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When we accept Jesus as our savior we are bought for a price and redeemed. Our sins, past, present and future are forgiven. When God looks at us, instead of seeing our sin and fleshly filth He sees the righteousness of His son, Jesus. Through Jesus, we obtain a direct path to the Father and can have a close, intimate relationship with Him!

In addition to our salvation, we also receive a new identity. Today, I want to talk about this new identity and the changes it brings to our lives.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:15 NIV

Jesus words in John 15:15 state that we have become friends of God. Being friends of God gives us the awesome privilege of having a close, intimate relationship with Him. This relationship is one that God wants to cultivate with you, but like all friendships it requires effort from both parties to sustain the relationship.

How can I cultivate my relationship with God? Just like with your earthly friendships you need to spend time with Him. Set aside quiet time to read His word and talk with Him through prayer. The bible tells us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), this may seem like a hard thing to do but, if you are anything like me, you spend a large portion of your life talking to yourself in your head as you go about your day. Instead of just talking to yourself, why not invite God into the conversation? Invite Him not just to listen in, but to participate. The choices and problems you face every day should be given straight to Him, He wants to take these burdens from you and lighten your load (Matthew 11:28-30).

In addition to reading the Word and praying, also be prepared to just be still, clear your mind and spend quiet, silent time with Him.

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,

1 Thessalonians 1:4 NIV

God chose to have a relationship with you. Let that sink in for a moment. God not only chose to provide a way for you to be saved from the consequences of sin, but also chose to want to have a relationship with you and spend eternity with you. The God of the universe chose this!

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that we are God’s creation and that we have been born again through Jesus’ sacrifice to do good works. These works have been meticulously planned out by God since before the creation of the world.

Ask God to show you where He is working, and where He is inviting you to join Him in His works.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV

In the same way that God inhabited the Tabernacle of Israel, the Holy Spirit also inhabits you. When Jesus redeemed you, He also purchased you.

The Holy Spirit inhabits you to sanctify you and to instruct and guide you. Sanctification is the process of changing you to be more like Jesus, a process that won’t be completed until we leave this world to be with God forever.

The Holy Spirit instructs and guides you so that you have the opportunity to make the right choices in your life and to join God in the good works He has for you on this earth.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8 NIV

Before Jesus ascended to the Father, He commanded us to be His witnesses. We are to spread the good news of the gospel to the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit is an essential component in our sharing of the gospel, Jesus instructed His apostles to wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them before beginning this ministry.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,

Galatians 3:26 NIV

We are no longer slaves (to sin) but sons, and if we are sons then we are heirs (Galatians 4:7). As God’s children we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ” (Romans 8:17). We are also called to be “imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1). What are we heirs of? Eternal life… (Titus 3:7)

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 NIV

We are loved by God, so loved that He gave His only begotten son to die on a cross as a payment for our sin.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36 NIV

We are free, free from the bondage of sin and death. We are also free from the law, not from its’ guidance but from the damnation that comes from not being perfect in the law. One thing that the law, which came through Moses, proved is that man cannot follow and keep laws. We NEED a savior!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

When you were born again God began a work in you. He is sanctifying you to become more and more like His son. As you walk with God you should see the fruits of this sanctification emerging in your life (Galatians 5:22-23).

If you have accepted Jesus as your savior, choose to spend your life walking with Him as closely as you can. Choose to allow yourself to become the new creation and do not fight or hinder the process. Walk in the new life that Jesus purchased for you!