I’m what's called a Born-Again Christian. That’s somebody who promises to live their life in the same way that Jesus did.
This can happen when you're younger or can be like me, I was in my fifties. So basically there is a prayer of salvation that you sincerely pray and ask Jesus to forgive your sins, where you agree that you know Jesus came to save our sins and rose again and that you want him to be the Lord of your life …it really is that simple.
Being a born-again Christian is not complicated - it's not about being religious ….it's relationship not religion, joy not judgement and love not legalism and the ultimate truth is that God is love, that’s basically it – a Christian is somebody who follows Jesus Christ and so you're doing the things that you know He would want you to do.
I explain it in a bit more detail at the end of this page.
This can happen when you're younger or can be like me, I was in my fifties. So basically there is a prayer of salvation that you sincerely pray and ask Jesus to forgive your sins, where you agree that you know Jesus came to save our sins and rose again and that you want him to be the Lord of your life …it really is that simple.
Being a born-again Christian is not complicated - it's not about being religious ….it's relationship not religion, joy not judgement and love not legalism and the ultimate truth is that God is love, that’s basically it – a Christian is somebody who follows Jesus Christ and so you're doing the things that you know He would want you to do.
I explain it in a bit more detail at the end of this page.
Faith
|
|
I have been a Christian since 2010, if you told me when I was a wild child during my 20s or 30’s that in my 60s, I'd be a born-again Christian, I would have laughed out loud. Hilarious! But God had a plan for Jan, and the laugh is on me.
I've looked back at how this all happened and even now it surprises and delights me. 10 years ago I was in network marketing and I had strife in my business and although I reached a level that most people don't reach, had a free car and lifestyle bonuses, I wasn't happy, there were too many things that didn't feel right and I had to sort out the strife.
I've looked back at how this all happened and even now it surprises and delights me. 10 years ago I was in network marketing and I had strife in my business and although I reached a level that most people don't reach, had a free car and lifestyle bonuses, I wasn't happy, there were too many things that didn't feel right and I had to sort out the strife.
'I had to sort out
this awful strife'
My friend and mentor Christine, who I'd been watching for many years, was right there for me. She was the highest ranking leader in this company, and the leader of the woman's ministry in the church, (I didn't know that at this stage though)
She was always so calm and so loving and I wanted what it was that she had. I didn’t know that it was having God in the centre of her life that made her so special.
I decided one Sunday to visit her church. I told myself that I wasn't going for any particular reason I was just ‘checking it out’ and to be honest I’d heard weird things about how different it was to ‘normal’ church but I had noticed that the most loving and kind of my MLM related friends, were a part of that particular church.
I wasn’t aware at that stage that I belonged to the largest Christian organisation in that particular company. They were taking out all the accolades and achievements year after year and a lot of that can be attributed to the Christian values shown and taught in their organisation. The majority of their high ranking downline were born-again Christians.
I was also told, by someone connected to my network who was not in the church, that I didn’t have to be a member of that church to do well in life or in the business. I took that onboard for a while and stayed away but then when things got worse and I felt I was at rock bottom, I decided I would find out for myself.
The only good thing at that point was my home-life. We had a very strong marriage and our son was wonderful but everything else around me was driving me crazy, sucking the joy out of me and making me unhappy.
The strange thing was that nobody that had suggested I visit the church, was actually there on that Sunday. I texted three people to say that I was 'thinking’ of coming, I wanted to get some moral support but in the end I had to go on my own.
As I look back now, I realise that God wanted me to take responsibility and admit to myself that I was looking for something.
I cried through the whole service that day, I had no idea what was going on at the time, but looking back I see that God was showing me what overwhelming love felt like, He was offering me something that I didn’t even realise I was missing and I had absolutely no idea why I was crying but at the end of the morning, when my friend Maree asked if I wanted to go and talk to Pastor Royree I said yes, and I accepted Jesus and became 'born again'
She was always so calm and so loving and I wanted what it was that she had. I didn’t know that it was having God in the centre of her life that made her so special.
I decided one Sunday to visit her church. I told myself that I wasn't going for any particular reason I was just ‘checking it out’ and to be honest I’d heard weird things about how different it was to ‘normal’ church but I had noticed that the most loving and kind of my MLM related friends, were a part of that particular church.
I wasn’t aware at that stage that I belonged to the largest Christian organisation in that particular company. They were taking out all the accolades and achievements year after year and a lot of that can be attributed to the Christian values shown and taught in their organisation. The majority of their high ranking downline were born-again Christians.
I was also told, by someone connected to my network who was not in the church, that I didn’t have to be a member of that church to do well in life or in the business. I took that onboard for a while and stayed away but then when things got worse and I felt I was at rock bottom, I decided I would find out for myself.
The only good thing at that point was my home-life. We had a very strong marriage and our son was wonderful but everything else around me was driving me crazy, sucking the joy out of me and making me unhappy.
The strange thing was that nobody that had suggested I visit the church, was actually there on that Sunday. I texted three people to say that I was 'thinking’ of coming, I wanted to get some moral support but in the end I had to go on my own.
As I look back now, I realise that God wanted me to take responsibility and admit to myself that I was looking for something.
I cried through the whole service that day, I had no idea what was going on at the time, but looking back I see that God was showing me what overwhelming love felt like, He was offering me something that I didn’t even realise I was missing and I had absolutely no idea why I was crying but at the end of the morning, when my friend Maree asked if I wanted to go and talk to Pastor Royree I said yes, and I accepted Jesus and became 'born again'
'God was showing me what
overwhelming love felt like'
I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I can honestly say, it was the best thing I've ever done. It was as if a big burden had gone. I can’t even name that burden but I knew it had been lifted.
I was very fortunate to be with a group of Christians who were so loving and accepting and to be a part of a church that was free and Holy Spirit led, because I had been in Church of England / Anglican / Catholic services and found them really hard to enjoy with all the ‘repeating after me’ and the overly formal settings. I didn't realise that I could have a personal relationship with God, talk to Him, ask Him stuff....I always thought we had to go through the priest, padre, reverend or pastor. None of them actually taught me the person who is Jesus and the importance of Holy Spirit.
The Bible scared me and bored me all at the same time. I had tried to read it before and started at the beginning and the God I saw in the pages seemed angry and was killing or punishing His people. There were so many rules and commands and I didn’t think it was for me.
I do realise now that I was pushing back on what I saw as authority because my childhood although loving was very strict, and my dad was an authoritative figure who made the rules and made sure they were kept.
I left home at 17 to be rid of rules and regulations and I made the kind of life where 'if it feels good, do it' was my lifestyle.
I think the mistake people make is starting at Genesis and ploughing through the Old Testament, that's really tough going for a newbie! I did discover later that the Old Testament tells or 'points to' what will be coming in the New Testament. The New Testament affirms what was said in the Old Testament, much of which was already predicted (or prophesied) was coming true.
Did you know rthat there are 44 'prophesies' about Jesus in the Old Testament that came true 100% in the New Testament? It’s fascinating to learn about, but that came later.
I was very fortunate to be with a group of Christians who were so loving and accepting and to be a part of a church that was free and Holy Spirit led, because I had been in Church of England / Anglican / Catholic services and found them really hard to enjoy with all the ‘repeating after me’ and the overly formal settings. I didn't realise that I could have a personal relationship with God, talk to Him, ask Him stuff....I always thought we had to go through the priest, padre, reverend or pastor. None of them actually taught me the person who is Jesus and the importance of Holy Spirit.
The Bible scared me and bored me all at the same time. I had tried to read it before and started at the beginning and the God I saw in the pages seemed angry and was killing or punishing His people. There were so many rules and commands and I didn’t think it was for me.
I do realise now that I was pushing back on what I saw as authority because my childhood although loving was very strict, and my dad was an authoritative figure who made the rules and made sure they were kept.
I left home at 17 to be rid of rules and regulations and I made the kind of life where 'if it feels good, do it' was my lifestyle.
I think the mistake people make is starting at Genesis and ploughing through the Old Testament, that's really tough going for a newbie! I did discover later that the Old Testament tells or 'points to' what will be coming in the New Testament. The New Testament affirms what was said in the Old Testament, much of which was already predicted (or prophesied) was coming true.
Did you know rthat there are 44 'prophesies' about Jesus in the Old Testament that came true 100% in the New Testament? It’s fascinating to learn about, but that came later.
"It was a God shaped hole!'
I was advised to start at the gospel of John in the New Testament first, and really discover who Jesus was and what happened to Him, why He was sent to earth and what His sacrifice on the cross was all about. As I read about Him and watched some movies, old and new I actually fell in love with who He is. Sound nuts, I know. The very graphic crucifixion scene in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ changed me for ever. I sobbed through it all. The sight of Jesus's mother kissing his bloody feet while he was on the cross, was the most difficult part for me. It had a lot to do with being a mum I think and realising the sacrifice He made right at the grass roots. His family suffered watching all that unfold.
At the River of Life church people just did what they wanted, there was a formal agenda during the service but some people would be down the front dancing, others would be clapping and swaying in their seats, some seated, some sang and prayed in tongues, others put their hands in the air and some were just lost in their own thoughts and conversations with God, it was such a joyous atmosphere and I loved it!
I recognise that the 'something in the air' I was feeling was the Holy Spirit.
The following week after I got saved, my husband and son came to church with me and Philip was saved and our son a few months later too.
I spent the first few years in that church crying most of the time, tears of joy, gratitude and sadness as I dealt with so many things in me. My husband and I were baptised in the Holy Spirit and sometime later we were also baptised in water on a bright sunny summers day in a cool blue swimming pool surrounded by our new church family.
I had heard along the way that ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit’ was not for today's church, that it was in the Bible but not something that was for modern times. Well, all I can say is that Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to EVERYONE.....not everyone up to a certain date. It’s right there in the bible and it happened at Pentecost. There has been such a change in me. I literally feel Holy Spirit in me and on me.
I now try to live my life as if Jesus was sitting right next to me (very hard when I'm driving and come across idiots in their cars lol) and it might sound a bit weird and very cliched, but He is in the very centre of everything that I do.
I'm not a religious nut! In fact I believe in relationship not religion, I don't quote scriptures at people, I don’t condemn them or judge the way they live their lives, I don't tell them what they should or shouldn't do, I just share on a day to day basis what Jesus means to me, how I live life, my beliefs and expectations, no-one is surprised that I am a Christian. It’s obvious to all around me….I am here if they want to ask questions, tell me their story or give their lives to Jesus as I did.
I read once that when Jesus came to earth, there were around 600 man-made rules. When His disciples asked Jesus which commandment was the most important, He said to only have one God and love your neighbour as yourself. He came to set us free not only from sin, but from religiosity and ritual.
It blows me away to think the 10 commandments became 600 religious rules that most people struggled with - who could live like that? I was so relieved to hear that Jesus came to rid us of those religious rules.
If you think about it, if you are living a life based around those two commandments, the rest just follows naturally. If you love God, you would also accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour because that's the only way to be with God in heaven and you wouldn’t kill, steal, lie and judge etc if you truly loved your neighbour.
When I was saved, all those things I'd worried about before – the rules I’d have to follow, the things I’d have to give up, became things I didn’t even want in my life and things that I didn't even miss when they were gone. It was a conscious decision to follow Jesus but the rest of it became things I really didn’t want to do anymore, they were not things someone told me to stop doing.
I have discernment in me, I know when things are not right, I feel it inside me and believe me, sometimes that can be very inconvenient!
I mean, my hubby and I can’t sit and watch a movie that has nudity, sex scenes, blasphemy, occult, witchcraft or swearing in it. Movies we liked and watched before, are now off the list. We cannot physically sit there. It’s a butterflies in my tum kind of feeling, an unease.
So I ask myself, would Jesus watch this movie with me? If not, we don’t watch it, but if friends want to watch, then that's OK. We'd never tell them not to...that's not what we are about.
I believe Holy Spirit is in me, Holy Spirit, God and Jesus are one. So where I am, what I’m doing and saying, it’s in front of God. I feel it in my spirit when it's not right.
If someone had quoted scriptures at me, before I realised I was looking, or told me that I was a sinner and was going to hell, I would have told them exactly where to go (and with some very colourful language and gestures) and I definitely wouldn't have explored who Jesus was or what others saw in Him. I dislike that type of religious ranting and much prefer the relationship side of Christianity.
At the River of Life church people just did what they wanted, there was a formal agenda during the service but some people would be down the front dancing, others would be clapping and swaying in their seats, some seated, some sang and prayed in tongues, others put their hands in the air and some were just lost in their own thoughts and conversations with God, it was such a joyous atmosphere and I loved it!
I recognise that the 'something in the air' I was feeling was the Holy Spirit.
The following week after I got saved, my husband and son came to church with me and Philip was saved and our son a few months later too.
I spent the first few years in that church crying most of the time, tears of joy, gratitude and sadness as I dealt with so many things in me. My husband and I were baptised in the Holy Spirit and sometime later we were also baptised in water on a bright sunny summers day in a cool blue swimming pool surrounded by our new church family.
I had heard along the way that ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit’ was not for today's church, that it was in the Bible but not something that was for modern times. Well, all I can say is that Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to EVERYONE.....not everyone up to a certain date. It’s right there in the bible and it happened at Pentecost. There has been such a change in me. I literally feel Holy Spirit in me and on me.
I now try to live my life as if Jesus was sitting right next to me (very hard when I'm driving and come across idiots in their cars lol) and it might sound a bit weird and very cliched, but He is in the very centre of everything that I do.
I'm not a religious nut! In fact I believe in relationship not religion, I don't quote scriptures at people, I don’t condemn them or judge the way they live their lives, I don't tell them what they should or shouldn't do, I just share on a day to day basis what Jesus means to me, how I live life, my beliefs and expectations, no-one is surprised that I am a Christian. It’s obvious to all around me….I am here if they want to ask questions, tell me their story or give their lives to Jesus as I did.
I read once that when Jesus came to earth, there were around 600 man-made rules. When His disciples asked Jesus which commandment was the most important, He said to only have one God and love your neighbour as yourself. He came to set us free not only from sin, but from religiosity and ritual.
It blows me away to think the 10 commandments became 600 religious rules that most people struggled with - who could live like that? I was so relieved to hear that Jesus came to rid us of those religious rules.
If you think about it, if you are living a life based around those two commandments, the rest just follows naturally. If you love God, you would also accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour because that's the only way to be with God in heaven and you wouldn’t kill, steal, lie and judge etc if you truly loved your neighbour.
When I was saved, all those things I'd worried about before – the rules I’d have to follow, the things I’d have to give up, became things I didn’t even want in my life and things that I didn't even miss when they were gone. It was a conscious decision to follow Jesus but the rest of it became things I really didn’t want to do anymore, they were not things someone told me to stop doing.
I have discernment in me, I know when things are not right, I feel it inside me and believe me, sometimes that can be very inconvenient!
I mean, my hubby and I can’t sit and watch a movie that has nudity, sex scenes, blasphemy, occult, witchcraft or swearing in it. Movies we liked and watched before, are now off the list. We cannot physically sit there. It’s a butterflies in my tum kind of feeling, an unease.
So I ask myself, would Jesus watch this movie with me? If not, we don’t watch it, but if friends want to watch, then that's OK. We'd never tell them not to...that's not what we are about.
I believe Holy Spirit is in me, Holy Spirit, God and Jesus are one. So where I am, what I’m doing and saying, it’s in front of God. I feel it in my spirit when it's not right.
If someone had quoted scriptures at me, before I realised I was looking, or told me that I was a sinner and was going to hell, I would have told them exactly where to go (and with some very colourful language and gestures) and I definitely wouldn't have explored who Jesus was or what others saw in Him. I dislike that type of religious ranting and much prefer the relationship side of Christianity.
'There has been such a change in me'
This was the right thing for me because I really felt I was missing out on something that I saw in others, and there had to be something more to life than I was living. It was a God-shaped hole! There's your cliche hahaha.
Maybe you recognise that you have something missing too...if so, message me and let's chat....if not, then that's OK.
The most surprising thing I have discovered as I journal and chat to God daily - is that He was there all the time. I can recognise when He helped me in the past, took care of me, gave me an answer, kept me from making terrible choices and on many occasions, even saved my life.
He is not some secret part of me, but I understand that it's also not just words but actions that draw people closer. My most important desire is to be authentic, and true to myself, so no matter where I am, no matter who I am with, if people don't like the Christian part of me and can't get past that, I do feel sad, but then that's their issue, not mine. I will just continue to try to be a kind, loving respectful person towards them and their beliefs, and still be steadfast in mine.
I still have lots of questions, even after 10 years, it is a lifetime journey and I started very late! I still want to know 'why' all the time.
I imagine God saying ...."What? another 'why' question Jan?" even though I know He knows what I'm going to ask next!
This is also about believing what you can’t see. That’s faith.
The Bible says that faith is "the assurance of what we hope for, and the certainty of what we don't see"
I’d never go back. I like this me.
Maybe you recognise that you have something missing too...if so, message me and let's chat....if not, then that's OK.
The most surprising thing I have discovered as I journal and chat to God daily - is that He was there all the time. I can recognise when He helped me in the past, took care of me, gave me an answer, kept me from making terrible choices and on many occasions, even saved my life.
He is not some secret part of me, but I understand that it's also not just words but actions that draw people closer. My most important desire is to be authentic, and true to myself, so no matter where I am, no matter who I am with, if people don't like the Christian part of me and can't get past that, I do feel sad, but then that's their issue, not mine. I will just continue to try to be a kind, loving respectful person towards them and their beliefs, and still be steadfast in mine.
I still have lots of questions, even after 10 years, it is a lifetime journey and I started very late! I still want to know 'why' all the time.
I imagine God saying ...."What? another 'why' question Jan?" even though I know He knows what I'm going to ask next!
This is also about believing what you can’t see. That’s faith.
The Bible says that faith is "the assurance of what we hope for, and the certainty of what we don't see"
I’d never go back. I like this me.
Do you think you'd like to experience this radical love of God?
It’s not about rules and regulations and an enormous God in a long white frock with a beard and a big stick of lightning, waiting to zap you every time you make a mistake. The grace of God forgives your sins so long as you are sorry and turn away from them. The key here is to want to be different and not to make the same mistakes again….repent means to turn away.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6
This is very clear, make no mistake, there is only one way to have a relationship with God, and that is through His son Jesus.
I invite you to join us, you will never be the same again.
This is one of those wonderful little poems that God drops into my journal when I spend time with him during my day.
Aware of Him
Keep giving me these butterflies, that often make me sigh.
Keep nudging me away from things you want me to pass by.
I'm asking for your wisdom Lord, and being quiet and still
and resting in your presence Lord and I'm listening to your will.
Drop those treasures in me, let them settle way down deep
Deep into my spirit Lord, so I know them in my sleep
It's only by your grace and love, that we celebrate free choice,
I'm here to do your bidding Lord and listen to your voice.
If you’ve ever been in a place where you feel that you just know there is something else in life and you want a deeper understanding of who God is, then you can do that through the person of Jesus, you can say this prayer....after which you will be a new person in Christ...hence the term born again
Dear Jesus, I believe that you came to forgive us our sins and that you died and rose again. I want you to be in my life. Please forgive my sins, I will turn away from my past and I invite you to become my Lord and Saviour.. Amen
If you said this for the first time, or you re-dedicated your life, please feel free to connect with me HERE and I will give you a prophetic poem as a word from God.
There are many reasons to be grateful, here are a few of my favourites and you'll find 50 more in my book of poetry HERE
