Are You Born Again? | AS BOLD AS LIONS DEVOTIONAL | August 30, 2023

Are You Born Again? | AS BOLD AS LIONS DEVOTIONAL | August 30, 2023

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

One of the key identifiers of a “Christian” I heard growing up was the term “born again Christian.” In my naivety, it seemed like more of a qualifier than anything else. There are perhaps people who just believed in Christ and then there are those who are truly “born again”! But as I reflect on this terminology, it still seems to be an important distinction and even a clarification we must reconcile. As Peter states in his letter, it is Christ that has caused us to be born again…not born of blood and water but of the Spirit (as Christ laid out to Nicodemus in John 3).

So why make a big deal out of this? Should we even mention it? I believe it’s important. To truly be a Christian, one must be born again. It can be easy to claim “Oh I’m a Christian” and even believe because mom or dad (or someone else) believed, we believe too. But the access to that “living hope” Peter speaks of only comes to those who profess a faith in Jesus Christ. A faith marked by confession of sin, repentance, and an acknowledgment of Him as Lord and Savior. For that person, the status of “born again” is conveyed with all its rights and privileges. As we examine our lives may we do so with confidence if we’ve made this decision. From there, may we be motivated to ask those we encounter this simple question: Are you born again?

Question for today: Is there one person today that I need to ask “Are you born again” to?

Pray: God open up opportunities for conversations to happen with those who need to know Jesus.

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