If you have determined how you are going to view the world by choosing to see it through the lens of God’s point of view, there is another point of decision you must come to before you proceed. You must become like a child. A child trusts his or her parent to catch them when they leap for their arms. That is how we must trust God: by becoming like children. To do that, you must be born again.

“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” —Jesus (Luke 18:17)

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Because of my story of freedom from same-sex attraction due to my relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, I have many people tell me they long to know God intimately, long to be forgiven, long to be healed of past wounds, long to be free from whatever, long to be made brand new. For too long I believe the church has made knowing God more about jumping through religious hoops than about connecting people to a real and present God who desires an intimate relationship with them. Knowing God intimately in a real-life relationship is as simple as a step of faith.

Why do we need God? Simple: We were created for fellowship with Him; but something about God’s love led Him to never force us to love Him. He gave us a choice in the matter. And what did we do with that choice? Turned from God and gave in to sin. One sin was all it took to separate you and I from relationship with a holy God. One sin separates us from holy God. Make no mistakes. God is a God of love. He does not send a man to hell. A man’s sin sends him to hell. Every man, every woman, every single child, has sinned. This can’t be helped because we are born into a sinful world.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23 KJV)

Does it seem that the world just keeps growing darker and darker and that people aren’t as good as you would have hoped? Does your life seem like you are simply going from one difficult circumstance to another? Have you ever wondered why things are never perfect? Why is there war? Why is there poverty? Why does the world seem to be riddled with so much pain? Sin sees to it that death comes. God intended us to live, but sin ushered death into the world.

For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV)

So what are we to do to remedy our sin separation from God?

Jesus answered..., "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3 NKJV)

What does it mean to be born again? What does it mean to be saved from our sin? We were created by God for fellowship with Him. Sin came into the world by our own choosing and death is the result. Since God is perfect and cannot fellowship with sin, a way had to be made to restore us to God. That way? Jesus Christ.

Jesus was perfect. In His perfection He was tempted in every manner just as we are, yet He never sinned. This made Him the perfect candidate to save us from our sin. How did that happen? Simple. Jesus Christ took your sin and my sin upon Himself. He suffered the punishment for that sin by being put to death on the cross. He died with our sin upon Him and our sin was buried with Him.

But good news! Jesus did not stay dead! He rose to life and left sin in the grave and conquered death for us! If we place our faith in Him, he will give us a brand new identity. How do we do that?

...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV)

Simply put, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (which means He is Master of all life and Lord over your own life) and then believe—a step of faith—that God has raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved. You will be born again!

...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)

When I got tired of being homosexual, I decided I had played god with my own life long enough. I gave up to the real and true God. I realized Jesus Christ took my homosexuality upon Himself. I realized that the blood Jesus gave up for me paid the debt of sin I could not pay. I realized that the old “me” was crucified with Christ and buried with Him. I realized that Jesus had risen and was calling me to new life in Him. I walked out of my old life and have been pursuing my new one ever since. I became someone brand new—a new creation!

Did the temptations stop right away? No. But temptations no longer defined me. Temptation gives me the opportunity to become intimate and transparent and honest with Christ through faith. I no longer had to perform for anyone’s love or approval. I suddenly found myself completely accepted by Him. All I ever have to do is to believe and receive His love for me in any

situation. Jesus understands. Sin will always be in the world until Jesus returns. But Jesus understands.

...we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV)

Would you like to be saved? To be born again? Are you tired of being so alone against the temptations of life? Would you like to have a Faithful Friend who walks through each and every day—each and every trial—with you? Then pray (prayer is simply talking with God just as you would talk with a person you could see) this simple prayer in faith:

“Lord Jesus. I have sinned, and I need a Savior. I confess out loud, here and now, that You are Lord. I believe, by placing my faith in You, that God has raised You from the dead. Save me, Lord.”

If you prayed that prayer, it’s a “done deal.” You are signed, sealed, and delivered, His! Now what do you do? Go to His Word and learn more about His ways. Find other believers of Jesus and build relationships with them. Build a deep and ever-growing relationship with Jesus by including Him in every aspect of your life. He can handle your junk...your rants and ravings. He is kind and patient and will never betray you. Trust Him to teach you how to hear His voice.

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)

I have a friend who summed up what I am trying to say in a very concise way. One day as she talked with her gay hair dresser, they began talking about identity. Concerned that he may be walking in an identity opposed to the will of God, the hair dresser simply said, “I’m not sure I want to be gay, but that’s how I feel.”

My friend responded with this question: “If you could go back to your mother’s womb and you could choose to be either gay or straight, what would you choose?”

His reply? “I would choose to be straight.”

In wisdom, she said, “In a sense, you can do that very thing. You can choose to be born again into a new identity in Christ.”

Being born again—becoming a new creation in Christ—is a simple step of faith. If you just took that step of faith, you are someone you were not before. All the old things have, by faith, passed away. You no longer have to be defined by your past. You do not even have to worry about changing your past. It cannot be done anyway! But the great news of a God-centric point of view is that God is able to take even our failures and make something beautiful of them. By faith, new things have come. A brand new identity that transcends the way you may feel about yourself. A brand new identity full of untapped possibilities in this life. This is a new day and a new dawn of self-discovery for you. This is going to be the most incredible journey!

Being born again will drastically and dramatically alter the way you think about reality and about yourself. It will dramatically change the way you view God as well. In fact, everything is going to change. The more your thoughts change, the more your feelings will change. The more your thoughts change, the more your attitudes and behaviors will follow suit. I urge you to never get too far away from that childlike faith that led you to this moment. An entire new realm and kingdom are now open to you as you learn to pursue a relationship with your Maker and discover who He says you are. Are you ready?

Now go and simply be his child!

Dennis Jernigan

This blog is an excerpt from the Dennis Jernigan book, “Renewing Your Mind: Identity and the Matter of Choice”

The photo is courtesy of https://pixabay.com/photos/flower-child-girl-dandelion-field-2562079/