(JOHN CHAPTER 1)
Verse 13:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.
Jesus birth is not of blood; it is not physical but spiritual. It is not
human in origin at all - it's supernatural!! It is of God and comes through
His own unlimited power and forgiveness. As soul winners, we get to witness
the miracle of spiritual births as individuals are delivered from the
penalty of sin and born again. That is why it's important that we share
scriptures with people and not just explanations. Remember, in the beginning
was the Word… At the conception of each new life in Christ is the Word
of God. Without it, no man or woman can be born again. To share the gospel,
you must open your Bible!
1 Peter 1:23
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the
word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
We know from Genesis that the first creation began with "Let there be
light" and so a new creature in Christ is born via the entrance of God's
radiating light in the heart… Life comes from light and the brilliance
of truth produces transformation.
Carry the Torch faithfully!
Verse 14:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Ladies, this is precisely why Christ came, that we might have salvation
through faith in Him. Jesus Christ was made flesh and dwelt among us to
bring new birth to our souls! Without Him, there would be no salvation
for us. The Word of God is so essential to the child of God. It allows
us to gain a more intimate knowledge of the One who saved us! You see,
the more familiar we become with each other, the more we discover one
another's flaws. However, the more intimate we get with God through His
Word, the more we behold His glory!! After spending time in the Bible,
it doesn't take long to learn how full of grace and truth our God is and
how full of sin we are, amen? Human splendor fades into the background
and our preference for Christ will grow, as it did for John. Let me also
point out here that our God is a God of balance. Today Christians are
either all truth and no grace or all grace and no truth. This makes us
poor ambassadors, for either condition is a discredit to the nature of
God! As soul winners, balance must be present in our lives if we would
reach this lost and dying world.
Verse 15:
John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake,
He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
As a soul winner, John did more than whisper about the Savior like a secret
agent would; he openly proclaimed the name of Christ with courage, passion
and sincerity. The Bible uses the word "cried" to depict John's zeal and
the way he employed his voice. Ladies, we do a great job of "raising our
voices" over certain issues at home yet when it comes to speaking out
for Christ all of a sudden we become bashful, tight-lipped, timid creatures.
How is it we can readily employ our voices for the devil and not for God??
Perhaps it is because we do not prefer Christ before ourselves as John
did. As a matter of fact, every time we don't witness we put ourselves
before Christ!! How often have you hesitated sharing the gospel for selfish
reasons? John said Jesus was before him and after him; his entire life
was centered in Christ and leaning upon Him! If John failed, he knew he
could fall back upon the Savior. If he needed motivation and encouragement,
he knew he could look to Jesus. As a Christian, do you live a life of
complete dependency upon God? Does He possess you? Your outlook will affect
your behavior as a soul winner and determine whether or not you use your
voice for God's glory!
Christ on the throne = Christ on the lips!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2002 Pamela A. Iannello
