I’ve been a Christian for about 30 years now and I love Jesus just as much now as I did back then when I gave my life and all I had over to Him. My life was coming to a miserable end with lots of drinking and drugs and a lifestyle that was out of control. I cried out to God one day and said these words: “God if you are out there take me now or I am going to die.” And God reached down from heaven and saved my soul from hell. He gave me His Holy Spirit and I began to live a new life with Christ. I became a new creation, a new man, a new person in Christ. I was born again.
The Bible says:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Jesus said:
“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
The apostle and disciple of Jesus said:
“For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.”
And that’s what happened to me. I was born again. I didn’t want to do the things that I used to do. I wanted to live a holy life, a good life. I wanted to read the Bible and pray and go to church and didn’t care what anyone else thought about it.
Then a few years later I was think about the Scriptures that called Jesus Lord and Saviour. Like this one
“Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.”
I knew I was saved because I was different. My mind and body felt different. I had a peace and a joy in my heart an in my soul I knew that I was going to heaven if I should die. Jesus Christ was my Saviour I had no doubt about that. But was He my Lord? Did I give my life over to Him? Was I ready to completely say to Jesus “You are my Lord. I make you my Lord and want you to be the Lord of my life. Tell me what to do Lord and I will be your servant.”
After that things really started to change. I realized that Jesus is Lord and Saviour. Not only does Jesus want to forgive us our sins and fill us with His Holy Spirit to give us peace and let us know that we are going to heaven; He also wants to take care of each and every area of our lives – if we let Him, if we want Him to. If we can let go of the flesh and stop holding on to those things that are so dear to the flesh and desire to do the will of our Lord who is in heaven.
Jesus said:
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
The more you have on this earth, the more you desire to have what is built and exists here on earth, the harder it will be to let go of the earthly things and take hold of Christ and His will for your life and do the things which are heavenly. I understand that anything I have in my life can disappear in a moment. I’ve seen friends die, one, two, three of them; I’ve seen some of them blow their brains out with drugs and turn into vegetables; I’ve known men who have seen the way of truth and given it up for the world and ended up divorced and making a wreck of their lives.
And last night my dear brothers and sisters in Christ I cried out to God in my spirit and pleaded with Him in my prayers to use me and to show me what it is I can say or what it is I can do that would show you that in order to feel the peace and joy of the Lord you have to give up what you hold so precious on this earth; you have to give all that you have to Him – to the Lord Jesus Christ and say “Here I am. Take me. I make you my Lord and Saviour. I accept you as Lord and Saviour and will do what you want me to do.”
Then the floodgates will open and the peace will come into your life like it never has before. You see, obeying the Lord is not what we think it is. It is not about a whole bunch or rules – the do’s and don’ts of Christianity. Obeying the Lord is not about following the law and making sure don’t eat this or do eat that. Obeying the Lord is about doing what He tells you to do real time. God is real. He is alive. He has specific things for you to do that I know nothing about. God is talking to you and telling you what it is He wants you to do.
He may want you to be a missionary. He may want you to stay single and go to Africa. He may want you to be a doctor. He may want you to get baptized. He may want you to tell your mother about the Lord Jesus Christ and about salvation. I don’t know what exactly God is telling you to do – but you do – if you have made Him Lord of your life. You can’t expect God to speak to you if you have not made Him Lord. So open your heart and make Jesus Christ Lord of your life and obey what He is telling you to do.
Jesus said:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”