John 1:9-13 "The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become the children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

John 3:7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew.' The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit."

Born of the Spirit. What does that mean to you, the reader? Stop reading a moment and ask yourself this question: What does being 'born of the Spirit mean to me?

There is a vast difference between what we think it means if it has never happened to us, than when we do understand because we have had the actual experience of being, 'born anew'.

If someone had told me about being 'born again' or 'born anew' before it actually happened to me, and I was trying to 'understand' it on my own...not having experienced it for myself, I would have said it meant....water baptism...or pertained to a sacrament of the church.

When reading or listening to someone trying to explain, 'born again' without having actually gone through this experience - one will get all kinds of explanations and thoughts with documentation I may add; such as pointing to 'church fathers'- and then, interpreting the 'church fathers' thoughts and words through bias filtering, or having internalized preconceived notions from 'traditional' church denominations.

When placed into a situation in my own life of not finding any 'satisfactory' answers, I on many occasions cried out to God asking Him to answer me, to intervene. I would read the Bible for myself seeking the answers I needed and because God is real and He is alive - He was more than willing to step by step lead me to the truth about Himself.

One particular time, after recently becoming a widow at the age of 20 years old, I picked up a Bible and started to read. I prayed and talked to God, wondering why I was in this predicament. I asked Him why this happened to me? Why was I to be left so lonely? Had I been 'worse' than everyone else? Was I being punished for something I had done wrong? Why? Why? Why? At this time I was not 'born anew' - I did not know God, I only knew 'about' Him from what I had learned through being a Catholic and from what I had heard from others. This is what is meant in the above verses, Jesus was the true light that enlightens every man. People can read or hear someone give an explanation of who Jesus is and thus they are 'enlightened', but in order to be a born again Christian, one must be placed in the position Paul states in Gal. 2:20-23

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God; who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose."

Upon reading a Bible that evening I came to: Matthew 10:29-31 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

I knew God had heard me and was speaking to me. Was I 'born anew' at this point? No, I was not, but God speaks through His written Word to people if they seek Him in truth, wanting nothing less than the truth, bypassing religious man's interpretations, going straight to God for the answers; a living God that loves us.

At this point I still did not have a 'relationship' with God. I could not, for one needs to 'repent' after understanding that - 'we are all sinners' (Romans 3:23)- separated from God at the fall of Adam, but now God reconciled us to Himself through Jesus' death and resurrection. Thus scripture says to those born anew, "Preach the gospel...", the good news that man can now be born again by the Holy Spirit, which is an act of God: This message changed my life forever. I might add here, it was the manifestation, the very act of God that changed my life, I could do nothing, except believe. This is when I heard God speak to me at the altar, "Blessed are those that do not see, yet believe."

Jesus is the only way back to God - Jesus, died on the Cross - punished for our sin. If we believe that and asked God to forgive us and have faith to believe on the finished work of Jesus, then and only then can we truly be saved, or 'born anew' and this only happens when God brings us to Himself through the Holy Spirit, John 16:8....."convincing the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgement."

In John 6:44 Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; ......"

How was God drawing me? By the circumstances I found myself in...man did not have the 'answer' - no amount of 'doctrine', no amount of 'religious' literature was going to help me, no going to a church and sitting on a pew, it had to be straight from God. God had so orchestrated my circumstance that man was not going to be good enough to supply the answer, I wanted God, I wanted to find out who God was, what did He say?

That my friend is the point we all have to get to or we will always and forever be 'searching' for truth or at the very least taking for granted whatever we have been told since we were born into this life naturally.

Until we want the 'truth of the matter' we will not get the truth. Men, that are not 'born anew'/ 'born again' can not receive the things of God, can not have a relationship with God. Those that seek Him with their whole heart He leads to Himself, but those that come to Him with all the answers because, "So and so told them thus and so.", will never arrive at the truth about God. Their eyes remain blinded because they are not open to the fact, God is their only source of leading them into all truth.

It took a few years, and as I look back over my life, I see how God started to bring about the circumstances in my life to show me the 'truth' after that evening of reading my Bible and God leading me to the scripture verses. I was not born again/born anew, until six years later at an altar after I broke away from thinking I could 'only go to my denominational church' - (my testimony is included on our Testimony Page - this web site).

From then on my life changed dramatically and no, it was not just a 'new way of thinking' or 'going to a new church' that brought about my changed life; it was the fact the Holy Spirit actually came into my being, changing me into a Child of God, forgiven and cleansed of all sin...my conscience no longer could convict me over anything...I now had a hunger and a thirst for the Bible and the hearing of God's Word. I could 'see' the errors that are propagated in 'religion' - I now could understand - I had a relationship with God as Adam did before the fall, where he died, spiritually.

I say again, one can not know about this being 'born anew' until it happens to them. Until then they are hostile to this concept and argue there are other "ways" of knowing God; that God does speak in many ways to them, but that is not being born again, that is as I was that night I sat down to read the Bible and God led me to Matthew 10, that is not the relationship God wants, that is His benevolence toward the world leading a true seeker to Himself....

From the very beginning of being 'born anew' there is a vast difference in the very being of the person. The Holy Spirit now is leading into all truth, God can speak to them and it is He that builds the faith needed to hear His voice and do His will in this world. It is He that brings about the ongoing relationship that He desired with man before the fall of Adam. There is no more guess work, no more being pursuaded to this or to that notion, or 'religious' doctrine no matter how well someone can document it or 'prove' it. Jesus had a relationship with the Father, the world - which is made of people that are not 'born again' did not receive Jesus. There are those that are not 'born anew' that believe there is a God and that Jesus is His Son, but they can only do so to a certain point. They can not 'know' Him in all truth, they can not 'know' for sure they are going to be with Him at the end of their life. Why? Because there is no relationship with the Father. These do not really 'know' Him and do not really follow Him in obedience for they can not. They are still in this world system...of following the letter of the law to righteousness, trying to be a 'good' person.

There are many times I wonder why so many can not - do not have this relationship, this born anew/born again relationship. The only real valid answer is they seek God on their own terms and are not humble. They do not trust God is all powerful and all sufficient to reveal what the truth of the matter is. When this is suggested they get like mentioned before - hostile in their minds and hearts. That is why they do not come to the realization of the truth and God does not violate a persons will.

If you are going through a circumstance beyond your control, or if you are at the point in your life where you are wondering where is God in all this anyway? You my friend are in the best position one can be in to receive the truth from God. You want the truth, you may have thought you 'knew' truth, but there is a vague nagging thought that you do not know where you would go should you die.

With God in your life, you will have the assurance of heaven, of being with Him for eternity, of having your sins forgiven never to haunt you again, the conscience is quieted forever, the law that was broken has been atoned for; you will know in your heart, Jesus paid the price with His blood for you. Not for just anyone, but you. The Holy Spirit comes into your life and you are now a new person - with a new understanding, before all was obscure and you had no direction, no reason for living or for dying. You now want others to know about the truth that you found, that God is a loving Father that wants us to be with Him forever and ever.

You - after being born again - have a new purpose, God has a purpose for you. It matters not if you are older, He has something constructive for the Kingdom of God for you to do on earth.

Born anew/ born again has been misrepresented friends. Many say they are born again because they thought they said the 'right' words, or a preacher told them, "All you have to do is confess Jesus as Savior after coming to this altar." No, this is not being born anew/ born again and it is a wonder many today are confused, they do not see any difference in these people claiming they are born again. As a matter of fact they see some that are worse in these peoples actions then they are. There is a time for growing and learning in the faith, but to have a lifestyle that is not consistant with the Bible standards, is not of God, but a false concept propagated by those that want 'numbers' getting 'saved' in their meetings or propagated by some that tell people, "All you have to do is say these words and you will be saved." No, this is not it. You may say the right words, but it is still an act of God.

One has to be born of the Spirit of God just as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit."

It is from God, not man. Seek that this may be your experience. Put yourself totally in God's hands, not in other people's or your religion, no matter if it is "christian". Religion, nor 'religious practices', will bring about the 'born anew/born again' experience, only a sovereign act of God can.

My prayer for you this day, is that you the reader came to this page to find 'truth'. You want to do away with all your preconceived ideas of religion or ideas of how to find God, and know that He can speak to you. Not only speak to you, but give you the assurance you seek. You want to know He loves you. You want to know He forgives you for your sins that are many and if you think you have no really bad sin in your life, think again - God said we all have sinned - we are born in sin for Adam sinned. He disobeyed God and this is the lot of the natural man, born into sin. Not believing God's way of salvation - rejecting the only way to Himself is just a consequence of that sin in the garden, the ongoing nature of man, to reject God and His Words.

May God open your eyes and give you a measure of faith to become.......born anew.

MKL