There are varied themes and topics on my blog but to me the main issue and the most important question in life is this: “What’s my relationship to God, or with God?” It doesn’t matter so much if people love you or hate you, if you are rich or poor, if you are famous or unknown. Jesus said the main question He will ask us when we pass on to the next life is this "Do I know You?" And so the main question isn't whether or not we know about God, but rather, whether we know Him in a personal sense. (Mat 7.23)
Jesus highlighted the importance of this personal, spiritual connection with God when he spoke to Nicodemus. “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” (John 3.3 NIV)
What does it mean to be “born again?” Jesus went on to clarify: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3.6-8)
According to the Bible, it’s not enough to merely believe that God exists, “even the demons believe that and tremble with fear.” (Ja 2.19) Many people choose darkness and atheistic philiosophies because they do not want to change their lifestyles. And many people also believe they are going to heaven simply because they go to church on Sundays, or Easter, or Christmas, not so. Scripture shows there must be a personal transformation. I Peter 1.23 shows that we are “born again, not by a seed that perishes but by one that cannot perish-by the living and everlasting word of God.” As Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, Jesus explained the basic gospel message:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” (Jn 3.16-18) The main meaning of life is to know God, this is to experience eternal life and taste heaven here and now. (Jn 17.3)
To believe in God and His word means that you believe that Christ died for you personally. Saving faith means that you have personally received God’s gift of eternal life offered through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and demonstrated through His resurrection. If you have never made this decision before and are sincere in your desire to live for God, you can pray for this right now wherever you are: “Lord, I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins to give me the gift of eternal life. I thank you for this and receive you right now as my Savior and Lord, amen.” If you prayed this prayer, please let me know. I’d love to hear about it and I’d like to help you grow as a new believer. If you have any questions or comments, I’d also like your feedback.
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Comments (2)
I'm an ex-believer, who recently shared my story. Sorry, followed you here from Celestial Teapot's site, and expected something completely different.
@GodlessLiberal - Hi, thanks for your comment. I read your story and I can empathize in a way. I didn't have any serious illnesses, but when I began college I strayed far from God and though I didn't become a total "ex-believer" I was living like one for the most part and denying God with my life. If you belong to God, you will return to Him, if you don't, you won't. Jesus said: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." (I Jn 2.19).
In your story there were expectations that God would heal you if you prayed hard enough. And there were expectations placed on other Christians. These things were in addition to the fact that you believed science had disproven God's existence. Ultimately, Christian belief doesn't depend on the condition of our health or if and when God may answer certain prayers. It can't depend on the behavior of others. And though there is a vast amount of evidence for God's existence in nature, it doesn't depend on the physical world either (movie "A Question of Origins" documents the scientific basis of God's creation of the universe) . So what does a believer's faith rest in?
Our faith is based mainly in and on the person of Jesus Christ. He is "The Word made flesh" (John 1.14). He is the historical person who was prophesied of in hundreds of detailed prophecies in the scriptures. The one who lived a sinless life growing up among his parents and brothers and then for three years with the 12 apostles. The one who was crucified and resurrected and then appeared to hundreds of witnesses, as many as 500 at one meeting. A Bible scholar can have knowledge about God and scripture and yet not know God personally. But having a personal relationship is a critical aspect of being a child of God: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (Jn 17.3) The scriptures speak of "the spirit of adoption" (Rom 8.15) that gives a person a sense of assurance that he or she is a child of God. And this is a sign of one who has been born again of the Spirit, as the article above describes.
I'd like to write more but I need to get my son prepared for bed....Wish you well and pray for your salvation.