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How To Know You've Been Born Again

God knows you. He wants you to know Him.
That anxiety we feel, that knot in our stomach and the uncertainty over what life holds in store for us: a lot of that is really not about what we have but about what we need. We fill our lives with things, hoping to fill that need, but material things and even people can never address what’s really bothering us. People think of a Christian life like a diet. No This. No That. None Of The Other Thing. Being a Christian has little to do with your habits or behavior. Living a Christian life is less about rules and regulations than it is about allowing God’s love to

wash over you, to allow that love to become a part of you.

Getting to know God

begins with a simple acknowledgement that we are not perfect. That we’ve made mistakes, that we’ve done wrong: that we’re tired of living empty and purposeless lives. That we want more (Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God). We know doing wrong has consequences, but God is offering us a way out (Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord). That way out is Jesus Christ (John 1:12: …to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God).

I don’t care how long you’ve been a church member. I don’t care what board you’re the chairman of. I don’t care who you’re married to or how important you think you are in your church or community. If you do not know Jesus Christ in the pardoning of your sins, you are lost. God is less concerned about your church membership than He is about your connection to Him. He wants to know you and to walk with you and to be in your life. When we talk about “accepting Jesus,” what we actually mean is acknowledging Him and allowing Him to enter our heart and our mind and our conscious. It really is this simple:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. —John 3:16-18

A Sinner's Prayer

Lord Jesus, I’ve done a lot of wrong things in my life. Things I’m not proud of. Things I wish I could change. I’m sorry for those things I’ve done, and for those things I am now doing. Lord, I don’t want to live this way anymore. I believe that You died for me. I believe that You rose again, according to the scriptures, and that You live today. I believe You want to be my friend. I want to be Yours.

You are welcome in my life. In my heart. In my choices. In my values. I will follow You and I will trust you. I believe that, through You, I can have a new life. A better life.

Thank You, Lord, for answering this prayer. For coming into my heart and my life. Please let your Holy Spirit lead me, guide and protect me as I spend the rest of my life, from this day forward, serving only You. I count this done in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

What's Next?

Get a Bible. Get a good one. I recommend the Zondervan NIV Student Bible. Get a Prayer Partner. Somebody you trust. Somebody who’s not a busybody or a big mouth. Someone who will check on you and make sure you’re okay. Someone you can share your struggle with. Find A Good Church Home. It really is important to belong to a church family. And, there you are: on the road to a new life and new experiences like one you’ve ever known. Learn to love and trust God, and you’ll find a life more full and rewarding than you’ve ever known. This is the most important thing you can ever do with your life.

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PraiseNet 101

Getting Started With Jesus

...No one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it. But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight – not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. —Romans 3:20-25 [NLT]

For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death. —2 Corinthians 7:10

If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. —I John 1:8-9 [NLT]

Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. —Revelation 3:20 [NLT]

...although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan – this rebirth comes from God. —John 1:10-13 [NLT]