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How to Start a New Life
Are you frustrated with your life? Have you struggled to get out of a rut? Do you want to give up and just start over? Where is life’s reset button?
You have probably run through all of these questions many times over but here’s one more question to consider: Have you ever read the greatest book that was written on how to start a new life? That book is the Bible—and if you’ve never read any of it, you’re missing out on life’s biggest truths.
How do you restart your life with the Bible? The Bible isn’t just another book on self-help. In fact, it isn’t a “self-help” book at all because it tells us we are too weak to transform our lives. We’re just not able to make ourselves into the kind of people we should be. No one likes to admit this—but it’s true and you know it from your own experiences.
Instead, the Bible points us to God because He is the only one who can turn you around and make your life different. You can’t reset your life—but God can, and He will enable you if you’ll let Him. The Bible says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). God loves you, and He doesn’t want you to be stuck in this state of helplessness and desperation for the rest of your life.
So how do you start your new life today? It begins with repentance. Tell God you know you have sinned and you want to turn away from your old ways of living. Next, you must turn to Jesus Christ and ask Him to come into your life as your Savior and Lord. Once you do this, God Himself comes to live within you by His Spirit. Then you’ll discover the same truth the Apostle Paul discovered: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Are you tired of your old life and ready to start your new one with God?
Step 1 – God’s Purpose: Peace and Life
The Bible says:
"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:1
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
"I [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
John 10:10
Step 2 – The Problem: Sin Separates Us
The Bible says:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
The Bible says:
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
Proverbs 14:12
"But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear."
Isaiah 59:2
Step 3 – God’s Remedy: The Cross
The Bible says:
"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
1 Timothy 2:5
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God."
1 Peter 3:18
"But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
Step 4 – Our Response: Receive Christ
The Bible says:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me."
Revelation 3:20
"But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
John 1:12
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
Here is how you can receive Christ:
- Admit your need. (I am a sinner.)
- Be willing to turn from your sins (repent) and ask for God's forgiveness.
- Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.
- Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior)
We suggest a prayer like this one:
"Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I want to turn from my sins, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe He died for my sins and that You raised Him to life. I want Him to come into my heart and to take control of my life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord from this day forward. In Jesus' Name, amen."
Did you pray this prayer?