BORN AGAIN
Spiritual rebirth takes place the moment the prayer of repentance is said. God honours the commitment and regenerates the spirit of the person who comes to Him in prayer for salvation and that person becomes born again. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.“ (2 Cor. 5:17)
This means that your slate is wiped clean – the past pages of your book of life are no longer taken into account by God and spiritually, you’re literally born again. After all, you are a spiritual being - and for the very first time you are spiritually connected to God and have access to the throne of God. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: “ (Col 1:13)
You are no longer spiritually dead. From this point forward the Holy Spirit takes up residence within your spirit and the Kingdom of God is now within you.
THAT OLD MAN
The new “entries” in your book of life are going to have some serious opposition from the former pages of your book of life. These former pages are known as your “old man”. Basically, they are the recorded memories of the activities of and the blueprint for your former life. They were not erased. If they were, you would now be suffering from amnesia and your new life would not have any meaning, for how would one distinguish the one from the other if one’s soul is emptied of all its content? In other words, there would be no consciousness of a past sinful life and, therefore, no need of a new re-born life.
So, your mind is going to have to take control of the situation and assert itself when the old man comes visiting. Paul has this to say about that old man lurking in the wings, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Eph 4:22-24)
And also, “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” (Col 3:9,10)
Yes, that old man of the flesh will be persistent, trying his luck until he finally fades away in the distant past. It is going to be a matter of constantly renewing your mind to the fact that there is a new boy on the block and he is the one who will be in charge of the book of life. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom 12:2)
Transformation is the process of diminishing the influence of the former old man of the flesh and finally eliminating him from the scene forever so that in future your book of life no longer needs to look over its shoulder.
You’ve made the necessary change to your book of life and there is no doubt that all the other “books of life” within your family circle and those of friends will question your new style of “writing” unless, of course, they have also made a change. It is expected of you to relay the good news to all who are in need of a change. You will find that it comes (super) naturally, for you now possess an inborn zeal for the things of God and will want to join a Bible-based church for fellowship and teaching.
THE KINGDOM WITHIN YOU
When you were born again, that is, when the change to your book of life took effect, you also severed your allegiance to the kingdom that held you captive. You did not need to lift a finger to accomplish this. It was an automatic transfer, forming part of your privileges as a new subject or citizen of the Kingdom of God. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" (Col 1:12-14)
You might not be able to see that Kingdom, but you are living and moving in it as a son under the reign and protection of its King, Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that you have begun to feel alien to this world. You are in this world but no longer of this world. You are here as an ambassador for the Kingdom of God and your mission is to influence the lives of those still needing to make a change to their book of life. When your mission is accomplished, you will be recalled. "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20,21)
While you are in this world all your needs will be met by God using the resources of this world. Your secular employer does not know it, but he has become God’s treasurer just for you. Therefore, a sudden promotion or salary increase for you will not be out of the question at all. The entire Universe and everything in it belongs to God. "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." (Ps 50:10) That’s a lot of cattle considering that every inch of earth is a hill above the sea. And God can convert them to cash or other goods in a blink of an eye.
While still in this world you are going to face persecution from others – even your own family – but God has equipped you with spiritual weapons to overcome your adversaries. Your strongest weapon is the Name of Jesus and you may use this Name against the most powerful of enemies. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)
Your main battle will be against the spiritual forces of darkness, but they are no match for the Name that has already overcome them. "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17.18)
The greatest step you could ever have taken was to make that change to your book of life. Your next step is to join a church group so that you can grow in your walk in the Faith of Jesus Christ. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20)
What more could anyone want in life?
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