Sunday, Jan. 31: To owe or not to owe, that is the question!

At times I think each of us struggles by measuring our own actions. We evaluate those actions against the behavior of others, against our own past activities and against those of Jesus. Of course, the latter is the key, as we know that He never sinned. Additionally, He never acted in a way to glorify Himself, but instead, those actions always pointed to His Father.


On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews go to the temple, fasting and praying, and reflect upon the previous year. Basically, if they have accomplished more good deeds than bad deeds, they assess that they are good people. So basically, the wealth of labor dictates the final result. That is the same system most people in the world desire, but it is not the system that God has constructed.


God’s measurement is not a balance sheet, filled with our assets and our liabilities. Instead, He has told us in His Word:


23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 6:23-26


The word sin in the Greek is “hamartia,” and the term comes from archery. When a shot did not hit the bull’s-eye, it was called a sin. It didn’t have to be far from the target, but even the narrowest of misses was still considered sin. That’s the same in our lives, where we can have the best intent, and still miss by the narrowest of margins. In God’s eyes, that is still sin. A great example would be a white lie, even with the intent of not hurting someone’s feelings.


God knew that we could not live perfect lives, so He put a plan in place to remove that sin from our lives. In order to remove the sin, we need a scapegoat. Yet before we see the need for a scapegoat, we have to recognize the spiritual condition we are in without God. We are spiritually destitute! When faced with a righteous God, we have absolutely nothing to offer! All of the people who found themselves in the presence of God in the Bible felt so unworthy they put their faces in the dirt! We are able to have a relationship with God only because He allows that relationship. Can you begin to imagine why the Creator of all would want to have relationship with us? It’s a kind of love we never have been faced with.


4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, Romans 4:4-5


Which system do you want to be on? If judged on works, you certainly will be found to owe, and the penalty will be far worse than debtor’s prison!


23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 3:23

Saturday, Jan. 30: His sheep hear His voice!

A frequent statement in Christian conversations is, “The Lord told me to do this.” While there certainly are people throughout the Bible and throughout history who heard God’s voice audibly, I am not one of those. Don’t get me wrong, I would like to. At least that is what I say now, for in truth, it would depend upon the situation. It might scare me to death. If I was in the position of Job in chapters 38-40 with God questioning me for my failures, I would want to crawl under a rock and hide. Yet we all know that we can’t hide from God. As stated before, God speaks to us in a variety of ways. With some people, He gives dreams and visions.


28 "And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
Joel 2:28-29 (NKJV)


I guess that is one of the ways of telling whether or not I am an old man or a young man at the ripe age of 50. Does God speak to me through visions (images in my waking hours) or through dreams (images in my sleeping hours)? Most of the time, God speaks to me through His Word. I will read a verse and all of a sudden, will feel my mind racing toward how that verse needs to be applied to my current situation. I also love the way I can just open the Bible and the one verse that catches my eye first, that’s one verse of the 54,387 that are in there, seems to apply so directly to the present! God uses people, places, and a variety of other sources to speak to us. How many times have you been in church when the pastor seemed to be speaking directly to you? I remember a time when the pastor’s description of a scenario was so picturesque that it only could be pertaining to me, and I was a first-time guest in that church. Did the pastor know that his words were falling on needing ears? Probably not, but that is often how God works.


Recently, everywhere I turned a particular verse kept popping up. After a number of these occurrences, I began to study the verse and find more about its meaning in context. That is a key to studying the Bible, for taking verses out of context rarely gives us the true meaning. Once I understood the verse, I began to apply it to a needed area in my life. I guess that wasn’t enough, for God kept sharing the verse with me in the most unlikely positions. What I discovered was that I was applying the meaning of the verse with my brain, rather than with my heart. Until I took the time to listen in the context of what God desired, He was going to keep reminding me. Jesus told His disciples that reminding us is exactly what the Holy Spirit will do:


25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 14:25-26 (NKJV)


One thing to keep in mind, can you remember something that you never have experienced? A memory involves fishing something out of the past, rather than experiencing something anew. In order to remember a lesson, or even a verse, you need to have experienced it first. In the case of a verse, the key is to read the Bible!


If you are feeling a strong prodding from God, how do you know that it is His voice, and not your own heart, or worse, a demonic oppression? Balance it against the Word of God. If it conflicts what God tells you in His Word, it is not His voice! Additionally, the more difficult task for us is to balance that prodding against our own hearts. Are you feeling God wants you to do something simply because you want it very badly? For example, what if I told you that God was telling me to go out and buy a Lamborghini? Does that sound like the kind of thing that God would tell me to do in His Word? No! He does tell us that we should be of one Accord! Are there ways I could spend the money that God has given me much more wisely than buying a car that expensive? Certainly! Yet, there could be situations that God has told someone to do exactly that. What if He wanted the buyer to speak about Him to the salesman? The more common answer here, though, is that this person is probably hearing the voice of their own heart, rather than the voice of God. The Lord tells us about our own hearts:


9 "The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV)


Lesson number one in hearing God is to find a quiet place and read His Word. One pastor reminded us that if you want to hear God’s voice, read His Word out loud! He loves you and desires a close relationship with you. How can you have a close relationship without communication? Prayer is an awesome gift, as it enables us to speak to the Creator of the universe any time we want. Yet what is truly more important, us speaking to God or God speaking to us? He has many more important words for us! Listen!

Friday, Jan. 29: Do you hear His voice?

My older sister told me a story of a woman who attended her church. She was in her 80’s and lived in a nursing home. One night while in bed, she felt a strong prodding from the Lord to go across the hall and speak with a woman who had moved into the facility that day. She told the Lord that she would go over there first thing in the morning, but again, she felt Him urging her to go at that moment. After the struggle continued a few more times, she finally put on her robe and ventured across the hall. The new resident was awake, and the two women sat and talked. Of course, the discussion quickly turned to the subject of Jesus Christ, and after a while, the new resident invited Jesus into her heart as Lord and Savior. The joyful and dutiful woman returned to her own room for a restful sleep and slept later than normal, having been up most of the night. She awoke to much activity and asked what was going on.


“The woman across the hall, who only moved in yesterday, passed away last night, poor dear,” said the attendant.


God speaks to us all in different ways. Some people are much more sensitive to the still, small voice within. Some people feel God speaking the loudest when they are reading the Bible. Others seem to be more aware of their dreams. Some of us need God to tell us numerous times. When God is trying to get me to understand a particular verse, that verse pops up so often that it couldn’t be a mere coincidence! But if we are the Lord’s we do hear His voice:


25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. 26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:25-28 (NKJV)


What if the woman would not have heeded the voice of God? I guess a better way of looking at the situation is that she did, for God had a purpose and a plan. I can’t help but imagine that the woman had friends or family who had been praying for her salvation. Though that intercessory prayer might have gone on for years, they might not know the result until they arrive in heaven and see her. To me, those are the sweetest prayers, as they are devoid of selfish motive. Both Paul and Moses were willing to give up their own salvation if God would not save their people! Do you have a heart for evangelism like that? I don’t think I do, but God is not finished with me. Yet all of us have those special people in our lives that we would love to bring to the Lord, as we know the joy and peace it would add to their lives, and we want to share eternity with them. Sometimes, God will use us in those lives. Yet sometimes, He won’t. This verse is very interesting:


1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
Matthew 11:1 (NKJV)


Jesus commanded His disciples to go out and spread the gospel. While they were busy in the Lord’s work, He was teaching and preaching to their families and friends! Sometimes, we lose sight of the master plan of the omnipotent God. He is so much bigger than we imagine. He loves us, and knows the hearts that He gave us. If those hearts are grieving for our lost family and friends, He will go to them. What makes us think that He has to use us?


53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 "And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13:53-58 (NKJV)


Even the people who knew Jesus as a boy had trouble seeing God in Him. It’s difficult for the people from our past to see anything more in us than the person they used to know. If you ask any of my friends from 20 years ago about my godly influence in their lives, they simply would laugh loudly. Yet with God’s help and my continued prayers, some of those people might find the Lord and see a different person when they look at me.


At my younger sister’s wedding, one of her friends noticed the change in my life and told me that when she was a freshman, they had an all-night prayer meeting with the focus being my salvation! It made me cry, for once again, those prayers have such an unselfish nature. Additionally, those prayers powerfully were answered.


When the Lord puts it on your heart to share His love with your unsaved friends and family, be obedient. But if you feel a closed door, spend your time in prayer for them, stay busy in what He has commanded you, and leave it to Him. He won’t let you down!

Thursday, Jan. 28: God, where are You?

On my hikes, I often seek out the lakes where I can take photos of the reflection in the water. Sometimes, the colors in the water are even more vibrant than the ones being reflected. Yet when the wind ripples the water, the reflection disappears. It has nothing to do with the depth of the water, as only the surface is affected by the wind. That reminds me of the old adage, “Still waters run deep,” describing that there is much more beneath the surface of a quiet exterior. While those who quietly and introspectively go through life, pretentious people point to themselves in every action, desiring the attention of others in order to make themselves feel important. It points to pride, and according to the Bible,


18 Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Proverbs 16:18-19 (NKJV)


Pride was the reason for the fall of Satan, and is certainly the downfall of every man. In Greek mythology, Narcissus fell in love with a reflection in a pool, not knowing that it was his own. Unable to walk away from that beauty, he perished there. Instead of trying to see our own faces in the reflection, we should look for the face of God, our Creator, who can’t take His eyes off His creation!


The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
Psalms 23:1-2 (NKJV)


Those still waters are a place of sustenance and a place of peace. When you are hot and tired, there’s nothing that tastes better than a cool drink of water. When Elijah ran from Jezebel and found himself exhausted and depleted far from home in a cave, the Lord came to him, nourished him and restored him. All around Elijah was tumult: an earthquake, fire and a powerful wind.


11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD. ' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
1 Kings 19:11-12 (NKJV)


When the tumult subsided, Elijah heard the still, small voice. It is in those times beside the still waters that we see the Lord, feel His presence and hear His voice. That’s pretty difficult to do in our bustling world, where we find difficulty existing without a television blaring, an IPOD keeping our ears occupied, or a computer eating more time than we ever realized. Do you want to hear God’s voice? Read His Word, but don’t forget what He said,


10 Be still, and know that I am God;
Psalms 46:10 (NKJV)


It takes that stillness to see His reflection, and know He has never left your side. Even with the ripples, He was there. You just couldn’t see Him!

Wednesday, Jan. 27: Whose battle is it?

God’s creation is so amazingly different. We can go from the cool, moist breeze and warm, fine sand of an ocean; to the dry, oven-like air of the desert, to the crisp, clean pine smell of the mountains. In California, you can do all of those in a couple of hours. God’s diversity in creation demonstrates His artistry, and amazingly, each of those places tugs at our hearts differently. Personally, I am a mountain man. I can’t tell you why, but I can tell you that I become a different person when scaling the heights.


Part of it, certainly, is the solitude, as with each step becoming increasingly difficult, there just aren’t many people willing to do the work to get to the top. You don’t see hot dog stands along the way! In fact, a mountain top is one of the few places where you can see what God made, instead of what man made. There’s nothing like a storm in the mountains, either. The lightning and thunder seem to be right on top of you, and the raindrops don’t have far to fall. It seems like the height of the mountains holds the clouds back and the storm just hovers there.


All that being said, my favorite part of climbing a mountain is the view. It seems to change with every single step. Depending on the difficulty of the hike or climb, we don’t always take the time to turn around. Rarely in life do we take the time to reflect on what has been accomplished in our lives, but on a mountain, each step is another accomplishment. Sometimes, I get lost in my pursuit of the summit and forget to pursue the enjoyment of each step of the journey. But each time my lungs start to ache, and I take a needed rest, I turn around and see how far I’ve come, how small everything looks below and how different the perspective is from the spot I’m standing in.


This journey called life is a lot like that. Think of David in the Valley of Elah, approaching the 9’9” Goliath without fear, for he knew that it was not his battle, but the Lord’s. Battles are fought in valleys, the low places of our lives. When you are faced with an enemy, and that enemy is upon you, everything seems so big. When the battle is over, you return home to the mountains. Looking down on the valley, what seemed so large, now appears to be very small and inconsequential.


44 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands."
1 Samuel 17:44-47 (NKJV)


If you are the Lord’s, then your battles are His. David picked up five, smooth stones for his sling. With the first one, he killed Goliath. My guess is that the stones were very small, as that would demonstrate the power of God, rather than the power of man. Did David pick up five stones because he thought he would miss four times? No, he knew that the giant had four brothers, and likely, he would be a target of their vengeance. God has promised that He never will leave nor forsake you. Why do we lose sight of the fact that anything in our paths, He has allowed to be there? If your enemy or trial is large, don’t forget that your God is larger! After the battle, get out of the valley and climb the mountain. With each step, you can see where you came from. Notice that you can’t see where you are going, but you know that it is going to be beautiful when you get there. If you take the time to turn around, you can look back and see where you were in the past. That perspective often brings a memory of God’s hand in getting you through the difficulties, even to the point that sometimes, it’s hard to believe you were ever down there on the valley floor!


I heard a story of a man who had a sweet dog, but the man never allowed the dog in the house. The dog would sit outside and sniff at the door, waiting for his master to open that door. More than anything, the dog wanted to go inside. It had nothing to do with what was inside, but it had everything to do with who was inside. Heaven is the same for us! We don’t know what it’s going to be like when we get there, but we know Who will be there! We can’t see the mountaintop, but we know the view will be great and that it will have been well worth the journey when we arrive…and when we dwell in the house of the Lord forever!

Tuesday, Jan. 26: Are you thirsty?

Soon after becoming a Christian, I was blessed with a trip to the Holy Land. I had intended to go with my church, but when that trip cancelled, I chose to tag along with four other churches. Though at the beginning of the trip I didn’t know anyone, by the end of the trip we were like family. Being able to see so many of the places described in the Bible brought God’s Word alive to me. Years after the trip, I still can picture the land, the people and the sites. One of our memorable stops was not biblical in nature, but still gave a meaningful biblical lesson.


Located on the west coast of Israel near Caesarea we visited the remnant of a Roman aqueduct. In 8 miles, the aqueduct lowered by only a manner of inches, to enable the constant flow of water. The Romans understood the necessity for water. Though we can do without food for six weeks and still survive, water is much more important for our survival. Yet all water is not the same. In the background is the Mediterranean Sea, yet its far-reaching, salty waters could not supply our needs for thirst. In the same manner, Jesus is our Living Water. He can supply our every need, if we only let Him. That involves faith, knowing that He will take care of us. When we turn to the world to supply those needs, it is like drinking from the salty sea, instead of from the Fountain of Life. The water might look the same to our eyes, but that is only in appearance. It would leave us thirstier, and eventually, would destroy us!


7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)


13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
John 4:13-14 (NKJV)

Monday, Jan. 25: He will stretch you if you like it or not!

Jan. 25, 2010:



In the summer of 1981, I endured basic training at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. One of the many learning experiences of the summer was the confidence course. It was a series of obstacles designed to stretch the limits of each cadet, both individually and collectively. I remember walking across a balance beam made from logs, over 50 feet in the air. One of the most difficult obstacles was a very large tower. It resembled a high-rise building without the exterior walls. To ascend the tower, each cadet had to reach up to the next floor with a reverse grip and basically, pull your feet up over your head in an upward somersault. Each floor became a bit scarier, as your height above the ground increased. The ground began to feel like it was a long way down, and it was covered in sawdust to break your fall, if need be. In hindsight, I can’t tell you how many floors this structure had, but it seems like it was 100 feet tall at the least. My guess is it was more like 50 feet. Once you made it to the top, you had to come down. If going up was difficult, going down was going to be a real joy, as now, you grabbed the floor and did a forward somersault, then pulled your feet inward to the floor you could not see.


What was the point of this exercise, and the others on this difficult day? To remind each cadet in no uncertain terms that the limits we put on ourselves are very arbitrary. They largely are based on fear of what may occur, and what we visualize is a loss of life or limb. Once the day was over, each of us was able to look back and see how much more we were able to accomplish than we ever would have dreamed. Part of it had to do with the helping hands and encouraging words from classmates, but another part had to do with simply, the attempt. Or should I say attempts. Sometimes, there were failed attempts, but after wiping off the sawdust, sticking a band-aid on the scrape, and getting your courage up again, there was always another attempt.


Do you ever feel like the situations facing you are hopeless? When you look through your eyes, they may appear to be exactly that. Yet God has reminded us to walk by faith, not by sight. He also has given us many promises, and as God is incapable of breaking a promise, we can take those to the bank. Here’s one that we should focus on when facing adversity:


12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NKJV)


God doesn’t put us into situations to make us fail, though we often fail. He puts us into situations where we can learn to rely on His power, rather than our own power. Alone, I will continuously fail, but with God, all things are possible! He never will give us more than we can handle. Are you faced with a great difficulty? Take it as a compliment. He must be telling you that He has made you strong in Him! It might appear to be scary or difficult, but when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with you! His desire is to stretch us, to mold us as a Potter molds clay, so that He can use us for His purposes. Are you willing? If you are not, He is still going to stretch you if you are His. Willingness and obedience are two wonderful attributes in your relationship with the Lord!

Sunday, Jan. 24: God's tears on a soggy world!

Having grown up in the Midwest and on the East Coast, I have seen my share of thunderstorms and torrential downpours. Yet living on the West Coast for the last 20 years, I can count the times on one hand that I have heard the sound of thunder. We just don’t get that kind of weather. This week, we had five days of rain, complete with lightning, thunder and even a tornado. As I was driving down a flooded road, I was reflecting on God’s first rainstorm.


1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 "You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 "also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 "For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made." 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Genesis 7:1-12 (NKJV)


Up until that time, there was not rain! We can see that in an earlier verse in Genesis:


4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
Genesis 2:4-6 (NKJV)


Can you imagine the panic that people must have felt, with the skies opening up? If it never had happened before, you would have no concept of whether it would ever stop, or if it would get worse. Their worst fears were imagined, as God flooded the earth and destroyed His creation, apart from eight people and a representation of each animal.


As I was driving the other night, I began to see that first rain in a different light. Imagine each raindrop as a tear from God. Can you imagine the sadness He felt to destroy His own creation? When we study the book of Revelation, we read about God’s coming judgment on a sinful earth. Though He promised that He never would destroy the earth by flood again, He will destroy the earth in another way. Throughout Revelation, we read about His judgments, but what is most apparent is that even in the midst of judgment, God has grace! His goal is for all to believe, and knowing that what takes most of us to find Him is to be flat on our backs looking up, He often puts us exactly in that position. His grace falls like rain and washes us clean. We are washed daily in His Word. We once were like scarlet, but are now white as snow. And each one of those raindrops represents the pain we place on the heart of God with our sinful lives. After the rainstorm, make a fresh start with Him by confessing your sins and asking for His forgiveness. There's no fresher smell than right after a storm and you can have a fresh start today!

Saturday, Jan. 23: Does your life need a do-over?

Recently, I watched a re-run of "City Slickers," a touching comedy about some old friends in mid-life crisis on a cattle drive. One of the characters, played by Daniel Stern, had made some horrendous life decisions. In the discussion about those decisions, his friends remind him that in some cases it is like playing backyard baseball as a kid when the ball got stuck in the tree. It was a do-over, and in the same sense, they reminded him that his life could be a do-over!
Have you ever felt that way? I know I have! Here I am at 50 without a wife, kids or financial stability. Looking back on my life's decisions, there certainly are many that I would make differently with the amazing gift of hindsight. Yet do we ever want a complete do-over, or just a partial one? Do you really want to go through adolescence again? Final exams? Working in a fast-food restaurant? What would it be like to start over as a baby? I guess what we really want to do is start over and retain all the knowledge of the experiences we have endured, though I could choose to lose some of those memories. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nicodemus of a similar situation:


1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." 3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter 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 "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
John 3:1-8 (NKJV)


Is being born again a do-over? When we decide to live for Jesus, instead of living for ourselves, God wipes the slate clean and we get that do-over! All of our sins are gone, and we no longer have to pay the price of punishment for those sins. What is the punishment? Death, according to Romans 6:23. After we acknowledge the role Jesus played as the Lamb, who takes on the sins of the world, we are not punished with death because He was punished with death for our sins. Just like the law of double jeopardy in a court system, God won't punish the same sin twice!
Is there a residual effect of the sin in our lives? Yes. Sin has ramifications. If you murder a man, then ask for God to forgive you, God will forgive you. Yet, there still might be that prison sentence to contend with. Additionally, to me the more difficult ramifications of that sin occur in the mind. I still remember my sins, though God doesn't. Satan has a way of reminding us of the pleasures associated with sin, rather than the bigger picture of the brokenness that came with the sin. Remember, if there wasn't some pleasure that we experienced with the sin, why would it have such a strong attraction to us?


1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)


God changes our hearts, but we are responsible for the renewing of our minds. How do we go about that? It is a much longer process of filling your mind with the things of God, rather than filling your mind with the things of the world. In order to do that, we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice. I think that is a great picture, for in the Old Testament sacrificial system, they killed an animal on the altar. The reason for this was as a precursor to what Jesus did, as there cannot be forgiveness of sin without the spilling of innocent blood. But a living sacrifice keeps trying to get up off the altar and crawl away. That's why it is a daily process for us. What is the benefit?


Transformation! In the Greek, the word for transformation is metamorpho, from the same word we get metamorphosis. Think of a caterpillar that turns to a butterfly! Are you feeling like you need a do-over in your life? Would you like to stop creeping along, with everyone stepping on you and squishing you as a caterpillar? Want to fly like a beautiful butterfly? Then you need to be born again!