New Life in Christ

After a weekend spent with some teenagers from my church in Bloomington, I have come to realize that I need a closer walk with God. I knew this before I went, but this trip gave me the extra push I needed. God worked in too many ways to count this weekend, and I'm sure He's been working that hard and I just haven't taken the time to see it like I should.

For Christmas, my secret sister (who is no longer a secret) gave me a journal that had some promises in it. All of them are verses from the Bible or quotes from people about God and different things. It's a wonderful journal, and it helped me to figure out a way to make sure I read my Bible every day and just strengthen my relationship with God. That being said, I'm now using my journal daily, along with the many other books I have to help me pick what part of the Bible to read each day. I also take time to meditate on it, think about what the verses mean to me, and what God has done for me recently, as well as what I have done for Him. I also decided to go on ahead and post a blog because I am a firm believer in spreading the Word in whatever way possible. So, if someone happens to stumble upon my blog and get a blessing out of it, all of the glory goes to God. It's His Word that I talk about.

Ephesians 2:1-10
1: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6: And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

What these verses mean to me is that salvation is a gift. It's not only a gift that is given by God, but it is a free gift. No works are necessary to be saved. All you have to do is "...confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead..." (Romans 10:9 KJV), and you can be saved, too.