Jesus answered and said to
him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God." —John 3:3
“Being born again by the
Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as
surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in
the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual,
and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking,
talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. […] Jealously
guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We
are one” — with nothing in between (John 17:22). Keep your whole life
continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you
drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending
on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not
realize when His power is gone.” CHAMBERS
I was listening to the
testimony of a young man the other day, sharing about a youth mission
trip. He spoke about how he and a couple
other guys had shared the Gospel with someone on several occasions until he
finally yielded his life to Christ. It
made me thing about how well intentioned, but misdirected our efforts can
be. Many may not agree with me on this,
but I believe our responsibility is to tell, not to convince. I believe that a person is drawn by the Spirit
and we “just happen along” to accomplish God’s purpose. We can’t save anyone. Spiritual truth is born by the Spirit of
God. New birth is a transaction between
a person and God. If convincing were the
answer, then I cannot explain why my folks shared Christ with me for 7 years, to
no avail, but it was a sermon that stirred my heart and awakened a yearning to
seek Jesus. We often worry ourselves
over not saying the right words, as if salvation is dependent upon us and our
wisdom. When, in fact, we are merely the
messenger, sent by God. What the person
does with the message is between them and the One that sent the message. When the Spirit prompts you to speak,
speak. God uses us for His purpose. Something that no one fully understands, but
something all of us must do. So speak up
and leave the saving part to God. ELGIN
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless
You)
Charley Elgin
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