Monday, January 14, 2013

Our Calling

Matthew 5:14 - You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

In the bible, we are called to be many things.

  • Salt of the earth (Matt 5:13)
  • Light of the world (Matt 5:14)
  • Fishers of men (Matt 5:19)

All of these things make a difference or can be shown brightly to the world. Salt was used as a preservitive to make sure things didn't go bad. So we are called to preserve this world. The the light is so that people can see the way in the dark. So we're called to lead people into God's presence. Fishers are to catch and bring in nets. So we are called to go out and witness to the masses.

These are our callings as a Christian. Examine yourselves. Do you think that you represent one of these?

Do you help preserve the lives of others?
Do you shine in the darkness?
Do you real people in for Christ?

Examine yourself, and remember your calling as a Christian. Go into all the world and preach the good news (Commandment, not a suggestion).

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

     

Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Reborn

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new is come. 

The word Reborn means to be changed again. You had your first birth in life, where you were born into a sinful self, and if you have pronounced God as your Savior and are leading a life of praise, then you have been Reborn.

If you have accepted Christ and live for him, then you are a very special and unique kind of person in a group of people with the name, (what I like to call) The Reborn.

This sort of group is a person who is all out for Christ. The person who has been made new in Christ. He is a new creation. Some have accepted Christ and believe that he is real, but they have not joined The Reborn because they continue to live like they are still the person they were after their first birth. There is no change in them, and if there is, it's only for a little while. There are many false Reborns. You will find them everywhere. "Many will say, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you, away from me you evildoers.'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

We see that these people who truly believed that they would make it into heaven by their works are turned away into eternity of hell. They prophesied! They cast out demons! Yet they were still thrown into the lake of fire for eternity. Why? Why did these people who followed God in their lives become a part of the death in hell?

Well, probably for many reasons. But one of the reasons is because they were not Reborn, or because they were Reborn and then slid away. In Revelation 2:4-5 it says, "Yet I have this against you, you have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things which you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place." 

This verse shows that there are many who are Reborn, yet they fall away from the first love that they had with their savior. There are so many people who accept that Jesus is the Savior of their lives, but they will never come to make Jesus as Lord. They begin to break the second commandment  of the bible which says, "Do not create for yourself any graven image." Do you know what that means? It means that when people say things like, "My God is a forgiving God, and I can do what I want and ask for forgiveness later," or, "I don't think Jesus would be too upset with what I did...." They are creating for themselves a made up God.

It says in Isaiah 55:9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." God cannot be confined to humans ideas of Him. He is far more just and perfect than we can ever imagine. Yet people walk around with a fixed idea of what Jesus is like, and how many excuses He will make for their lives. Don't be caught into that mentality. When we lose our fear of the Lord, then that is a scary place to be.

Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." You want to be counted in the number of Reborn? Then change your heart and way of thinking to match the Father's. Fear the Lord. What does it mean to fear the Lord? "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." (Proverbs 8:13a)

One thing that you must always remember: To be Reborn isn't a once in your lifetime thing... To be Reborn must be a daily occurrence. "If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously." (Matthew 16:24b)

Become Reborn. Follow Christ with your whole being, and accept your appointment to meet with God and learn more about him daily. I believe that if you aren't already doing this, you will become so.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8