Tag Archives: walk in the light

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To be saved you must be born again. But what does it mean to be born again?

There are many synonyms of born again in the Bible and they essentially mean the same thing. Walking in the light, regeneration, putting aside the old man, all carry a similar meaning. What they boil down to is this – truly, whole heartedly follow Jesus and quit sinning.

You might start the process of being born again with a prayer of salvation or by hearing the word and having it change your heart. If you understand baptism, you are born again at baptism in water. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, that he died on the cross for our sins, that he was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God and that baptism is the opportunity to set aside the old man, the sinful man and wash away your sins you are born again at baptism.

If after immersion in water baptism you do sin, God lovingly provides a way to get back on track with him. 1 John 1:9.

Being born again was a long process for me, but the Lord was gracious and patient.

I was baptized at the age of 12. Growing up I immediately fell into sin and porn and continued in that lifestyle even while professing to be a Christian and attending Church. That led later in life to fornication and other sinful behavior. I quit attending Church. I lived with a girl out of wedlock for several years. I was a porn and tobacco addict. But eventually I came back to Jesus and he set me free. For me, that was when I was actually born again. It didn’t happen overnight. I read the Bible, I confessed my sin, and I made an effort to follow Jesus better. I worked on my relationship with God by keeping his commandments, attending Church, and spending time in the Word. It took several years, but by God’s grace and 1 John 1:9 I was born again. He helped me break my addictions and today, every day he helps me walk in the light.

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Christian, Inspirational

Heard

There are two words in the Bible in two key verses that encompass the heart of the entire Christian faith.

The word believe in John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And the word call in Romans 10:13 KJV For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Both of these words incorporate the sum of all scripture in their definitions. If you call upon the Lord you want to be heard. In order to be heard your call should be in accord with God’s word, the Holy Bible.

You must know Jehovah. You must know Jesus. Jeremiah 29:12-13 KJV says, Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. [13] And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

After discovering Jesus as Lord, we seek to please him by keeping his word. One of the first things we must do is be baptized by immersion in water. Mark 16:16 KJV He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

To keep his word we must know it. The Ten Commandments can be found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. They are still in effect under the New Testament Covenant. 2 John 1:6 KJV says,  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

Walk in the light, remembering after baptism 1 John 1:9 (confession) exists for the remission of sins and Hebrews 10:26-27 exists to warn us against further wilful sin.

Ultimately it’s up to God to respond to your call. It is my personal opinion that you should continue to call upon the Lord even if you are currently stuck in sin. The Lord delivered me from cigarettes and porn. For me it wasn’t instantaneous. It took years of desiring to quit, reading the Holy Bible, and asking the Lord for help, but I can now say I’m finally living righteously and trying daily to walk in the light.

Don’t give up! Call upon the Lord. Call upon him out of need or fear. Call upon him out of love! Your salvation depends upon it!

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Christian, Inspirational

You Already Know

While principalities of darkness and people work to obfuscate, change, and confuse the meaning of repentance, you already know the truth. You know in your heart what repentance means, because repentance is a matter of the heart.

Repentance means to be sorry for your sin, desiring to turn from evil behavior unto righteous living with a Holy God.

You know inherently that you need to be cleansed of past sins. Which is why after learning of the grace of God and good news of salvation, we seek out confession and water baptism.

Proverbs 28:13 KJV says, He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. And 1 Corinthians 11:31 KJV tells us, For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

The heart convicts, while the mind and spirit can produce change. Call upon the Lord. God himself will help you walk in the light.

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Christian, Inspirational

Not One Day

A central theme of the Bible is the perfection of man through and with God.

Yet, Dr. David Jeremiah says, only Jesus was perfect. It is impossible to keep all of the law, it is impossible for one month, it can’t be done, not for one day, not for one hour. (Quoted by memory, not exact, but pretty close.)

My immediate thought, you can’t go an hour without sinning, what kind of horrible sinner are you. It is true that none have lived sin free but Jesus, but if you are truly born again you are on your way to perfection – walking in the light with Jesus.

Strive to not sin for an hour, strive for a day. Eventually with Jesus help you will sin less and yes even put aside your sinful past.

1 John 5:18 KJV We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself … .

God living inside you will help you overcome and teach you to walk perfectly before him.

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

To borrow loosely from a popular hymn, Not one day will I go without Jesus. No not one. No not one.

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Christian, Inspirational

Doer

I just heard on Three Cosmic Messages Earth’s Final Conflict, “We do not follow God’s Commandments in order to be saved, but because we are saved.” I have heard a similar message before: “We are not saved by our best efforts”, “Jesus finished the work on the cross.”

To be frank, these statements are misleading. In fact they aren’t far from the false doctrine “once saved, always saved”. They imply there is nothing we have to do on our part.

I’m not convinced Jesus is finished working. If he were finished, why do we yet pray?

Jesus dying on the cross is an offer of salvation. What must we do? Accept by believing in accordance with John 3:16, be baptized by immersion in water in the name of Jesus or in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Mark 16:16.

What else must we do to be saved? What does the Bible say?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Romans 2:13 KJV (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

And let’s not forget 1 John 1:9 and Proverbs 28:13. If we err and sin these verses instruct us on how to be free.

Finally, with belief, we are saved by our best efforts in Christ who gives us both strength and guidance that we may walk in the Light. And when we need help with our efforts, we call upon the Lord. Roman’s 10:13.

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