Christ Calls for Spiritual Birth

In the Gospel of John, Jesus told Nicodemus, “I am telling you the truth, that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit. A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit” (John 3:5-6). rnIn his book “Decision Points”, George W. Bush writes: “In the summer of 1985 we took our annual trip to Maine. Mother and Dad had invited the great evangelical preacher Billy Graham. He had asked him to answer some questions from the family after dinner. The first question was from Dad. He said, ‘Billy, some people say you have to have a born-again experience to go to heaven. Mother (my grandmother) here is the most religious, kind person I know, yet she has had no born-again experience. Will she go to heaven?’ Wow, pretty profound question from the old man. We all looked at Billy. In his quiet voice, he replied, “George, some of us require a born-again experience to understand God, and some of us are born Christians. It sounds as if your Mom was just born a Christian’” (page 31). rnNo one is born a Christian. Billy Graham should have told the Bush family that a person goes to heaven as a result of their decision to believe in Jesus Christ. He should have also explained that being born again marks our spiritual birthday. As I shared in my book “Divine Revelation: a call from Christ to join the armies of Heaven”, my spiritual birthday was October 24, 1982. rnAs with many Christians, the Bush family was looking for a physical answer to a spiritual question. We have become a nation consumed with our own physical desires, where fewer and fewer Christians seek spiritual birth. Jon Meacham (no relation) even reported in the April 13, 2009 issue of “Newsweek” that while 76% of Americans say they are Christians only 33% of Americans say they are born again. And contrary to many theologians, I believe that we must take the first step in our spiritual birth. rnHowever, most Christians in America would rather take a first physical step to be like the Bush family and enjoy wealth and prominence then to take a first spiritual step to live to understand God. We are now one nation under our own selfish desires and not one nation under God. We should all heed the words of David Platt in his book “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” and turn away from our pursuit of prosperity and turn towards Christ.rnJesus Christ is now calling Christians everywhere to experience spiritual birth, to strive for a rich spiritual life, to join the armies of heaven, to help fight for church reform, and to prepare the church for His Second Coming. rnJohn Meacham is a Christian Author and Prophet for Jesus Christ who has authored four Christian books and served Christ’s Church as a Pastor, Preacher, Workshop Leader, Bible Study Instructor, and Teacher.