Truth Byte #12

​Being born again is death. We pass from one life to another. Scripture tells us that through this death we are given a new spirit, one that can now communicate with God. The Bible tells us that in this new spirit there is even a new language that only God understands. In this new spirit the Holy Spirit now lives with us as a constant companion, a soul brother, a best friend forever. Now the learning process starts all over, only now we learn how to go from independence to complete dependence until we don’t even move our head without the Holy Spirit nodding His approval.
 
My grandson relates stories to me of his experience on the climbing wall in his school gymnasium, and I am struck by how similar that is to spiritual growth. We start at rock bottom, no matter who we are, we are in the lowest depths of hell, yet when we meet Jesus, we know we can make it to the top. We know that the Holy Spirit will be there encouraging us every step of the way, catching us when our sweaty hands slip, or our shoe gets caught on a rock. We know that with every grip we take on the sure wall of God, a grip we had on ourselves will fade. As we climb we prove the sentence, “The joy of the Lord is my strength!” Every sentence that started with “Yes, but…” goes away. No more “Yes, but You don’t know what I suffered.” No more, “Yes, but they made me do that.” No more, “Yes, but who can control the words that come out of our mouths?” No more self-defense. We were guilty, and our guilt was wiped away.

​Then what of the backslider? Most Christians can lay claim to periods, or maybe just a period, of backsliding. We must remember that yes, we have a new spirit in which the Holy Spirit is living, and yes, our proclivity to sin has been taken away, even so, we still have a very human soul. The soul can still refuse to obey. Our job is the salvation of our soul.
 
One of the first things to recognize is that a wrong state of mind, if deemed permissible, will ruin our sanctification. So, my brothers and sisters, step right up to bat and take every thought captive. Flee from every corruption, and when you’ve done your duty – stay clean! The devil comes like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. Determine you won’t be one who is eaten!