Written as instructional for new believers or believers who may not know these things. Please feel free to comment, as I plan to use this to give to newly saved and possibly confused Christians who just want a little direction. Thank you.
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While pondering the salvation experience of accepting Jesus as Savior, I was led to write the following for all who may need direction in their walk with our Lord.
When we were drawn by the Lord and believed and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, we were made a “new creation”. Jesus said we were “reborn”. Our spirit was made alive in Christ, where as it was previously dead. Many newly reborn Christians experience a newness they equate to and call a “feeling”, which is an awareness that something wonderful and beautiful has happened to us. But unfortunately, often times it is not explained to the new believer what has just occurred, the meaning of it and what happens next.
It occurred to me this way: Remember the story of Helen Keller? She was born blind, deaf and mute, and therefore could not see, speak, hear or understand, yet she was alive in a world that was strange to her. I’m sure she was frightened and frustrated trying to figure out what it was she couldn’t understand. This is much like us when we are born again. Our spirit is made alive, we are a “new” creature and “life in the spirit” is a new adventure we are now enabled to embark on.
Some of us are taught to just live “religiously” by imitating others in a particular religious group and hope it is “good enough” for God and that He will bless it. Or some of us choose a “religious” life out of fear or frustration after “trying” to live a spiritual life. We feel around in the dark, hoping to find the string that cuts the light on for us so we can “see” spiritual things. We use our own effort to attempt to live the Christian life. And we then tire, become frustrated and begin living a Christian life the “religious” way. Or worse, some abandon the things of God because they can’t “figure them out”, when these things were meant to be understood from a spiritual stand point, not by the mind alone (I Cor. 2:14). Our minds have the capability to be corrupted, our spirits do not. The reborn spirit is where we receive the treasured things of the spirit, where there is no corruption (Matt 6:19-20).
Often, there is some very important steps missed in the “new life” experience and I’m not sure all the reasons why, but I am sure of this. It is evident all around us….. in the form of divided denominations, born again people returning to the worlds ways, start again/stop again “conversions” (being “re-saved”). Its past time to straighten out these things. Much has been lost and needs to be restored.
The answer is simpler than you might think. Note – I didn’t not say “easy”, but “simple”. II Cor. 11:13 explains that the enemy of our souls has been working craftily to fool Christians into making the Christian life more complicated than it really is.
Let me begin by asking you a question. How did you come to know Jesus in the first place? Did you have to “do” anything for Him to approach you? Did you just wake up one day and decide “Gee, I want to be a Christian!”. No. You were just “there”, at no particular place, no particular time and somehow, your heart heard the gospel message. The Lord reached out to you from the realm of the spirit and drew you to Him. No effort on your part. You heard a message from His Word, your heart was pricked and you believed. SO….what makes you think pursuing Him to know Him will happen any other way?
We are given a Bible to read, which is the written Word of God. God was gracious enough to leave us with a book to help us. This book is like no other in the world. The very words are alive, it is the “living word of God”. As you read it, you will learn about God and how He interacts with man. By reading it, you are learning with your mind, your intellect. But also, now that you have a reborn spirit, you will begin to “see”, “hear”, and “know” in the spirit. This process takes time, you are new at it, but the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth (John 14:26, John 16:13). He will teach you from the Word of God. Up to the point of salvation, you have lived your entire previous life in the physical and “soul realm”, soul being defined as your mind, will, and emotions. Now you are “spirit”, “soul”, and “body” (I Cor. 2:14). And there is a whole new exciting life ahead for you!
Now I want you to take a good look at a baby and how he learns to relate to the world. When you were born, what did you have to “do”? Nothing. *You cried out when you had a need and your parents picked you up, held you, loved you, and ministered to your needs. You were unable to walk and do for yourself in the realm you were born into. They carried you where ever you needed to go and you learned to trust them. You would have to grow and learn to maneuver around in this new world. And most importantly, you learned to love because you are loved.**
The same applies in the realm of the spirit for the new Christian. Now thinking of this realm of the spirit, go back to the * and re-read to the **
Eventually as they grow, infants soon learn to crawl, to go where they desire to go. As you avail yourself to be “loved on” by God and develop a trust and love relationship with Him, you will have a desire to “go to Him”. Reading the word of God and spending time with Him whenever possible is essential and spiritually healthy to Christians. Finding a quiet place to be alone with God, just “being”…..with Him….becoming aware of the fact that He is with you ALWAYS, learning to acknowledge His presence with you. Think on His word, things you have read in the Bible, ponder His goodness and all that He is that you are learning about. You will come to “know Him”, reading His word and spending time with Him. It is a beautiful friendship He offers us!
Going from crawling to sitting, we learn to embrace, get our minds and hearts wrapped around who we are in Him. Ephesians 2:6 states He has raised us up together and made us to sit together in Christ Jesus. We learn who we are. We are spirit (Prov 20:27, I Cor. 2:11), . We are believers. We are family with God. He is our Father. We are His children. We are welcome in His presence. We are welcome before His throne in prayer. He loves us unconditionally and we are learning to love Him more and more each day that passes. You will begin to displace the “lies of the enemy” and replace them with Scripture, God’s truths. In this, your soul is being renewed and you experience change.
Babies then usually go from sitting to standing. However wobbly at first, we also learn to stand…..stand on His word and truth, on His promises when we pray, learning to apply our faith in prayer, knowing that when we pray, we are ambassadors (II Cor. 5:20), kings, and priests, (Rev. 1:6, Rev. 5:10). Knowing that He hears us and will answer. Through prayer, the Holy Spirit pulls together with us to affect the world around us. We learn more and more how to be effective in our prayer life as we get to know Him and His word better and better. And wonderfully, He gives us the grace to learn and grow in this area.
After we learn to stand, we begin to “walk in the spirit”. As a result of getting to know our Father, our Lord and Saviour Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we grow to live a life that moves more fluidly in both the physical and spiritual realm. As we mature as Christians, we find ourselves living an abundant life in Christ. It is our promise, our inheritance. We will learn to be led by the Spirit of God in our daily lives, walking in obedience to both His written word and the words He speaks into our hearts. We learn to fight the “good fight of faith” against the enemy of our souls. There is no other existence available this wonderful anywhere in the universe. Even the angels desire to look into these things (I Peter 1:12)!
This thing we call “life” is the only opportunity we have to get to know Him like this on this side of heaven. I’m sure you are like me, and don’t want to waste the opportunity. We all will see Him one day whether after passing through this physical life through death or the blessed rapture of the church, but we can experience a relationship, friendship and fellowship with Him NOW in this physical life and fulfill the destiny God has in store for us.
God bless you all!
