Thoughts to ponder (devotionals)

 From Beside the Still Waters...

Born Again: Read John 3:1-21

"Ye must be born again." - John 3:7

In the summer of 2024, central Ohio had a severe drought.  The grass turned brown and sounded crackly when we walked over it.  After six weeks of temperatures often exceeding 90 degrees, rain finally returned and the grass turned nice and green again.  This serves as a good illustration of the new birth.  Being born again transforms our hearts from being barren and unattractive to being productive and beautiful.  This beauty is not something we can put on ourselves; it must come from a yielded heart, a restored relationship with God, and a willing obedience to His word.

Jesus said that we "must" be born again.  The new birth is not a matter of "take it or leave it."  We cannot neglect it and expect to obtain God's favor on our lives.  As the barren grass responds to the gentle rain, so our hearts must respond to the Spirit's call to be born again.  Consider what is involved in the new birth.

There is a change from living for ourselves and serving our sinful desires to serving only Jesus Christ.  By ourselves we cannot follow Jesus' command to love those who hate us or take advantage of us.  Our human nature dies hard and can be subdued only by Jesus within.  He offers His overcoming power to all who deny the sinful desires of the flesh and wholly follow God.

The new birth will cause us to hate what God hates.  A popular idea today is that we must tolerate and love everyone and everything.  Alternative lifestyles are not just permitted but publicly promoted by leaders in government and even in churches.  But sin is still exceedingly sinful and will come under God's judgement.  As God's born-again children, we dare not allow evil influences to harden our hearts. 

Denver Yoder - Somerset, OH

When a man is truly born again, he is transformed into a distinctly different person.

From Our Daily Bread...

With Us in Our Loneliness: Read Matthew 1:18-25

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

Henry David Thoreau described a city as a place where many people are "lonesome together."  Those words have the ring of truth.  In my youth, songs like "Mr. Lonely", "Only the Lonely", and "Eleanor Rigby" focused on isolation and loneliness.  In recent years, the pandemic was one of the most isolating seasons the world has known.  And social media can feed that loneliness, giving us connection without relationship.  Perhaps loneliness is the new pandemic.

As Matthew shared the story of the birth of Jesus (1:18-25), he told us, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet [Isaiah]: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')" (vv. 22-23).  Ponder that for a moment.  God with us!

As believers in Jesus, we're never alone.  We've been born again into the family of Christ, a family that spans the globe and the ages.  The apostle Paul said, "You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household" (Ephesians 2:19).  We're loved by the ever-present God, who said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:15).

Whatever you're facing today, your heavenly Father is present with you.  Allow Him to help you as you step into life's uncertainties and challenges.  He's with you.

- Bill Crowder

Thank You, Father, that because of Your abiding presence, I'm never alone.