God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello!

I’d like to talk about a subject that I wrote about in post 76 but many people still have questions. The subject-being born again- is not something denominational churches discuss, but it’s integral for a life in God’s kingdom on earth. A kingdom of people who follow the teachings of the Lord and depend on receiving promises and protection from the Lord for our obedience.

“All honor to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again…and God in his mighty power will protect you until you receive salvation because you are trusting in Him.”(1 Peter 3,5)

Let me start with our own births. We are born into the world as imperfect human beings and because of this, we will sin-no question about it. Even that beautiful newborn baby is born into original sin- the sin that Adam and Eve committed that stained our world.

God lets us live our lives as we wish – this is free will. Adam and Eve chose not to listen to God and therefore were thrown out of paradise, a place where they had more than enough of everything. All of us begin our life journey outside of paradise in a sinful world, but we can elevate our lives dramatically by following Jesus’ teachings.

When we read the Bible and pray for guidance, God will communicate with our spirit as to what the right choice is, in every situation of our lives. It is our choice whether we listen or not. Usually later in life, after we have had all of the fun we think we needed and we have suffered the consequences of some very poor choices, we may look toward heaven and wonder if there was a better way.

Yes! There is a better way.

The word “sin” is best described in a book I read that states “Sin means to miss the mark as an archer misses a target, so to sin means to miss the point of human existence. It means to live unskillfully, blindly and thus suffer and cause suffering.”*

So by our very nature we know that we are not all powerful, all knowing and everywhere as God is, so as human beings we will ALWAYS miss the mark without God directing our steps. He has a birds eye view of the world, and He will steer us around sink holes, evil people, diseases, problems and dead end relationships.  All we need to do is ask for His advice!

Can you still be in God’s presence receiving conditional blessings while enjoying those cocktails, living in sin and smoking that funny cigarette?

NO. We actually need to give our whole life over to Him. Every choice is His. Every relationship goes through His vetting. Every activity, vacation, conversation and job we desire, needs God’s input. Conversations are the hardest aspect to this list because they are fluid and you can say something or ask a question that you would have avoided, had you took a moment to think about what God would say. Those bracelets that state “WWJD” meaning “what would Jesus do?” They are an excellent way to stay on the best path for your life, a path of obedience, peace and blessings.

So the basis of our second birth is choosing to die to our flesh (think of the seven deadly sins), while allowing the Holy Spirit (that dwells in every believer) to  help us make the best choices for our lives. And much like the caterpillar that creeps upon the ground thinking his life is great, not realizing what his new life as a butterfly will afford him; when we choose to be born of the spirit, we will soar above the typical problems in life, and do things we never dreamed of doing. Our vision will no longer be limited to our lowly human intellect and ability. God gave us the powerful Holy Spirit to assist us to overcome things like addictions, lack of peace, depression, poor self esteem, stress, and even poverty. He wants His followers to live an abundant life through His help not willpower.

Is it hard to let go of your life? You bet! But is it worth it? Yes! Besides, once you make the choice to set aside your “emotional” choices and follow God, He is like a tailwind helping you stay away from everything that will cause you harm.

We do have to give up things the world sees as fun- but it is really empty fun. What we get in return is guidance away from disaster, guidance towards perfect health, and direction toward our life purpose- among many other things.

The Lord assures us, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you” (Ps 32:8)

I hope someday soon, you will hand over the CEO position of your life to our all loving Father by dying to the flesh and being born of the Spirit. The best place to start is by attending a good church that teaches directly out of the Bible.

“For you have been born again. Your new life didn’t come from your earthly parents because that life will end in death. But this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal  living Word of God.” (1 Peter 23)

All my best,

Lisa

*Tolle, Eckhart. A New Earth… New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Pg 9.(I’m not recommending this book, I simply like the author’s definition of sin.)