A New Birth

We started out bad, being born with evil natures. . . . But God is so rich in mercy . . . he gave us back our lives again
when he raised Christ from the dead . . .
—Ephesians 2:3,4 (TLB)

 

I am reminded of a period when all the agonies that afflict modern minds were felt by another generation, the young people who lived during the first century after Christ. They too sought change, but they directed their efforts at individuals, not at the Roman Empire, not at City Hall. And eventually the whole social and political structure felt their impact. In short, those renewed men and women became filled with a unique dynamic force.

Today this same force is available to all people. Over the centuries it has worked in the lives of millions. I personally have seen thousands of people changed. Jesus called it “a new birth.” The Scripture tells us that you need not continue as you are. You can become a new person. Whatever your hang-up—guilt, anxiety, fear, hatred—God can handle it.

Prayer for the day

I delight in knowing, Lord Jesus, that there is nothing in my life that is incapable of being changed through Your redemptive power.