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by Stephen E. Canup (Author)
Many times in my life before truly surrendering to Jesus Christ - in numerous times of trouble, depression, or distress - I prayed various "prayers of salvation" but nothing really changed. I wanted something different but nothing I ever tried worked. I did not realize that I could not "change" me. Now I know that this "changing" is a work of God the Holy Spirit, and that my responsibility was to seek Him with all my heart and to be willing to submit, surrender, and be obedient to His promptings. Once I did, He began His work to re-make me into an entirely new creation.
I had heard the term "born again" but I did not really understand it, and until 2009 on a prison bunk, certainly never experienced it. What is "the new birth", and what does it mean to be "born of the Spirit?"
We are all born with a sin nature that separates us from our Creator. We were designed in His own image (Genesis 1:27), but that image was tarnished when we fell into sin. As sinners, we cannot fellowship with a holy God the way we are. We cannot be repaired, restored, or rehabilitated. We need to be reborn. When an infant is born, he continues to grow and change. A year later, two years later, ten years later, the child has changed. He does not remain an infant because a live birth results in growth. We may not see this growth happening, but we see the changes it produces. So it is with the new birth. When a person is born again in spirit, he or she is born into the family of God 'like newborn babies' (1 Peter 2:2). This birth is not visible, but it begins to produce changes that are evident.
When a person is truly "Born Again" guidance is needed to start out on an eternal journey with Christ. This book teaches about some of the most important first steps of faith with Jesus.
