Thursday, November 13: DragonLady writes:
“So, a few years ago, I started blogging. 2004? Must have been since it was before the Bush/Kerry election, and that’s what really got me into blogging in the first place. It was via Michelle Malkin that I discovered La Shawn Barber. La Shawn didn’t just write about politics, though. She wrote (and still does) about her Christian faith. She has often broached subjects from a Christian viewpoint that I didn’t necessarily want to hear. She got me to open up my Bible, and the more I opened it, the more I knew I needed to get back into church, not so much for me, but for the kids. They need that stable and positive influence in their lives just like I did.
…
“So anyway, what I had intended to do was to email La Shawn, and thank her for starting that ball rolling again in my life. But after yesterday’s post (that she trackbacked back to me), I thought I would make that thank you public. Thank you, La Shawn, for being so open with your faith. It was that openness that was the beacon I needed to get back on the ’strait’ and “narrow’ road that I had strayed from.”
This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in his eyes.
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There aren’t enough hours in the day to deal with all this stuff. 
Reading this Newsweek story for a Pajamas Media TV segment I’m taping in an hour tomorrow, one paragraph stopped me cold (emphasis added):
“If this week’s exit polls tell us anything about religion, they remind us that there are tens of millions of voters in this country who believe in God, read their Scripture, pray, regularly attend a house of worship—and do not consider themselves born-again Christians.”
OK. For the record, there is no such thing as a Christian who has not been born again. To say you believe in God, go to church every Sunday, etc., doesn’t mean you’re a Christian. People worship all kind of gods and go to church for various reasons. The questions is, is Christ your Lord and Savior? If someone has been forgiven, he has been born again, no matter what cultural or social connotations the term born again (white fundamentalist Bible-thumpers?) has been burdened with. Those saved by grace through faith in Christ understand what the term means biblically.
Born again or rebirth in Christ refers to the process that takes place when Christ saves/forgives someone. Here’s the imagery: the former man was crucified with Christ, and the new man was resurrected with Christ when he rose from the dead. The new man is renewed, regenerated…re-born. Day by day, God guides us, chastises us, and loves us, molding and shaping us into the image of his Son.
If you believe the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died for your sins, and you trust in this sacrifice alone for the forgiveness of your sins, born again applies to you, whether you’re white, black, blue, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, or whatever else they’ve got. Much more about this at the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.
A few verses to get you started:
John 3:4-8: “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’
“‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’
“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’”
Romans 6:6 – “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”
Galatians 2:20-21 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Gotta run!
Later…Looking forward to reading that post, DragonLady. Get well!
