Today, the world is always telling us to change how we look—work out more, dress better, post the perfect pictures, or even move to a new place. It’s easy to believe that if we just change our surroundings or appearance, we’ll finally feel different on the inside, too.
But how many times have you tried that, only to end up back where you started?
It’s like someone in rehab who doesn’t use drugs just because they don’t have access to them—but deep down, the desire is still there. Many people live like that, just covering up what’s really inside instead of being truly transformed.
Real change isn’t about fixing the outside or just trying to control your feelings. It’s about becoming a new person from the inside. And that only happens through a personal relationship with Jesus.
Jesus said,
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” (John 3:7)
Take Nicodemus, for example. He was a religious leader and a respected teacher—from the outside, it looked like his life was in order. But Jesus saw what was going on inside. Nicodemus was still searching, still empty, still stuck.
Jesus wasn’t giving him another set of rules. He was offering something much deeper: a new life. It’s not a better version of the old one—a completely new beginning.
And that same opportunity is open to you.
You don’t have to keep going in circles with changes that don’t last. You don’t have to keep hiding what’s really going on inside. The door to true freedom is wide open.
Come as you are. Talk to someone who understands and has been where you are. Visit the Universal Church. Speak with a pastor. Learn what it really means to be born again.
Because real change—the kind that sets you free—doesn’t start with your habits, your clothes, or your job. It starts with your soul.
May the God of the Bible bless you!
Bishop Bira Joshua
