JULY 13, 2014. NEEDED-A NEW BIRTH!

SUNDAY JULY 13, 2014.

'You must be born again.' John 3:7 NIV

Needed-A New Birth!

The Bible says that 130 years after Adam first sinned, he was still fathering children 'in his own likeness'. (Genesis 5:3 NIV) And as Adam's descendants, we have all been born with the nature of fallen man. Sometimes people say, 'He's just like his dad.' Or we say, 'My dad was an angry man, now I've got his temper!' 'My dad couldn't stay with my mum, now I'm going through a divorce.' 'My dad was an alcoholic, now look at my drinking and drug-taking!' 'My dad was a workaholic, now I put in 14 hours a day.' 'My dad wasn't affectionate with us, now I don't know how to be loving toward my children.' History repeats itself over and over through our fallen nature.

Here's a fascinating example: 'Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.' (Genesis 20:2 NIV) Abraham was willing to sacrifice Sarah to save his own neck. What would you have done? Before you answer, notice that Isaac wasn't even born when his father did this. Yet years later, Isaac did exactly the same thing in the same place (Genesis 26:7). It's genetic! It's in our DNA.

But there's good news. When you receive Christ as your Savior, He breaks that cycle. When you're 'born of the spirit', you get a new Father and a new nature (see John 3:3-6). You don't have to walk in the likeness of your earthly father any longer; you can walk in the likeness of your heavenly Father and become more like Him every day. Fed up with your old nature and ways? Ready for a new birth? Turn to Christ!

Taken from the Word for You Today Devotional