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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The process that leads one into the New Birth miracle must follow the procedures below:
First. Surely you heard about the dream of a “new world”. Also, you have heard about the Kingdom of God. Right? In the verse above, we learn that the so dreamed “new world” starts in the person of Jesus, as He is the beginning of a “new creation”. Therefore, the first step to jump into the New Birth process is to acknowledge that Jesus is the Way!
Second. The new replaces the old! So right after accepting the fact that the whole process starts in Jesus, the candidate for the New Birth miracle must let the old things go. How can we identify the old stuff or the wrongs, so that we might let them go? Let’s look at it this way. Turn the commandments, ordinances and laws of God into a precise and perfect mirror, and look to yourself through it. If you are not pleased with what you see, it’s because you have the “old things” that must be left behind. Looking firmly to that mirror (Bible), you will be able to identify the old stuff and let them dwell in the past forever more. (Ex: addictions, gossips, prostitution, adultery, lies, dishonesty, pretense, selfishness, etc.)
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving 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 ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:7-11)
Third. Once you let go of the old things, you are half way. Now the new things must replace the old ones. To go straight to the point, I say that the “new world or new life” starts with the acquirement of God’s mind. When we acquire the thoughts of God, which are higher than ours – Isaiah 55:8,9 – the will of God, His plans and potentiality, become very clear in our eyes and consequently we gain innumerous virtues, among which, the fear of God must be highlighted! But, how can we acquire it?
“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11)
Only the Spirit of God can introduce God’s thoughts to us. Hence, make sure you will do all you can to have Him with you or even better “in” you for all the days of your life!
Posted on January 9th, 2012
Posted on January 4th, 2012
Does God use only “spiritual giants” to do His work on earth? No! Fortunately, it is just common, ordinary, everyday people — like most of us! God chooses these people to do His command and empowers them with supernatural gifts and abilities to succeed.“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28)
This is a remarkable message. When God “calls” people, He tends not to call the “wise ... (the) influential ... (or those) of noble birth”. No, but rather, in His great wisdom, God chooses to use “the foolish ... the weak ... the lowly ... the despised”. Why does God do that? “... So that no one may boast before Him”. God does not need one bit of our natural wisdom, our noble birth, or our influential positions to accomplish His work. If it were so, then such persons might be tempted to boast that their own abilities were at least part of the cause of successful work. But when God extremely uses what the world arrogantly calls foolish, weak, lowly, or despised people, then God alone will receive the glory, as He always must.
The following verses can illustrate the matter:
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16)
“Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:24-27)
“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:9)
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
In short, the smaller you are, the easier you will be overflowing with God’s Spirit, love, life, power, light and wisdom, in order to reach out to those who are thirsty of God.
God Bless.
Posted on November 28th, 2011
In the past, God spoke on various occasions and in different ways. He used dreams, visions and prophecies to convey His will to His dedicated and righteous servants.
Through His Son Jesus, He not only confirmed old prophecies, but also announced the coming of the Kingdom of God and how to take possession of it.
After His death, resurrection and ascension, the Lord Jesus sent the Helper to continue the work of bringing salvation.
Nowadays, the Spirit of God continues to speak, but not by dreams, visions or prophecies. He speaks through His Word – the Holy Bible.
So, the question is: Why did He give us the gift of prophecy?
“But he who prophesies speaks EDIFICATION and EXHORTATION and COMFORT to men.” (I Corinthians 14:03)
As you can see, the gift of prophecy is not to foresee or predict anyone’s future. Its purpose is to edify, exhort and comfort the Church.
How does the Holy Spirit speak? How can you be sure it’s His voice? How can you be sure you’re not being deceived by other voices?
There’s only one way to be sure: By being born of water and the Spirit, obtaining His Divine nature and the power to understand His Word.
Only those who are born of the Spirit are able to recognize when His Spirit speaks to them through the Bible. Have you noticed how many Christians (born of the flesh) have been deceived by the spirit of the antichrist because of biblical interpretations!
We can see what kind of relationship exists between the Father and the Son, when Jesus said:
“No one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27)
When the Holy Spirit’s voice, guidance or inspiration comes from the Word of God, its listener is left with no room for doubts. Especially, when it’s His children. The problem is that their ears aren’t always attentive and ready to hear His voice.
God speaks. He speaks to His children and to others as well. He speaks through His written Word. He speaks through His true servants, while they’re preaching (prophecy) the Gospel. He also uses the opportunity to speak to us when we’re dealing with our everyday problems.
His sweet gentle voice speaks loud and clear, when we find ourselves in the desert. The more alone we feel, the louder and clearer He speaks.
When you separate yourself from your family, friends and coworkers’ polluted words and when you disconnect yourself from the audiovisual pollution of television, internet, radio, newspapers and magazines, your full attention can be focused towards hearing God’s voice. The audiovisual pollutions of this world have been the greatest enemy of God’s voice.
That is why we are going to be fasting during the last 21 days of the year, beginning on December 11, 2011. This will be our 3rd Fast of Daniel this year, for those who want to receive the Spirit of God.
During this fast, we will abstain from all kinds of audiovisual entertainment. We will focus our thoughts only on what comes from above. Those who believe move forward, those who don’t believe stay behind.
God bless those who believe.
(Taken from Bishop Macedo’s blog)
Through His Son Jesus, He not only confirmed old prophecies, but also announced the coming of the Kingdom of God and how to take possession of it.
After His death, resurrection and ascension, the Lord Jesus sent the Helper to continue the work of bringing salvation.
Nowadays, the Spirit of God continues to speak, but not by dreams, visions or prophecies. He speaks through His Word – the Holy Bible.
So, the question is: Why did He give us the gift of prophecy?
“But he who prophesies speaks EDIFICATION and EXHORTATION and COMFORT to men.” (I Corinthians 14:03)
As you can see, the gift of prophecy is not to foresee or predict anyone’s future. Its purpose is to edify, exhort and comfort the Church.
How does the Holy Spirit speak? How can you be sure it’s His voice? How can you be sure you’re not being deceived by other voices?
There’s only one way to be sure: By being born of water and the Spirit, obtaining His Divine nature and the power to understand His Word.
Only those who are born of the Spirit are able to recognize when His Spirit speaks to them through the Bible. Have you noticed how many Christians (born of the flesh) have been deceived by the spirit of the antichrist because of biblical interpretations!
We can see what kind of relationship exists between the Father and the Son, when Jesus said:
“No one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27)
When the Holy Spirit’s voice, guidance or inspiration comes from the Word of God, its listener is left with no room for doubts. Especially, when it’s His children. The problem is that their ears aren’t always attentive and ready to hear His voice.
God speaks. He speaks to His children and to others as well. He speaks through His written Word. He speaks through His true servants, while they’re preaching (prophecy) the Gospel. He also uses the opportunity to speak to us when we’re dealing with our everyday problems.
His sweet gentle voice speaks loud and clear, when we find ourselves in the desert. The more alone we feel, the louder and clearer He speaks.
When you separate yourself from your family, friends and coworkers’ polluted words and when you disconnect yourself from the audiovisual pollution of television, internet, radio, newspapers and magazines, your full attention can be focused towards hearing God’s voice. The audiovisual pollutions of this world have been the greatest enemy of God’s voice.
That is why we are going to be fasting during the last 21 days of the year, beginning on December 11, 2011. This will be our 3rd Fast of Daniel this year, for those who want to receive the Spirit of God.
During this fast, we will abstain from all kinds of audiovisual entertainment. We will focus our thoughts only on what comes from above. Those who believe move forward, those who don’t believe stay behind.
God bless those who believe.
(Taken from Bishop Macedo’s blog)
by Bishop Randal on November 18th, 2011
Commitment is an act of committing to a charge or trust; an agreement or pledge to do something in the future; engagement; involvement.
I heard the words "commitment phobic." "What's that," you ask? It's the sort of person who enjoys relationships, even says they plan to marry some day, but “circumstances” always seems to keep them from doing so.
One feature of commitment is making a stand. Joshua chose to serve the Lord, to make a commitment. Scripture reprimands us to not be indecisive, to choose. Joshua 24:15 tells us "...if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day..." The Bible reminds us that we need to commit to the spiritual path we have chosen and not be swayed by those who try to deter us from that path.
"Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him, and He will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." (Psalm 37:5-6)
There are numerous references in the Bible addressing the Christian’s commitment in various aspects of lives: to our families, our neighbors, employers, the church, our health, and in all things we do and say (Ephesians 6:5; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 31). But the Bible also teaches that the chief commitment of our lives is to God Himself. Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
Jesus is telling us that every fiber of our being, every facet of our lives must be committed to loving and serving God. This means that we must hold nothing back from Him because God holds nothing back from us (John 3:16). Furthermore, Jesus tells us that our commitment to Him must supersede that of even our families: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). It means our commitment to Christ demands, if given an “either/or” situation, we turn away from them and continue on with Jesus. The bottom-line is that those who cannot make that kind of commitment cannot be His disciples.
It was the apostle Paul who exemplified the Lord’s example of commitment to sacrifice and service. He said: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Total commitment to God means that Jesus is our sole authority, our guiding light. Being committed to Christ means being fruitful; it means being a servant. Our proverb is simple and brief: “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).
I heard the words "commitment phobic." "What's that," you ask? It's the sort of person who enjoys relationships, even says they plan to marry some day, but “circumstances” always seems to keep them from doing so.
One feature of commitment is making a stand. Joshua chose to serve the Lord, to make a commitment. Scripture reprimands us to not be indecisive, to choose. Joshua 24:15 tells us "...if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day..." The Bible reminds us that we need to commit to the spiritual path we have chosen and not be swayed by those who try to deter us from that path.
"Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him, and He will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." (Psalm 37:5-6)
There are numerous references in the Bible addressing the Christian’s commitment in various aspects of lives: to our families, our neighbors, employers, the church, our health, and in all things we do and say (Ephesians 6:5; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 31). But the Bible also teaches that the chief commitment of our lives is to God Himself. Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
Jesus is telling us that every fiber of our being, every facet of our lives must be committed to loving and serving God. This means that we must hold nothing back from Him because God holds nothing back from us (John 3:16). Furthermore, Jesus tells us that our commitment to Him must supersede that of even our families: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). It means our commitment to Christ demands, if given an “either/or” situation, we turn away from them and continue on with Jesus. The bottom-line is that those who cannot make that kind of commitment cannot be His disciples.
It was the apostle Paul who exemplified the Lord’s example of commitment to sacrifice and service. He said: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Total commitment to God means that Jesus is our sole authority, our guiding light. Being committed to Christ means being fruitful; it means being a servant. Our proverb is simple and brief: “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).
Posted on October 31st, 2011
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." (Exodus 3:2-5)God would not have told him to remove his sandals if they were having no negative influence. Why take them off?
The fact is that God's glorious presence had filled Mount Sinai with Energy and his sandals would act as insulation (doubt). Before promising an impossible thing to Moses, freedom from Egyptian slavery, God said, "Take your sandals off your feet", because with sandals on his feet Moses would not hear what God was about to promise him.
Free from the sandals he would be a recipient of God's Energy and stand on top of Mount Sinai, before God, in all his strength.
When you believe, you climb Mount Sinai with no sandals - with no doubts - in all your strength.
Those that do not conquer what they should have conquered, with a faith that they say they have in God, in reality, have not yet removed their sandals from their feet. They have not yet put all their strength into what they are doing.
He first said, "Do not draw near this place". But when Moses no longer had sandals on his feet, He said to him, "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:10)
Moses climbed up with no power, no light and no spirit, but because he believed, he climbed down full of light, energy and power to face the devil, who was acting through Pharaoh.
God saw, heard and came down. Do you believe? Then remove the sandals from your feet and climb up with all your strength.
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