Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
2 Corinthians 5:17 HCSB

Have you been saved? Have you drawn near to Christ and responded to His call to Salvation? Have you walked the aisle and made a public profession of your faith? Have you been baptized? Those were easy questions to answer, but I want you to really think about this last one, are you truly saved?

If you answered yes to the first four questions, I want you to consider why you did what you did. Did you walk the aisle because your friends were doing it or because your parents expected you to? What was your motive?

If you said you were truly saved, consider a few things. First, do you remember the date and time and what was going on when you were called to salvation? I can vaguely remember walking the aisle of our church at the age of 12 and making a public profession of faith. I don’t really remember much about my baptism. I do, however, remember the exact moment that I gave it all over to Christ. I remember the exact moment I cried out to Him and told Him I was sorry for my sin. I remember telling Him I couldn’t live without Him being first in my life anymore. I repented of my sin and asked Him to come into my life and take over. I thank God everyday for that time in my life. Tomorrow a little after 10 am will mark the 11th year since that happened. I remember it vividly because it totally changed my life.

The old sinful me had to die. She had to be buried. The new me had to rise up. I had to turn all of my sin over to God. I had to ask Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit. Now all of this may sound really difficult, but the beautiful thing is once I surrendered to Him, He took care of the rest. He wiped away my sin and removed it far from me. He knew I was too weak to do it on my own. He removed my fears. They were replaced with faith in Him as I watched the work He was doing in my life.

He exchanged my anger and anxiety for peace and joy. He became the reason I no longer had to fly off the handle when things don’t go my way. I no longer sweat the small stuff and trust me, compared to Him, it’s all small stuff. I still sin, I’m not perfect. But, I don’t want to sin. I mess up and I get off track, but I repent and He forgives. I try my best to live by Proverbs 3:5-6 which says not to lean on your own understanding, but to trust in the Lord with all your heart. It tells us to think about Him in all we do and He will guide us on the right paths.

I’m telling you all this because 11 years ago, I thought I was saved. I thought I was doing pretty good. I was attending church and had even started to read my Bible some and pray. But things were not going well for me. They seemed to be getting worse. It was only when I cried out to God, he helped me to realize I was clinging to my sin when I should be clinging to Him and Him only. He helped me realize if I would surrender to Him, He would clean everything up for me and make me a new creation in Christ. He’d help me go from weary to energized. He’d free me from the bondage of my sin. He’ll do this for you too.

I thought I was saved at the age of 12, but now I’m not so sure. But, I do know I was truly saved almost 11 years ago. I was reborn. Tomorrow, I celebrate my 11th birthday.

If you are not sure that you are saved, I beg of you to turn to Him before it’s too late. Trust in Him with all your heart. Surrender your life to Him. You won’t regret it.

The new me still faces problems, but it handles them a whole lot better than the old me did. If you are longing for something new, why not start with you. Let Him make you a new creation in Christ. It’s the best makeover you will ever have.

Have a great day!