March 17
Blessed be Thy Name of the Lord, Who made of Heaven and earth! Who is like unto Thee. We are here to thank You for the past week and for the week ahead of us. You are indeed Almighty; Your Sovereignty is incomparable. You say a thing and standeth sure. You are Awesome God, there is none like Thee. When I look at the happenings all around me, I can now identified with the Psalmist prayer “Lord teach me to number my days right, for man in totality is feeble and a walking shadow (Ps39:4-6).
Beloved, last week we did say that “Salvation is of the Lord”. It is He alone who quickens the soul “dead in trespasses and sins,” and it is He also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both “Alpha and Omega.” Having laid the foundation, I want you to know that all what you and I are doing are vanity if it is not resting on God. You cannot partake of His promises if you have not given your life to Christ.
It will be good for us to revisit this “born again stuff”. You have been hearing about it and probably you have not made up your mind to either accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour or settle for Christ. Is a good time for us to consider it again and I pray that the Holy Spirit will help and lead you to Jesus, the good Shepherd:
“Ye must be born again.” John 3:7
Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are “born again,” for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it—the being “born again,” is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other.
If you have then, been “born again,” your acknowledgment will be, “O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, Thou art my spiritual Parent; unless Thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ My heavenly life is wholly derived from Thee, to Thee I ascribe it. ‘My life is hid with Christ in God.’ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me.” May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.
Hopelessness is state which you cannot pray to be in this life or in life to come, however, it is also a state we will walk into if we are not conscious of the our state in Christ. Often times we commit sin or watch someone close to us commit sin, we either keep quite or remain unconcerned. What we do not realized is that we are gradually sliding away from the place of hope to hopelessness, from heaven to hell.
It is also possible that you have given your life to Christ, before now you are so conscious of sin and lately you suddenly discover that you are not startled as you used to be when you commit sin. Now, you see yourself excusing sins away, come with me let us consider the text before us, and you will flee from all appearances of sin.
“Sin… exceeding sinful.” Romans 7:13
Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding.
It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, “Is it not a little one?” Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: “We have not fallen into open sin.
True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent.” So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little.
Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer’s head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be “exceeding sinful.”
A sober one I suppose to start the week, but it is so important as to our bearing fruit. Is possible you are well off the hook of sin, but have you considered that brother, sister, siblings, parents, colleague in the office, neighbor who is yet to give his or her life to Christ? Have you not given it a thought to bring such one to Christ, to save him or her from everlasting damnation? accept Christ now
Beloved, part of fruitfulness is bearing fruits in the house of the Lord. Make a drive this week; you will surely make a catch. And God will bless your flour and your oil even your water will experience the touch of Christ.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang Ifeoma Ohondu
