New Birth made possible

Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’*

Born again. A new beginning. What an offer this is.

Jesus told us that we shouldn’t be amazed that we need to be born again. Born from above. Born of God.

It is obvious really. We have messed up. We need to start again, and the only effective way to gain a fresh beginning is by being connected to God, the one true God.

That it is expedient, most people can understand. We all know we have fallen short of God’s best for our lives. That it is actually possible is another matter. It is a marvellous thing. God has said it is His decision to allow us to have a new start. We can be born again. We can be born of His Spirit, even taking on the nature of God, by his Spirit in our lives, the divine Presence with us and in us.

This gives us a head start in our new life. We are no longer slaves of sin, but servants of righteousness, which means we are considered guilt free and able to cope with temptation. We can live a life that is pleasing to God.

Brand new, innocent and free.

*John 3:7

Words…actions…rewards

 

A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.*

Several times Wisdom tells us that our words are important to our destiny. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. What we say influences our world. Our words should be high-yield fruitful. But we have to demonstrate what we believe, not just with our words, but by matching our actions to what we believe.

‘We’ll be satisfied with good by the fruit of our mouth’. And, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”, according to Jesus. Which tells us that, if we have good invested in our heart, we will produce the fruit of good, and we will be satisfied.

Fruit is generational. We frame our world with our words. We project our future, and influence the destiny of those who follow. Words are important.

So. We speak words of faith. Words in agreement with God’s Word, which reflect God’s will and promises.

But, along with this, we still need to work with our hands. Then everything we put our hands to can have good success. Recompense is pay, compensation, or reward. ‘The reward of a man’s hands will be rendered unto him’.

Plus. Having a good attitude about our employment is important. We need to do all things as unto Christ. We work energetically and enthusiastically, as if our employer is Jesus. Ebullient – cheerful and full of energy!

Working for the Kingdom. Building. With our words and actions.

So we’re satisfied and rewarded many ways – by our high-yielding words, by our encouraging attitude, and by our upbeat actions.

*Proverbs 12:14

Meditate… Word… Day and night…

In His Law he meditates day and night…*

…or, how rumination prevents ruination!

The Psalmist gives us the key to remaining separate from the ungodly, the sinful and the scornful. Meditate in the Law of God.

The Law is the Word of God. His words to us. His thoughts and His will for us.

Meditate, in Hebrew, means ruminate. Chew the cud of the Word. Take a good bite of God’s Word, and chew on it, swallow it, regurgitate it, chew some more, take it in, revise it, chew again, and again, get it inside. Learn it, live it, be it.

Choose to do this. It is a choice. When we determine in our hearts to focus on what God says in His Word; what He expects of us, how He sees us, who we are in Him, and we determine to follow His ways, then we will remain so close to Him and His will that we won’t have either the time or inclination to join those who separate themselves from God through their words, attitude and actions.

When people say and do strange things with the potential to annoy, or falsely accuse or wrongfully mock Christians, it’s such a temptation to join in with their controversy, rage back, but, again, we need to stay close to what God is saying. Resist.

Resist the temptation to waste time on arguments which lead nowhere. Walk in love anyway. Savour grace. Exhibit mercy.

We have little enough time on earth to do what we know He is asking without wasting it on those who oppose us, or, rather, who oppose Him, really; that is, supposing we are doing what is right in His sight.

Day and night covers every waking or sleeping moment. No time for anything else.

Meditate. Focus. Ruminate. Day. And night!

*Psalms 1:2

Planted, productive and prospering…

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.*

There’s much to be said for steering clear of the counsel of the ungodly, for avoiding the influence of those who are yielded to sin, and for walking far away from the scornful.

It’s amazing, however, how much traction some ungodly people gain as ‘counsellors’. Believers are warned against their instruction. Both the sinful and the scornful. They are also to be avoided as counsel, although we can’t dismiss them altogether, since we are called to help them recognised their need of a Saviour, and do all we can to introduce them to Christ.

Clearly, though, we are being told not to join in with ungodliness, sin and scorn! So, what is scorn? We don’t hear this word used much these days. And who are the scornful?

A scornful person is someone who mocks, or scoffs, or arrogantly pokes fun at another, by expressing contempt or derision. People who scoff at God and His Word are in the mind of the Spirit here, and, by association, people who mock and scoff at believers for believing and living out the Word of God.

How do we avoid these problems? By preferring God’s Word to the words of detractors, and by delighting in the law, or the Word of the Lord, by meditating, getting close to, and giving full consideration to the Word. As we do so we position ourselves perfectly for growth, refreshing, longevity, usefulness, fruitfulness, productiveness and prosperity.

Prosperity is defined as a state of flourishing, thriving, success and well-being. The meaning here also involves advancement, progress and profitability, to the purposes of God, and, again by association, in the lives of those involved with those who flourish. For an example of this kind of life, look at Joseph, who, despite difficult times, including being falsely accused and imprisoned, was always in God’s favour, always prospered, and always caused the house of those he served to thrive.

Blessed!

*Psalms 1:1-3