NOTICE: The following
article is written by the author itself and not by me, I am not trying to
violate their copyright. I will give some information on them.
PAGE
TITLE:
CBN Daily Devotional
ARTICLE
TITLE:
Reborn
DATE: N.A
AUTHOR: Dianne Neal Matthews
AUTHOR
INFORMATION: Dianne Neal Matthews is a freelance
writer and the author of four daily devotional books. Her newest release is Designed
for Devotion: A 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation
(Baker Books). Visit her at her website, on Facebook,
or on Twitter.
I
stamped the snow off my feet and walked into the church for the memorial
service. Although I'd never met my friend's father, I knew that he had become a
Christian during his final months on earth. As I sat in the quiet sanctuary,
the beautiful arrangement on the altar caught my attention—brilliant red roses
scattered among snow white flowers. How appropriate, I thought. Like roses
blooming in winter, this elderly man's faith had blossomed in the winter of his
life.
Nicodemus
may have been an old man when he visited Jesus to learn more about him and his
teachings (John
3:1-12). Although Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish
council, he believed that Jesus had been sent from God. "Rabbi," he
began, "we know that God has sent you as a teacher. No one can perform the
miracles you perform unless God is with him." Jesus wanted Nicodemus to
understand that he was much more than a teacher. He immediately challenged
Nicodemus with the declaration that no one can see God's kingdom without being
born again, or born from above.
The
well-educated Jewish leader struggled to make sense of Jesus' words. "How
can anyone be born when he's an old man?" he asked. "He can't go back
inside his mother a second time to be born, can he?" Jesus patiently
explained that he wasn't talking about a physical birth, but a spiritual
rebirth. The conversation introduced a revolutionary concept: although the Jews
were God's chosen people, they would not enter God's Kingdom on the basis of
their ethnicity, their spiritual heritage, or their attempts to live a
"good" life. Each individual could only become a part of God's family
by being spiritually reborn—something accomplished not through human effort but
through the power of the Holy Spirit and God's Word.
When
we place our faith in Christ and his sacrificial death on our behalf, God
re-creates us. We aren't just a reconfigured model of our former self, but a
brand-new person. We enter into the New Covenant and God begins a new work of
creation in us. He gives us a new heart, a new self, and a new song. We're
called to have new attitudes and a new lifestyle. That means each one of us
starts our spiritual journey as a baby, having to "grow into" our new
life with its transformed desires, attitudes, goals, and behaviors.
Just
as in the physical realm, we all mature at different rates. But as long as we
nurture our relationship with God through prayer, Bible study, obedience to his
commands, and fellowship with other believers, we will be making progress.
Regardless of our chronological age, whether eight years old or eighty, all of
us who have been reborn are trying to grow up to be just like our Father.
Whoever
is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has
disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. 2
Corinthians 5:17 (GW)
Ask
yourself: How does my life show that I have been reborn?
No comments:
Post a Comment