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Thursday, July
17, 2008
Happy Birthday
John 3:3-7 Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born
when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be
born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6)
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. (7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again. (KJV)
Light the candles, break out the cake,
let’s all gather around and celebrate an occasion that’s only half right
and only half the equation, that being the physical birth into the realm of
the flesh. While it is a blessing to be born into this realm healthy, it is
the second birth or rebirth that is so much more vital yet so overlooked.
Now that you have arrived and have been a part of this physical realm,
unless you are reborn into the realm of the Spirit you cannot see or give
an accurate account of what is happening in that realm. Happiness is an
emotion, one based on happenings, while the joy of the Lord is our
strength, one that will only be found in the realm of the Spirit. Once one
is born again, which the Bible says all heaven rejoices when one sinner
repents, talk about a party with your spiritual candle being lit so that
you can see the path of life and walk in the love, joy, and peace of God as
well as receiving the gift of life which is eternal. With that in mind
which realm are you operating in today and which birth has priority in your
life, the physical or the spiritual?
1 Corinthians 2:9-12 But as it is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (10)
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. (11) For what man knoweth the
things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things
of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (12) Now we have received,
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God. (KJV)
The Lord has set a table for you and
provided a spiritual meal as well to celebrate your new birth into the
realm of the Spirit. Keep in mind though, that this only takes place in the
realm of the Spirit, a realm our Lord operates in and desires for you too
as well. Unless you are able to see clearly for yourself the things of God,
how could you ever give an accurate account of what is taking place and
what God has done to provide salvation and a new birth for you? While many
are so caught up with physical traditions and doctrines of man, being half
right does not make you all right, but rather leaves you on the outside
trying to see through a veil. Just like these people that get saved and then
think it is their duty to witness to the cults, or what they perceive as
cults, by reading other peoples scripts on how to handle these situations.
Talk about dumb and dumber; unless you can see and know for yourself what
the word of God truly says and means you have no reason engaging in these
endless strivings and contentions that pull you down rather than build you up.
Just like when you were born and had parents that celebrated your arrival
into this realm, you have a spiritual Father in heaven that wishes to give
you of His kingdom by opening your eyes to His truth so that you can walk
in the liberty of Christ. So while many observe days, and months, times and
seasons, some in the form of birthdays, keep in mind that there needs to be
a rebirth day if one really wishes to have something to celebrate. And you
parents that are quick to run out and buy gifts to please the child, have
you given them the greatest gift and presented them with the eternal gift
of life available in Christ, or are you just focusing on temporal things
that never last? Every year when a certain date comes along you are quick
to remind, and I am sure you are reminded by the child that their birthday
is soon, but are you as quick to remind them as well as yourself how
important it is that they partake of the new birth in order to receive the
gift of life?
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)
You know these children you claim to love
and want nothing but the best for them, are you showing them the things of
God and the importance of His gift, or are you more concerned with putting
on a good party? As a parent you warn your child of the many dangers in the
physical realm, but do you teach them the consequences of the spiritual
one, you know that realm that lasts for eternity and not this temporal one?
Yet with this in mind, if I was to ask you honestly which one gets the most
attention I would be willing to say that most of the focus was on cake and
ice cream, and not spirit and life. Next time you decide to gather around
and start singing happy birthday ask yourself if there will really be a
celebration of birth, a rebirth into the realm of God to see all that He
has provided for His people. The gift you give and focus your attention on,
is it really the gift of God which leads us to eternal life, or is it on the
temporal, keeping the attention and focus limited to the carnal fallen
realm of mankind?
1 Peter 1:22-25 Seeing ye have purified
your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of
the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: (23)
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the
word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as
grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass
withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the
Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is
preached unto you. (KJV)
With our lives being described in the
book of James as being a mist or a vapor that appears for a short time then
vanishes, as well as a flower that blossoms for a short time and then withers
way, which realm are you looking at today to keep yourself pure? Again we
see the word purified, which refers to being free from carnality, believing
the pure word of God which allows us to see His true meaning and intent for
our lives. With a life in the flesh so short lived and yet so useless in
its way of thinking, why do so many still point more to the physical realm
than the spiritual? You see for yourself how in order to be purified it
takes living spiritual waters to cleanse the soul and keep it pure from
manmade additives and doctrines. So with this in mind, next time certain
dates come along and you are reminded of certain births, which one will you
be pointing yourself as well as others too, something temporal or eternal?
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