“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” – John 15:5

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” – Eph. 5:16

“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.” – Psa. 107:29

Nothing ever written or said by man is more important than this one thing—“ye must be born again“–John 3:7. The fact that these words were spoken by Jesus Christ tells us this is important, true, and deserving of our attention. When He speaks we ought to listen. We should listen not only because of the speaker, but also because of the subject.

The Lord was speaking about a spiritual birth–what every man needs most. By nature we are spiritually dead—separated from God, condemned and without hope. The new birth reconciles us to God and we receive eternal life. It makes the difference between heaven and hell, so it makes no sense that we refuse  to listen. It is essential that we understand exactly what the new birth is.

Jesus clearly taught that the new birth is a work of God, not an accomplishment of man. It is the impartation of spiritual life by the power of the Holy Spirit to all who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. Those who receive Him are accepted by God because their sins are forgiven on His behalf . When He died on the cross He paid our sin debt. He was raised from the dead for our justification. By His grace, salvation is offered as a gift to all who are willing to trust Him. You can do that! All it takes is simple child-like faith to receive the greatest gift possible. We aren’t saved because we give up certain sins, do good deeds, or contribute to worthy causes. It is a gift, not a wage or reward. Although secured at great cost to God it cost you nothing.

As a gift salvation is received, not earned. We are saved by grace not goodness, mercy not merit, atonement not attainment, believing not behaving. Adding to the wonder of this is the fact that God is willing to save “whosoever“– anyone and everyone who truly believes. Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, you can be forgiven, cleansed, accepted by God, delivered from wrath, and adopted into God’s family. In Christ, God has provided exactly what you need and everything you need. And for you it is all free—paid for by the precious blood of Jesus! Seeing that God cannot lie, why would you reject such an offer?

Salvation is by far the greatest gift a person can ever receive, the most delightful discovery they ever make, the most important thing in life, the most exciting experience you can have, the most valuable thing you can possess, the surest thing on earth, the greatest miracle ever. How can you expect a person who has received such a wonderful gift to remain silent about it? The fact that they desire to tell you how much God cares is an evidence that they care about you. This could be the greatest day of your life if you are willing to trust God to do as He promised. If you are confused please contact a Christian. They would be delighted to help. – HDS (Revised from 5/13/15)

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.–Acts 1:8 

Many years ago I met the famous Russian evangelist Hyman Appleman, a converted Jew, who preached revivals across America and around the world. I was thrilled that I had the opportunity to speak with him, but the greatest blessing was hearing him preach. As a young preacher I was deeply impressed by the way God used him. The other day I happened to run across a sermon he preached in 1941. Here is an excerpt of the sermon where he speaks of how the Holy Spirit empowers God’s servants to do His service:  

“His power is beyond human computation and measure. His wisdom is limitless. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He can take, He has taken the weakest vessel, the humblest tool, the poorest instrument, and wrought wonders with them. It was He who endowed Moses, enrolled Joshua, enabled Samuel, ennobled David, enlightened Isaiah, emancipated Daniel, encouraged Paul and Silas—. He is our Comforter also, ready to transform our lives into channels of blessings, making us mighty unto the pulling down of the strong holds of sin, unto the advancing and the upbuilding of the kingdom, unto the winning of multitudes of precious souls. Without Him we are helpless. With Him the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. He is the key to success, the secret of victory, the door to the impossible. The Holy Spirit is our ally.”  

Dear friend if we would keep these glorious truths in mind we would be a lot less prone to get discouraged in the face of difficulty. With the Holy Spirit as our Helper all things are possible giving us good reason to be encouraged. HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346