Your position as a born-again believer in Christ

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"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3 Someone asked me one time, “Are you a born-again Christian?” And you know what's funny? That’s the only kind of Christian there is! If you’re not born again, the Bible says you’ll never enter the Kingdom of God. To be a child of God, you must experience this kind of supernatural rebirth in which you are converted and changed from the inside out. Becoming a born-again believer isn't just getting a new start; it's getting a new life. It means you are born into the family of God by receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and our Savior. I often speak with Christians who get confused when they read their Bibles because it sometimes says we’re born into the family of God. Yet, other times the Scriptures say that we’re adopted in the family of God. Well, adoption in the biblical times meant that person immediately received full standing in the family. It's the same as being born into it! You and I were orphans. We were alienated and aimless. But God the Father has accepted us into His family! And the reason He did that wasn’t because you and I deserved it. It was because He loves us. So remind yourself each day of your full standing in God's family as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ!   AS A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER IN CHRIST, REMEMBER YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN FULL STANDING IN THE FAMILY OF GOD!

Letting Go of Sin

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
Acts 19:17–20

One of the most effective churches established by Paul on his missionary travels was the church at Ephesus. Though the city was a center of idolatry and the worship of Diana, the power of God touched many hearts and Jews and Gentiles alike responded to the gospel message. According to some historical records, among the pastors of this great church were the Apostle John, Timothy, and Onesimus—the runaway slave Paul led to Christ while imprisoned in Rome.
Part of the effectiveness of the church in Ephesus was their commitment to addressing their own sin forcefully and completely. When the believers came together there, they did not downplay their past lives. They named their sins and confessed them. Then they took the remnants of their past lives—the books that contained information about the demonic worship of idols—and publicly burned them. They left no trace behind of the former things. They did not try to hold on to the parts that “weren’t so bad” but rather completely gave them up.
The notion that we can leave a little bit of sin in a few hidden corners of our lives without it impacting the rest is a deadly lie from Satan. The only cure for sin is complete eradication of the practices, habits, and tools that facilitated it in our lives. The power of God offers us freedom from sin, but we must leave sin behind completely to live in that freedom.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Like the roots of a weed, any tiny vestige of sin we leave in our hearts will sprout new growth.