Monthly Archives: July 2023

What is the New Life Given By God?

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There has been a lot said about having your own personal “come to Jesus” moment. What a wonderful moment that is! It is the special moment we realize that we cannot live rightly. It is the time we see that we are being destroyed by our sins. It is the instant we see we are dead spiritually in those sins.

That moment, when we see we need the gift of New Life, is when change in our hearts begins. However, we may lack understanding of what that means. If we don’t understand, we will never fully receive the gift we have been given. This is because when we are given New Life in Jesus, we are to live in this New Life! New Life means a new spiritual heart. New Life means new desires, new thoughts- centered on God’s Word, and new feelings — the peace, joy, and love of God.
This is how we are to live and experience the New Life. If we are living short of this experience, we are living short of the best that God desires for us.
Jesus described this New Life by a term that is very familiar, but must be realized in our lives for us to have the New Life that is offered to us. This term is to be “Born again.”
In John 3 there is an account of a religious man who had a “come to Jesus” moment too. He came because He knew Jesus was from God,and He knew what Jesus did was amazing. But He did not “Know” Jesus at that point. This is not much different than us today when we come to Jesus. We know Jesus is good and He does amazing things, but we don’t “Know” Him intimately.
Jesus immediately told the man this:

“Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.””
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says “To be born, is to be produced or brought into life.” We are all born physically into the life we are now living here in our flesh, but there is a New Life that “is produced or brought into our lives “ when we are Born Again. We are changed by this New Life in our manner of living and conduct. This is because God’s life- manner of living and conduct- is flowing in us!

This “New Life” isn’t just a life we get in eternity but it is life we experience now! What a gift!
May we not only have our “come to Jesus moment,” but may we be changed by it as we receive this New Life that is Born in us! Because Jesus says to us what He said to Nicodemus long ago:

“You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

That is where the New Life Begins!

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 12: Reading the Bible Daily Gives Us a Desired Closeness to God.

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When people are asked about the time they feel the closest to God, there are a variety of answers such as: “I feel the closest to God when I am in nature.” “… when I look at. A night sky.” “…when I hold a newborn baby.” etc…

We may feel a sense of God’s presence each of these times. Our hearts may long to know the one who created these things.

BUT there is a sure fire way to be close to God or to KNOW Him. That is to KNOW His word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NIV

Jesus is the Word. The Word and God are one. They are inseparable. In order to know Jesus in a close and intimate relationship we must know His Word because He speaks to us through His Word.

I’ve been hitting pretty hard the past two weeks on the point that we all need to read, study, memorize, and take in God’s Word. That is because won’t really know God until we know His Word. God has made us for relationship with Him. He longs for us to know Him because He loves us!

If we want to experience the closeness of God, we must experience the life changing power of God’s Word.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalms 19:7-10, 14 NIV

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 11: The Truth in the Bible Answers Life’s Most Basic Question, “What is My Purpose?”

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(Written specifically to my Millennial and Gen Z friends)

The Millennial’s and Gen Z’s generations combined could easily be described as the next “Lost Generation.” This title is not a new one. It described the generation who came of age during World War 1. They were described as “intellectuals and creatives” who lost faith and traditional values and ideals after witnessing the carnage and death of WW1. They were described as “hedonistic, rebellious, and aimless—“lost.””
I believe we are here once again. In your lifetime you have either witnessed or felt the effects of 9/11, a drastic increase of mass shootings, a global pandemic, and what seems to be unprecedented corruption in political arenas, etc… Life seems to be pointless…
UNLESS you know the Author of Life- God! As Creator of All, He has the right to define us and give us the knowledge of the purpose for which we have been created. This knowledge is found in our Creator’s Book, The Bible! If we are ignorant of what Scripture defines as our purpose we will live believing we are nothing more than “The Lost Generation” and our lives will reflect that sad reality. Without knowledge of the purposes of God as defined by His Word, the Bible, we truly are “aimless and lost.”
One other characteristic of “The Lost Generation” of the 1920’s that “The Lost Generation Now” shares is you are “intellectuals and creatives.” You see what is going on and want what is real. You are sick of pretending. You want the Truth!
God has declared that Truth! It is in His Word!

“Your Word is truth.” John 17:17


But you will never experience a life living in Truth if you do not engage the Bible you likely have in your home or on your phone and become intimately aware of its content.
God has created you with a purpose. It is to know Him and to make Him known. Your life will be unfulfilled and aimless until you commit yourself to pursuing your purpose!
I am attaching a song that I would encourage you to listen to. I believe it is an anthem to your generation.
True Life, with purpose, only comes in knowing God and Jesus who He sent! We come to know Him through His Word!

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

(Information on the Lost Generation from the article “The Lost Generation: Who They Are and Where The Name Came From
By Sunny Jane Morton
April 7, 2020”)

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 10:

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The Truth of the Bible is Greater Any Human Field of Science. Reading and Studying the Bible Connects Us to that Truth!
During the years of professional counseling that I went through, there were two statements made by the counselors that were dangerous to internalize.

  1. “I don’t know what the Bible says, but I do know what science says.”
  2. “The Bible backs up science.”
    These two statements are pretty common in our culture because we have elevated Science (our human knowledge) of any kind to a higher position than God and His Word.
    This is not a new sin. It actually is the original sin. The serpent tempted Eve in the garden.

““You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Science, which is defined as knowledge, has been wrong in the past when it contradicted God’s word. (Remember the general Scientific thought of Columbus’s time was the earth is flat. Disproved by Isaiah 40:22 written long before Columbus.) Science has changed as new discoveries have come along. Consider the common thoughts over the past 50 years about a human baby, “fetus”. The technology of ultrasound has given us views that discredits the Scientific thought of just a few years ago. That “scientific knowledge “ was used in support of abortion. Our laws have changed because our “scientific theories” have changed. But I can tell you God’s Word has not changed! It is always on the right side of social debates 💯 of the time!

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is dangerous to build our lives on Scientific theories that discredit the Truth of the Bible. God’s Word is always first! It is also dangerous to believe that God’s Word confirms Science. Ultimately, Science will confirm God’s Word! History has proven that true!
This is why we must KNOW our Bibles (God’s Word)! There is so much bad information in our world. There is so much confusion. But only one Truth has stood the test of time, God’s Word!
When Scientific thought contradicts what the Word of God says, beware! Culturally it is more acceptable to go with Science as the ultimate authority. As believers, may it never be so with us! God’s Word is Truth! There is no other truth! God’s Word is the Way! There is no other Way!

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 9:

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Reading the Bible and receiving it into your heart allows the Word of God to work in you.

When we really see ourselves for what we are without God, we understand how desperate we are for God to work in our lives. From the moment we are conceived sin begins its work within us. We are all broken by its effects. We understand the truth of these words, SIN DESTROYS! Because we all have experienced the fruit of sin— our bad choices and actions. But there is something stronger than the sin that can works in our lives. It is the Word of God, the Bible. It has an opposite effect on us. It gives life! But in order for the Word to work in is we have to receive it.

“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV

God wants to break the power of the sin working in us. But we have to receive the Word of God in order for that power to be broken.

We can call out to God in prayer and ask for Him to work in our lives and to change us and that is good! But He does that work inside of us by His Word! This is why it is imperative that we take the Word of God into us by reading the Bible, thinking on what it says throughout our day, internalizing it by memorizing it, etc. If we want the Word to work we must take it in.

I’m doing laundry right now. I could run my machine all day long, over and over on the same load, just the water. It might help a little. But if I want the clothes clean I must apply the soap.

You and I can live our lives to the best of our abilities. But if we want to experience God working in our life we must apply the WORD! May we ask ourselves, what is at work in me sin that comes naturally, or the Word that must be received and applied?

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 8:

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Reading the Bible Decreases the Likelihood of Living Your Life in Error.
When I was in high school I took classes on computer programming. In fact, when I started college it was my major (one semester of College Algebra and all the college level math changed my mind on that one… 😂) However programming I enjoyed!
Programming in the 80’s in Basic or Pascal languages was tedious. One little semi colon or asterisk off and the whole function you worked on would not work. It was in error!
Our lives as Christians are much like a computer program I would create in the 80’s. One little detail not built on the truth of God’s Word and we are in error.
Jesus warned against this:

“Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

These words were spoken to men who thought they knew God and His ways. But their “error” came from not really knowing the Scriptures, or in our terminology- the Bible. They also did not know the power of God. Their “error” kept their hearts far from the God they thought they had figured out by their own ways and traditions.
Our culture promotes views of God that simply are in Error. Our traditions and our ways can put us in Error as well.
God does not fit into a box that we define and create for Him. Because God is the one who defines and creates. The only way to not be in Error in how we see God is to know Him by how He defines Himself. That would only be in Scripture!
The question remains… How do I know if I am in Error in my thoughts, my feelings, my life?

“For the kingdom of God is… of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Do you have peace? Do you know you are in right standing with God- no sin separating you from Him? Are you experiencing His joy?
If you live in God’s Kingdom, His rule and reign, this will be your daily experience.
If you are in turmoil, distanced from God by sin, and living in depression and sadness, ask God to show you if you are “in error”. Could this “error” be because you do not know God through His Word?
Reading the Bible daily, memorizing it, and practicing what it says is what keeps us from living our lives in Error.

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 7:

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Reading the Bible Decreases the Likelihood of Believing False Teaching.
“God helps those who help themselves”, “Live your truth”, “Follow your heart”, “Good Karma/ Bad Karma”, “My place of Zen”… Although these phrases may seem to be “spiritual”, they ARE NOT scriptural, or according to the Bible. So they are lies!
In fact these phrases are described in the Bible:

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV

Not only are they lies, they are deadly to your spiritual life and relationship with God. You cannot mix God’s truth with the world’s lies.
They are False Teaching! With so many ideologies in the world and so many paths a person chooses from to find peace how does a person discern what is truth? The answer to that question is: “Does it line squarely up with scripture?”
Jesus spoke of there being two different foundations one can build their life upon, rock or sand.
The rock is His Word. Building your life on His Word requires “hearing” His Word- reading, studying, memorizing, talking about, etc. And then practicing- obeying and living your life according to His Word.
The sand is the ways of the world around us. We are surrounded by its influence so we hear it, we read about it, we study it, and we talk about it naturally.
It requires a choice to deliberately STOP building on the sand- believing the lies, and go to the Rock, Jesus- the Truth!
There is no middle ground to build upon. We cannot build on Rock and sand and think our house will stand. If we truly know the Bible, we will not embrace false teaching and be deceived with lives left in ruin!

“”Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 6:

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Bible Reading Lessens Your Chances of Sinful Behavior.

According to the study I have been citing, “Scientific Evidence for the Power of Four.”
“Christians who are engaged in scripture most days of the week have lower odds of participating in these behaviors. “Getting drunk= 57 % lower odds, Sex outside of marriage= 68% lower odds, Pornography =61% lower odds, Gambling=84% lower odds… For those behaviors where there is an effect for engaging scriptures two or three days a week, the effect is much smaller than four days a week.”

Sin DESTROYS! I am forever marked in my heart, by a time of reflection at an Ashes to Beauty Encounter Weekend. During a time of prayer at the prayer altars, I knelt in prayer with the woman I asked to go with me for that weekend. She looked up at me and through many tears she said, “I am an addict.” Her meth addiction had destroyed her life and it continues to destroy her life, as far as I know, to this day. She lost her kids, her husband, and her home The last thing I saw of her was a mug shot on Facebook. She could not get the strength to rise above her addiction. The key is “she could not get the strength.”

The truth of the matter is any lasting change in our lives is IMPOSSIBLE without the power of God! I personally know this is true. My struggles with anxiety were futile until I engaged them with the WORD of God. Because my struggles were just that “my struggles!” I can do nothing!!!
I want to be very blunt because the truth is the only thing that sets us free.

“”…Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sin will be an issue for us until we die. We will be tempted to go our own way over and over again. Relationship with Jesus is the only way to live free of sin! Reading God’s Word, Memorizing it, having it as the focus of your mind all day long is the only way to live free of the death, darkness, and destruction that sin brings. We need Jesus every minute of every hour of every day! We need His Word inside of us!

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://bttbfiles.com/web/docs/cbe/Scientific_Evidence_for_the_Power_of_4.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0oUg-1EdoroXtn0fyEJ2mWvkE1dCccxh1aNtqK6UcS3H60HnZhMEAnbfc_aem_AUEvx9S4jFQ_8APUGd_-xIenueEig0bQBatGQmamRfhjbTlTHkKr4hp3O-3XeTae988&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 5:

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Bible Reading can Be Attempted at Home! (In fact it is imperative that it is!)
To be honest with you I had not really seen just how important reading the Bible was until I started writing this series. I knew God wanted me to read the Bible. I knew He mentioned it in His Word. I read my Bible daily, but I did not really see what a priority God wants it to be in our lives. So much so that He inspired the Words of these verses that Jesus, Himself, quoted as the greatest command:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He followed those words with the importance of us knowing, memorizing, and talking about the Word in our homes and to our children:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why is reading, knowing, and memorizing the scripture so important to God? God is His Word and His Word is God!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

That Word is Jesus! If we want to love Jesus with all of our hearts, soul, and strength we have to know Him. I cannot fully love someone I do not fully KNOW!
If we want our families to know Jesus we have to be the ones to introduce Him to them. That is why we need to talk about His Word as we go about our daily lives. We need speak of His Word in our homes. We need to set His Word before us at all times.
But here is the kicker. We cannot impart what we do not have. If we want our families to follow God and experience the benefits of knowing Him. We have to KNOW Him. It starts with US!

Bible Reading Fun Fact Day 4:

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Reading the Bible Is NOT Just For the Professionals.
Many people see the importance of the Bible as God’s Word, but feel like they are not qualified or “spiritual” enough to understand it. It seems important that the professionals (pastors) study the Word because it is necessary that it is preached in a church service. But studying it on our own may be more optional for a regular Christian.
This mindset will stunt your spiritual growth!
The Apostle Peter presents an analogy on spiritual growth that occurs when we read and study the Word as new Christians or simply as the ones who are not “the professionals.”

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Word of God is like the pure milk of a mother to her nursing child. It is exactly what we need to grow. Out of a Mother’s life she yields food for her baby. The Word of God is living. It is life to us! And there is nothing more tender than a baby, held close to its mother receiving exactly what that baby needs. Our God is tender towards us! He wants to hold us close to Him and will feed us tenderly with the pure milk of His Word!
Here’s the most beautiful thing about this illustration, Peter, says we are to CRAVE the Word of God! When Aaron was born, He wanted to nurse every 2 hours. He was wearing me out! Lol. He CRAVED the milk that would make him grow strong!

All of us come to God as Babies. We need to grow in our love for Him. We need to experience His love and tenderness! We need to CRAVE His Word! And like a nursing baby, once we figure out how to latch on, or receive the Word from God, by reading the Bible for ourselves, we will get a taste of just how Good it is! We will see how satisfying a daily, moment by moment relationship with Him is! We will CRAVE it! We were created to experience that kind of desire for God and His Word and we will not be fulfilled in our lives— living in joy, peace and love— until we truly taste and see how good our God is!

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Based on “The New Life”- Andrew Murray