2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

John 3:6 “In reply, Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

1 Peter 1:22-23″Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but to imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

Where does true change in us come from? Some would say it is simply an act of one’s will to do or be better. We can think positively, and our actions will change. Most of the time, it does not last. Some manage long-term changes in behavior, but for the most part, a person will eventually fall back into their old ways. I think people call this. “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Many assume by just being good they will automatically gain access to heaven and the Kingdom of God. Sorry to be the one to burst your bubble and tell you this, but that is a lie from the enemy of your soul; Satan is speaking lies into you making you think you are okay, that God is not serious about the way to heaven.

The word of God however tells us exactly how we can achieve true change, and access to the Kingdom of God. We must be born again, we must repent of our sins, (turn away from, go a different direction), and we must ask the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts and allow him to be the Lord of our lives. There is NO OTHER WAY! And the power to change does not come from within us, it comes from the fountain of God’s own glory and goodness, as we read in the passage above (2 Peter 1:3).

We do not have the resources to be truly Godly, but God allows us to “participate in His divine nature.” Participating in His divine nature can keep us from sin and help us live for him in a world that says otherwise and is constantly trying to pull us away. God by His Spirit empowers us with His own goodness. Did you hear that? God imparts to us “His Goodness” and He is truly good in all ways and at all times!

In John 3:6 Jesus clearly stated that “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” So, there is no “positive thinking, no self-change, no self-improvement” that can get you into heaven. Our best efforts fall eternally short outside of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us. Jesus took our penalty on the cross, bled, and died for us, so that when we come to him in repentance, ask him into our hearts, and are born again, then and only then do we “become the righteousness of God.”

1 Peter 1:22-23 tells us that once we have purified ourselves by obeying the truth we are free to have sincere love for others a love that comes from a heart made pure by the power of God. The Holy Spirit changes us and grows us daily. True change occurs from within when we are born again.

Don’t allow Satan to trick you into thinking you can be good enough on your own. You cannot. Romans 7:18 “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” Without Christ’s help, sin is stronger than we are. We need the power of the Holy Spirit in us to stand against the attacks of the enemy and the sin that so easily besets us.

I pray today that as you come into this New Year, your hearts will be made new by the power of God. That you who do not yet know Christ as Savior and Lord will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and surrender your will to His. And for those of us who do may you lean ever closer into the Lord and allow him to use you to be a light in a dark world, to truly love others, deny yourself, and take up your cross daily for the cause of Christ. Let us each desire to live more fully for the Lord!

May the world see Jesus in us in all we do and say!