Jesus - Born Again

It is hard to conceive that God would manifest Himself as a man and come to earth so He could reconcile Himself to 'man' so to mend the bridge that satan knocked down in the Garden of Eden [Gen.3] yet this is exactly what happened. Jesus was willing to pay the price that we as fallen 'man' could not pay and He also went to the trouble of explaining to us that no one can enter heaven unless he/she is "born again". Jesus did not go back to heaven leaving a mystery no Jesus left us with hope and to realise our hope we have to have 'faith'.

It is unbelievable how today in this modern society how the name Jesus Christ is used as a swear word. This name tumbles out of people's mouth like the water tumbles over the Nigeria Falls, yet it the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that saves the soul.[Jn.14:6-7 & 15:4-6].

Jesus is the door the only entrance into heaven, we must believe in Him and be 'born again' [Jn.3-3] It makes no difference if one believes this or not for you see it is a fact. If one believes in Jesus and is 'born again' they go to heaven, if one does not believe they go to hell.

Eternity and You

There are three things in life you can be certain of, Life, Death, and life after death. These three things are as much part of our lives as the breath we breath. Life - when you are born, you have no say, this is up to the man and woman who joined together and gave you life. Death - God determines when you die and how you die. Life after death - God determines this also but you can have an input in His decision making. How you live your life when you are old enough to understand about life and death can help you in your life after death. God makes His decision on what you do or what you do not do in your earthly walk. There are those who say there is no life after death, that is like saying there is no life after conception.

The Apostle Paul states, "To be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8 : 7) Here the Apostle Paul is talking to the unbelievers as well as the believers, he is saying, "Until faith is placed in Jesus Christ, a man in no spiritual way can be pleasing to God the Father." (Heb. 11 : 6. taken from K.J.V. Parallel Bible Commentary.) So you do have a choice where you spend Eternity, you can say yes to Jesus and live or no to Jesus and die.

It is amazing how much time and money people spend on, new cars, new homes, holidays, expensive clothes, make- overs, etc. There is nothing wrong with this for this is part of life but what about where they will spend Eternity, there is little or no thought at all put into this. Life lasts up to 70 or 80 years there are exceptions where 100 - 110 years are reached, yet what is this compared to Eternity, Eternity is forever and ever and ever. Wouldn't it be more practical to worry more about where and how you will spend Eternity then the few short years we have on this planet?

There are those who say there is no God. Why would anyone say this? Look around at Creation, God's hand is everywhere, everything is in it's place and everything is working as it is supposed too. Scientist say a big bang happened, i have no doubt it did but under God's control. There is too much 'orderly fashion' in the Universe for God's hand not to be on it, other wise there would be nothing but KAOS if it were as the scientist say a 'big bang' with no God. Scientist say there is no God this is an amazing statement for a person to make, Scientist work with matter, God is Spirit therefore He cannot be seen with the natural eye, because one cannot see God, it does not mean God does not exist. No one can see the wind, they can see the effect of the wind blowing but not the wind itself yet everyone believes wind exists.

Make a choice now while there is still time, for no one knows what day or what hour when the Lord will come and take away those who belong to Him. For God says "I will have mercy on who I will have mercy."  Do not be left behind.

Standing Firm In God

There is one person in the Bible i have always admired, Caleb is his name. This man had the sought of faith that Jesus talks about, mountain moving faith.

In Numbers Chapter 13 the Israelites had arrived at their destination, Canaan, known to them as the land of promise. Moses was told by God, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I AM giving to the children of Israel." (2). Twelve men were sent out one from each tribe of Israel, and they returned from spying out the land after forty days.(25)  Ten of the spies were very fearful and said there were giants in the land, rumors spread through the tribes of Israel causing fear in the people and snatch away their faith, sinning against God. There were only two of the spies that came back with a good report and they were Caleb and Joshua.

It was Caleb who quieted the people before Moses (30)  and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." (31) Caleb had his faith firmly planted in God, he believed that God was their God and they could not fail. At this time Caleb was forty years of age and apparently had walked those forty years in the Lord. Caleb was faithful to God so God blessed him for his faithfulness. "Because my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went , and his descendents shall inherit it." (14:24).

It is up to the Believer to be faithful to God and God will honor their faithfulness as He did Caleb's. Sometimes God will give us a direction in life and we become fearful like the ten spies who became fearful of the giants in the land, their fear was so terrifying that it affected a whole nation. The negative report was, "There we saw the giants (the descendants of A'nak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (33). From this report a whole generation of Israelites never entered into their inheritance [living in Canaan] but perished in the wilderness. If a believer has the 'grasshopper attitude' our fears, rumors, and unfaithfulness can affect other peoples lives, and they as well as the people they come in contact with never achieve or enjoy what the Lord has destined for them.

If we have giants in our lives and if we allow fear to come into our hearts, next thing we know is our 'mole hills turn into mountains'. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2Tim. 1:7). Become a Caleb and like him say, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to over come it." (13:30).  Turn and face our fears, they can be overcome no matter what it is: spiders, heights, water, failure - anything, anything that pulls us away from standing firm in the Lord. This is not easy but with God's help we can be over comers.

There is a story i was told of one man who kept bouncing back like a rubber ball :-

"This was a man who failed in business at 22, ran for the legislature at 23,

failed again in business at 24, was elected to the legislature at 25,

his sweetheart died when he was 26, he had a nervous breakdown at 27,

was defeated for Congress at 39, was defeated for the Senate at 46,

was defeated for Vice-President at 47, was defeated again for the Senate at 49,

and ... he was elected President of the United States at 51.

Abraham Lincoln knew his God given destiny and never gave up." (Author Unknown)

Who are you in the Lord? Are you a Caleb and stand firm in the Lord? Are you a Abraham Lincoln and never give up even in diversity? Are you like the faint hearted spies-full of fear? Your destiny is in your hands. Life is not easy for a believer, they have to contend with a fast moving, fast changing society and still stay loyal to God's teachings.

Life is a series of ups and downs, there are many roads to travel, some wide, some narrow, some so steep it is a struggle to get to the top, others so low it is hard to receive air; yet when each struggle is over and we are walking in the beautiful plains we find with the help of God that we are a better person. God is making us ready for our journey home to live with Him forever.

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This site was last updated 01/26/05