feelings about mankind, sin, and righteousness. He loves me by helping me to understand His point of view. He loves me by not expressing hostility toward me; rather, He expresses His willingness to forgive me. He loves me by caring for me, always being with me, and not forsaking me. He loves me by being consciously transparent before me and sharing all His thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with me. He loves me by placing great importance on my life and me. He loves me by giving me good things. He loves me by being consistent, faithful, and constant. He is always true to His divine Nature. He loves me by having goals, plans, desires, needs, and expectations for me that are for my good. He loves me by timing His plans for me according to His omniscience rather than according to my finite knowledge. In addition, He does not respond with frustration, anger, irritation, or annoyance when I do not follow His plans and timing. He loves me by never taking actions in my life that are hurtful or harmful to me. He never sees my well being as a target for destruction. He only acts in ways that can result in my being more like His Son, Jesus. He loves me by not acting in ways that are against His Divine character. He loves me by rejoicing in the truth. He loves me by showing me the Truth. He never deceives me or misleads me. He is loyal, trustworthy, sincere, genuine, and honest. He loves me by holding up against all my mistakes with patience and stamina. He loves me by believing in me. He loves me by hoping for my success in becoming like His Son, Jesus. He loves me by strengthening me so I can stand firm in my faith, against the world, the flesh, and the devil. He loves me by walking with me, so I can stand up under the pain and fatigue of the trials and tribulations of life. He loves me by never failing me. His love for me is eternal. His testing and trials will never destroy me. The persecutions of the world and the devil will never destroy me. God is love and He is forever. I will love Him forever.

It is important to discard the ATHEISTIC, DEISTIC, AND/OR AGNOSTIC thinking-pattern and replace it with the THEISTIC thinking-pattern by renewing your mind. In the THEISTIC thinking-pattern, we are no longer focusing on rejecting God. When you discard lies, myths, deceptions, and misconceptions and replace them with the truth, you are renewing your mind. You renew your mind by changing what you believe. When you change your belief system, you can be transformed (see Romans 12:1,2).

Discarding Lies and Embracing Truths. You can change the anxiety in your personal world by changing what you believe. You can also begin the process of overlapping your personal world with God's real world. The world and the flesh will tell you lies through your experiences. The devil will plant lies and deceptions directly into your mind and they will always seem to be your thoughts. To renew your mind, begin by stating the belief, "I can reject each lie or deception and choose to replace it with the truth. Each time I do this, I will be renewing my mind." Then, compare each lie or deception in the left column with the truth in the right column.

Use the following prayer to help you change each lie or deception that you currently believe to the truth.

Read the following prayer aloud:

God, my Father, I discard the deception that (read the item in the left column) and choose to accept that (read the item in the right column) as the truth. I choose to make this part of my belief system and act on it in my daily life. In Jesus name. Amen.

© 2007 by Jerold L. Reed All Rights Reserved

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