Being ‘Born Again’ Is More Than Literal

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1 Peter 1-3

Being born again is more than a literal statement. Being born again is a spiritual blessing. Being born again is a gift of adoption. It shows that God chose us to be members of his family and we are no longer destined to roam the earth homeless. By accepting His offer to be our Father, we entered His Home and are no longer Gentiles. We have become part of His chosen family. We have been reborn of the Spirit. See John 3:1-10.

To reiterate yesterday’s Post, ‘we are no longer destined to hell.’ Our Walk is redirected and aligned with the destiny God created for us.

Will we walk down the new path? That is a personal question that only you can answer. Most of us weave on and off the trail to our destiny. The beauty is, we can re-center ourselves on the path and can ask for help if needed. God responds by saying, do not look to the left or right. Listen to my voice.

Being born again cannot be literal. Our human body is birthed one time and is not a voluntary act. It is the end process of pregnancy. Our spiritual rebirth is voluntary and is permitted as the result of free-will. What is the purpose of constructing a robot and not allow it to become intuitive? The intuitive nature is what allows the robot to choose direction and paths. The same is true of us. God created us to join Him in a (biblical) relationship. The relationship needs free-will, or it cannot be defined as a relationship.

The dictionary describes a relationship as the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. According to Bible.org, the word, “biblical” is an adjective and describes the relationship as one that meets the criterion of the Bible as it describes and delineates the principles that should characterize any relationship.

Our relationship is both biblical and personal. It began the moment we realized our need My Story3for Him, and admit we are sinners, and in faith receive Jesus Christ as Savior. The first relationship we had with God was when He created Adam and Eve, to set up two-way communication.  They walked with Him in the garden and talked directly to Him. Do to the sin of man, we became separated and disconnected from God.

I feel comfortable in saying that the Lord longed for an on-going relationship with His people and had to reset how He would accomplish it. He decided to send Himself to earth in the form of Jesus to experience mankind incarnate. He gave us a gift when He allowed Jesus to be hung on the cross. The gift is another example of free-will. Jesus during the crucifixion process momentarily operated under the free-will clause, asking God, ‘why, why do you deny me.’ Jesus then thought about the consequences of not going through the crucifixion and said, ‘but your will be done and not mine.’

I bring this into the discussion because I believe God, knowingly accounted for the prospect of free-will being turned against Him, as in the case of Adam and Eve and eating the apple. It worked on His behalf when Jesus denied himself and followed the My Story2path God designed to reunify His relationship with us. He offers the reunification to all of us. The gift was placed deep within us before birth, in that He knew us long before we were born. My experience with longing for relationship entered early in life. It always felt that something, a nagging desire, existed within me to know God more deeply. Like most of us, this is a deep-seated feeling, one that initially cannot be defined. It is not until later in life that this feeling was more than an emotion. Earlier in life when I attended children’s church and Summer Bible Camp, I learned about Christ. My soul was being fed and putting a frame around this longing.

Interestingly, this did not automatically create cognitive thoughts about entering a deep relationship with God.  I pondered how to accomplish this, but I do not believe it is within our purview to do so. One day during service, an altar call was made, and my soul cried out. I then went forward to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior (physically and spiritually) and then entered the relationship he offered me before I was born. (Clarification – You don’t have to wait for an altar-call, you can read the scripture aloud in a room by yourself or in front of others.)

Through this process, I received a spiritual blessing and a personal relationship with God. I can go to God in prayer; He is my Counselor, Psalm 16:7; Psalm 32. I can cry to Him. I can share my fears and most private thoughts with Him. He is All truth. He is my Comforter, John 14:16. I can go to Him when I am ill. He is my Healer, Jehovah-Rapha/ Yahweh-Rapha, Exodus 15:26. I can go to Him when I am lost. He is my Shepherd, Jehovah-Rohi/Yahweh-Rohi, Psalm 23:1. I can go to Him in times of need. He is my provider, Jehovah-Jireh/Yahweh-Jireh, Genesis 22:14. I can go to Him when I have sinned. He sanctifies me and makes me Holy, Jehovah- M’Kaddash/Yahweh-M’Kaddesh, Leviticus 20:8; Ezekiel 37:28. I can look to Him for security. He is my Father, Elohim, Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33. His is a short list of the names of God. It is important to know the rest, though not as important when speaking with Him in prayer. A name defines us but is not used as part of the salutation throughout conversations and therefore not a requirement in communicating with God. Exposing Jesus’ name protects us from the attacks of the evil one. He is Jehovah-Palat. He is my Deliverer., Psalm 144:2. The Lord’s name is a strong tower. I can run into it, Proverbs 18;10. He sees me. He is Jehovah-El Roi, Genesis 16:13, He is YHWH, Jehovah, our Lord, and Savior. It is by His great Mercy that I am Born Again. Being born again is not and can not be a literal act. Being born again is spiritual. It is our admission to ‘home’.

ReBlog – https://wp.me/p98Coa-yY
Images – Google Images; YouVersion. Bible.com
Scriptures – Biblica.org; Biblegateway.com
Resources – 100 Names of God. Daily Devotional. Christopher D. Hudson, 2015; What are the Different Names of God and what do they mean? Got Questions.org. 9/2018

Thank you for visiting my Young Christian Warriors site and dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com, at the moment there is some duplication. I am working on merging the two to create one great site. Please bear with me through this process.

We Are Not Going to Hell

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Psalm 16 9-10

I like the Message Version because it is clear and to the point. My ticket to hell has been canceled. It is not my destination.

I’m happy from the inside and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—that’s not my destination!
Psalm 16:9-10 MESS

Why was my ticket to hell canceled? Christ died on the cross to cancel our destination, i.e., hell. The Old Testament dispensation did not allow redemption for our sins. Adam and Eve sinned and were cast out of the Garden of Eden. There were no second chances in the Old Testament. Once guilty, always guilty.

When Christ visited the earth in human form, experienced what we experience and then was crucified, He did so to provide a path of repentance and redemption to righteousness. Forgiveness from God is essential for our relationship with God.

The crucifixion of Christ changed our relationship with God. We were no longer bound by the atrocities of sin that man has committed since the beginning of time. In today’s lexicon, ‘God gave us an out.’ If we are truly remorseful for whatever sin we committed, we can go to God in prayer and ask His forgiveness; we will be washed clean. 1 John 1:9 says,

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Psalm 51 stresses that God can blot out our transgressions and cleanse us from our sin. psalms-51-1-2He can create a new heart in us and renew a steadfast spirit within us. He will not cast us away and will not take the Holy Spirit that dwells in us away. He will, upon praying, restore our joy in His salvation and uphold us in Christ.

The Unforgivable Sin

Psalm 51-3The only unforgivable sin is the sin of rejecting God and refusing His offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ. This is the only unforgivable sin because it means we are saying that the Holy Spirit’s witness about Jesus is a lie.

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Luke 12:10

Jesus is God in human form and when we deny Jesus, we are denying God Himself; we limit Him and assume He is unable to save us.

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. John 1:18

The main reason it is serious to reject Christ is that Christ is God’s appointed means of (our) salvation. Our greatest need is to have our sins forgiven; if we don’t, we have no reason to expect God to welcome us into Heaven. But by His death and resurrection, Christ provided the way for us to be forgiven and cleansed of all of our sins.  (What’s the Unforgivable Sin? Billy Graham. Billygraham.org, April 12, 2016)

Psalm 16 IMG_6780 (2)

Praise our God. We are not doomed to go to hell unless we commit the unforgivable sin. Less that, we are not hell bound.

Images – Google Images; LAB Photos
Scriptures – Biblica.org; Biblegateway.com
Resources – Billygraham.org; Biblestudytools.com; Crosswalk.com

Thank you for visiting my Young Christian Warriors site and dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com, at the moment there is some duplication. I am working on merging the two to create one great site. Please bear with me through this process.

Doing Good Is Not an Option

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Most of us were taught to do good because it was the right thing to do. It was generally coupled with being polite and kind, normal character traits. But, whose standard’ are we coupled to, mans’ or God’s?

We tell our children to get along with others, be kind, be polite and helpful, all great traits, but as Christians, we are responsible for doing so much more. God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth as a human to show how we should act towards one another. He loves us so much, He sacrificed His Son for us and left the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. He knew that he had to show in human form how He expects us to act towards one another.

God commands us to do good when we have the opportunity. When do we have the opportunity? We live in opportunity, it is not linked to our emotions, it is part of our DNA. Doing good is mentioned over 500 times in the Bible. Jesus displayed being good throughout His life. He helped the poor, wounded, hungry, and displaced.

Good Things2

Being good is not determined by how we feel or how we are treated. It is God’s command. The caveat is – when we have the opportunity. Opportunity is always present. When we are being mistreated, we still have the opportunity to do good. Jesus was mistreated but treated everyone fairly, He did good to all around Him. Let’s look at this scenario, we woke up this morning, and many of us left home feeling tired. We head to the Underground or subway and if lucky found a seat and sat down. An older person, a homeless person, someone with several bags, or a child and a parent, is standing near. The common reaction is to look away, ignore them and continue to sit in the seat. Would Jesus look away? No, He would do good and give up His seat to provide comfort to another.Helping others2

Scenario 2 -We walk down the street with a scowl/frown on our face. We look or through people, lost in our own stuff. Here again is an opportunity to do good. How? We can smile at passers-by, not with a constant smile frozen on our faces, but intermittently. SmilingWhen people smile at us, it changes our attitude. It does the same for everyone and may be the difference between life and death for some. Think about the term opportunity this way, there was a time when customer service meant a display of a kind demeanor. You would go into a store, and the clerk would say, ‘hello, how can I help you’ with a smile. Your time in the store was pleasant. Today, customer service does not necessarily include these qualities associated with good. Which way would you prefer to be received or acknowledged?

Good is our excellent service to others. The NIV Version reads, “Let us not become weary

girl and woman sitting on brown rock

Photo by Nicholas Githiri on Pexels.com

in doing good.” The AMP Version includes not being discouraged if it is not returned. We cannot become disheartened, we cannot let ingratitude affect us. Doing good is not an outward action, it is given birth on the inside.

The full verse also speaks to what we will receive in due time. Again, it is not a carnal
return, but a spiritual one. It has to do with our relationship with the Lord and at the end of our lives hearing, ‘Thank you good and faithful servant.’

Albert Barnes puts it this way: He who becomes a true Christian becomes such for eternity. He has enlisted, never to withdraw. He becomes pledged to do good and to serve God always. No obstacles are to deter, no embarrassments are to drive him from the field. With the vigor of his youth and the wisdom and influence of his riper years; with his remaining powers when enfeebled by age; with the last pulsation of life here, and with his immortal energies in a higher world, he is to do good.

How will you ‘do good’ today? Will you still be pleasant in a toxic work environment? Give up your seat to someone in need? Smile at a stranger? Kiss your loved one on the cheek just because? Tell your children you love them and appreciate them? Put a flower or piece of candy on someone’s desk? Pay the toll for the stranger behind you? Give a homeless person a dollar? Think about what you can do to become a better person by doing good. Think about the characteristics stressed throughout the Bible and especially in Galatians.

Do not let your heart grow cold. This world will have ups and downs. We suffer, and we rejoice depending upon the conditions of the world, nation, city, town, municipality, neighborhood or home. We must not focus on the externals, but on the Word of God. His commandment is to abide in Him and do good.

Images – YouVersion.Bible.com; Google Images
Scriptures – Biblegateway.com
References/Resources – StudyLight.org/Albert Barnes/Galatians 6:10

Thank you for visiting my Young Christian Warriors site and dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com, at the moment there is some duplication. I am working on merging the two to create one great site. Please bear with me through this process.