| January
14, 2005
Newsletter
Archives
To start the new year right – or anything
right - we have to begin at the foundation. The Lord Jesus
warned about building a house without a solid foundation
as an illustration of building a life without starting at
the base. Sunday School children often sing “The wise
man built his house upon the rock….the foolish man
built his house upon the sand.” This is taken from
the illustration the Lord Jesus gave. He stated: “Therefore
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,
I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock.” Matthew 7:24-25.
While many people would say they are building their lives
on the sayings of the Lord Jesus, they have not laid the
first row of blocks upon which everything else must rest.
The Lord Jesus warned, “Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.” John 3:3.
Being born into the family of God is the first step in
building a well-established life. There is no point in running
for second base unless we have touched first. And this is
precisely what most people are trying to do.
Is it any wonder that non-Christians complain about the
hypocrisy of Christians. Most of the time they are looking
at “second-base” Christians who never touched
first.
But we don’t want to be one of those. So in order
to avoid that we must start where God would have us start:
we must be born again. When Nicodemus questioned the Lord
Jesus further about the new birth, He repeated, “Marvel
not that I say unto you, you must be born again.”
John 3:7.
Reconciliation with God – the new birth –
must take place before we can walk with God. This comes
through recognition that our sins are a barrier between
us and God, then trusting the atoning death of Christ to
answer for our sins. Once this is settled, we have established
the foundation on which the Christian life can be built.
Starting the new year right begins with a right relationship
with God. And this starts with the new birth.
Jim Beattie
Submitted by Russ Nesbit
|
