Born Again

Is a phrase used by Christians who have been born from above. “Born-again ” Christians are change by the power of the Holy Spirit and as old things pass away all thing become new; making that believe a new creation in Christ Jesus. Being born again has become commonplace in the church of man. This term “born again” first appears in the Bible in John chapter three. It reads:

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:1-7).

Most people have religion, a very few have been Biblically Born-again . The truth is in the above passage. Unless you are Born-again , you absolutely cannot get into Heaven (John 3:5). To be “Born-again ” means to have Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Jesus said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8).”

Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. When a man is born into the earth, he is born spiritually dead due to Adam's sin passing to all man. To be Born-again  is a miracle of God, by which Christ Jesus comes into your body to live, literally in the form of the Holy Spirit of God. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9).” To understanding the Born-again  conception, you must understand the two births.

·       The PHYSICAL BIRTH - when you were born into this world from your mother and father.

·       The SPIRITUAL BIRTH, which means to be born of the “Spirit” (God's Holy Spirit).

Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). There is one God He exists in the three Persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Bible refers to this triune nature of God as the Godhead (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20, Colossians 2:9). The Godhead is “the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ” (Colossians 2:2). The Godhead wasn't meant for man to completely understand, the Godhead was meant for man to simply believe as sound Biblical Doctrine.

God made mankind in His image as a triune being, in the form of a body, soul and spirit. Our earthly body is called the tabernacle of the soul and spirit (II Corinthians 5:1-4). The body is a temporary dwelling place for man's soul and spirit. Our soul is composed emotions (to feel), the mind (to think), and the will (to decide), all of these are invisible.

Hebrews 4:12 makes a distinction between man's soul and spirit, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Man's spirit returns to God upon death. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Humans have an inherent need for spirituality it is the spirit that discern spiritual matters. Man's spirit is dead in sin when we are born in the earth. This means that we are born void of God, having  an inherited sin nature from Adam.

Christ Jesus was the only exception, He was born sinless as God in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16). When we are born into the world, our spirit is dead in trespasses and sin. The Scripture to confirm this reads: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1,2).

The lost and unsaved individual cannot understand God, nor His Words, because His Words are spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2:14). We need to be “spiritually” born from above to come near to God. Sin is what keeps us far away from Him and when we are spiritually Born-again  we are able to have a relationship with our Creator through His Son.

So when the Bible speaks of being Born-again it actually means, to be    born a second time. WE were all born physically into this world, but to enter into God's Heaven  we must be Born-again. When we were born into the world, we were born without the Spirit of God in our soul; this means we were born spiritually dead. We are all God's creations but we became separated from Him because of sin.

God created each of us with a freewill. Our free will consist of life choices. Each of us make our own decisions in life. These life choices as well as our words will either acquit or condemn us. Yes these choices that we make in life will to decide where we will spend eternity. God never forces anyone to accept Christ Jesus as their Savior, Christ must be invited into one life.

God our Creator is offering everyone a Gift. He'll not force man to take it. If anyone wants to have their sins forgiven and go to Heaven only need to reach out and take the Gift. Jesus paid it all, Salvation is the free gift paid for by the precious Blood of Christ Jesus (Romans 5:15; 6:23; I Peter 1:18,19; Revelation 1:5). Those individuals want eternal life must accept God's gift before it is forever forfeited when we die in sin.

Here is how we received the sin nature, and became sinner. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat off of the tree that bore the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17). God told them they would die “the day that thou eatest thereof.” Adam and Eve did not experience physically death immediately when they disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree.

When Adam ate of the fruit, they died SPIRITUALLY. It is the spiritual death that separated Adam, Eve and every one that passed through them to earth to become sinners. When Adam sinned, sin and death entered the human race. According to the Bible from Adam until the present time, mankind has been born spiritually dead. The spiritually dead condition humanity has was inherited down from Adam's sin.

This is why humanity MUST be Born-again if they desire a relationship with God. Being Born-again is only possible through the Holy Spirit of God, which makes us alive again by faith in Christ as Savior. We are saved by repenting of our unbelief and believing the Gospel of Grace; specifically that Jesus DIED, was BURIED and RAISED from the dead three days later.

To be “spiritually” born means that God's Holy Spirit “quickens” us (or makes us alive). When a sinner believes on Christ as the Lord and Savior trusting Him alone to forgive all sins—then God the Father and God the Son come into that individual's heart in the form of God the Holy Spirit (John 14:23). The “Holy Spirit” is “God within us.” The old man is the flesh that cannot be tamed without Him.

There is nothing good about the flesh. When we get saved (Born-again), the old man pass away and all things become new. This is possible because the new man (which is Christ Jesus) comes to indwell (live) within our body (I Corinthians 3:16). God lives in my the believer's body in the form of the Holy Spirit. I have God's Spirit living in my body, as does  every believer.

The Holy Spirit of God is everything to me. He guides me, He comforts and teaches me. He rebukes me, chastises me, convicts me, encourages me, and empowers me to overcome sin. He loves me, strengthens me, and so much more. No one will ever understand the Bible without knowing the Author, and God is the Author. When we are born for the second time, God's Holy Spirit comes into our body and He never leave (I Corinthians 3:16; Hebrews 13:5).

Once He come in and dwell in us, we begin to understand His Word for the first time (II Corinthians 5:17). We must be Born-again spiritually to become a part of God's family (Romans 8:9). Scripture says a believer is “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (I Peter 1:23). If you want to save your soul; receive Christ and become a Born-again Christian, or suffer the consequences of Hellfire for all eternity (John 3:18,36; Revelation 20:15; 21:8).

It's not our job to figure everything out about the Bible to be saved, we simply need to trust Christ, the only begotten Son of God. The new birth comes about only through faith in the Son of God. We must believe God came down to this earth over 2,000 years ago and took upon Himself the flesh of a man. That man was the Lord Christ Jesus (John 1:1,14; I Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9—King James Bible).

Christ Jesus was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He never sinned, not even once (I Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15). Christ laid His life down for the sins of the world, He was buried and rose again to life after three days (I Corinthians 15:1-4). Christ shed His precious Blood to purchase and redeem us (Colossians 1:14; I Peter 1:18,19). It was Christ who applied His Blood to the Mercy seat in Heaven to take away our sin (Hebrews 9:12, 24-26). He put man together with our Creator, by His Blood.

If you can believe that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God Who died for our sin, was buried and rose again, and you've made that your hope for Heaven by believing on His name, then you are a Born-again  child of God. Christ died in our place. He is the Savior Who paid for our sins. When we come to the realization that we are all born guilty sinners in need of a Savior. Then you simply need to believe on the Gospel of God's Grace to have all your sins forgiven. You must believe that Christ died and was resurrected, shedding His precious Blood to wash away your sins.

God the Father desire that we come for Salvation by way of the Cross upon which His Son Jesus Christ died.  When we are Born-again all it takes is repentance and confession to Christ, not man to keep us clean. Anyone who teaches Salvation or bettering humanity without including the Cross of Christ; run. They are teaching another Gospel that will lead to destruction. No one can be saved apart from the Cross.

Having faith in Jesus in not God's plan of Salvation. Many people believe on Jesus, but they have left out all that He accomplished on the Cross. To be Born-again by the Spirit of God you must include in your faith, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus (I Corinthians 15:1-4). Repentance, confession, and faith are inseparable. Repentance is simply having a change of mind; that involves turning to Christ to be forgiven of one's sins and 

allow Him to make changes to your life.

There is a reason why we must repent, it is because unbelief is a sin God won't forgive. This is why we must repent of our unbelief, and from dead works of self-righteousness (Hebrews 6:1). Repentance unto Salvation means a change of mind (Mark 1:15). The object of repentance is to believe the Gospel, not to clean up one's life; if you can do this, what do you need Christ for. He is the author and finisher of our faith.

Don't fall for lies in the church of man. A popular false teaching in MOST churches of man today says a person must try to stop sinning to be saved. That is self-righteousness and it will not get you a place in Heaven. Salvation happens when a person acknowledges their guilt of sin, and comes to God on the basis of being a Hell-deserving sinner. We must believe Christ, the Son of God, for forgiveness (Acts 10:43).

Christ Jesus came to save sinners! A sinner's prayer is ok, but you don't have to go there, Salvation is of the heart (Romans 10:10). If you'd like to pray, simply admit that you are a guilty sinner for breaking God's Laws. Tell Christ that you believe He died, was buried and rose again; then ask Christ Jesus to forgive your sins and tell Him that you're receiving His sacrifice as payment for your sins. You must realize these two main truths:

·       You are a guilty sinner under the condemnation of God's Law!

·       Jesus is the Savior who died, was buried and resurrected three days later. Jesus shed His blood to take away your sins!

No church, or any amount of good works can save you. God does the saving, all of it! Man's only part is to believe. Being Born-again  is a supernatural act of God in response to a man's faith in the Truth of the Gospel of the Grace of God. God's simple plan of Salvation is you are a sinner and unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell.

If you believe Christ as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins past, present, and future, and His Gift of Eternal Life and Salvation is yours by faith. Yes, it's that simple. We are running out of time, we don't have much time left. Christ return is nearer than anyone think. We are accepted by the father on the grounds of Christ  RIGHTEOUSNESS.  The righteousness of Christ is charged to our account at 

the time of our Salvation.

The Word of God indicts all guilty sinners. Only through faith in Christ can we be justified, JUST-AS-IF-I'D never sinned. Those who DIE IN THEIR SINS without Christ will stand trial at The Great White Throne of Judgment (John 8:24; Revelation 20:11-15). They will die the Second Death and be cast into the Lake of Fire forever. Those who DIE IN THE LORD already have Eternal Life((Revelation 14:13). If you're washed in the Blood of Christ, you are saved, and you're already a citizen of Heaven. 

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Hello world, please feel free to comment on my articles. Let me know what you think and how I'm doing - thanks Minister Annesah

A Free Pardon to Guilty Sinners

What is the value of your soul

During the life and ministry of Christ Jesus, many serious statements and questions were asked of His disciples. The most thought-provoking question was, ". . .What shall it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). It is honestly time to give some earnest thought about your soul.

 

I am bringing this word to let someone know that they do not have to perish under the wrath, and condemnation of our Sovereign God. The price has been paid in full. Your guilty sin stain has been washed away by the Blood of Christ Jesus.

We deserve to die, but God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).Earthly life is temporal, but the life Christ gives is eternal. Believers should know that we are on a spiritual search for truth, and the truth is nothing from this earth leaves here with you when your number is called and rejecting this Truth will only come back to bite you for all Eternity when this life is over.

Now is the acceptant time, today is the day of Salvation. Salvation is sure on this side of the grave for anyone who wants it. At this time, you are under a stay of execution, because Christ Jesus took your guilt and sin on Himself. He went to Calvary and died on a Cross for your sins and the worlds. You have been pardoned and do not have to  experience a day of execution for your sin crimes before God Almighty.

We can see how rapidly time is passing, don't let Him catch you with your work undone. You don’t want to die in your sins when you have already been pardoned. With every passing second you are being inevitably brought closer to your destiny. You must be Born-Again to get into Heaven.

If you are not Born-Again by the power of the Holy Spirit, you are still in the state of your birth; a lost, guilty, perishing sinner. To be saved, you must make Christ your Lord and Savoir. If you don't do this, you will remain in your lost and fallen condition. All who reject the Gospel of God's Grace are lost, and will never be saved until that individual conclude that he or she is a lost, condemned, sinner in need of a Savoir.

Today is the day for you to stop living in a state of condemnation before the Holy God of Creation. He is here for you now. Ask Him to come into your life and forgive your sins. Let Him know that you believe that He died for your sin and rose from the dead in your place. Once you've done this feel free to know that there is therefore now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Time is winding up and when the time of the Gentiles is full the door for Salvation close, and the opportunity for Salvation will be lost forever. Now is the expectant time, today is the Day of Salvation, receive ye the Lord.

Scriptures verses on the Resurrection:

The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name. Luke 24:46-47

He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4:25

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

For as by a man came death, by a man has come the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:5

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Romans 6:9

…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death… Philippians 3:10

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? John 11:25-26

…just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:34

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. Psalm 16:10

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces. Isaiah 28:5

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; on him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” Job 19:25

God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 1 Corinthians 6:14

…who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:21

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” 1 Cor 15:17.

Resurrection Power Philippians 3:10

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10). Paul is writing to the saints at Philippi. Philippi was named by Alexander the Great after his father, Philip. We learn from this passage four powerful statements: ·       that I may know Him ·       and the power of His resurrection ·       the fellowship of His suffering ·       being made conformable unto His death Our Apostle Paul aspiration is: First, that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection. The resurrection of Christ Jesus is the standard of power in the New Testament. Our Lord has destroyed the work of the devil and the proof is the standard of God's power in the New Testament. The standard of God's power in the Old Testament was the deliverance of the people of Israel through the Red Sea which brought them finally into the land of promise. In the Old Testament the miracle is the raising of a dead nation, because they were in captivity, in Egypt, which is a type of the world. They were under the dominion of Pharaoh, which is a type of the devil, and they were brought as the Word of God says, "God called them with a strong hand. He delivered them with a strong hand and a stretched out arm." In the New Testament the standard of God's power is the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead. Because of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, there is the resurrection of the individual from the dead. Ephesians 2 for instance says: "You have been quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins. And the same miracle power that raised up Jesus from the dead is the power that raised us up from the dead."   What is "the exceeding greatness of His power to us all who believe according to the working of His mighty power when He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set at His own right hand in heavenly places." Christ was a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The loneliness was on the behalf of the Father, He had no one He could communicate with. His Son is going to bear the sin of the whole world. Calvary expresses the love of God and the resurrection explains the power of God. Our Apostle has got the most amazing track record of any man that has ever lived outside of our Lord Christ Jesus, Paul,  he raised the dead, he opened the eyes of the blind, he cast out demons, and he wrote more epistles than all the other men put together; yet he says, "I WANT TO KNOW HIM." He is saying there is a fuller revelation of Him. No other religion in the world has a resurrection, the resurrection is the crowning miracle of God; and without the resurrection we are yet in our sins!"  Christ raised people from the dead because He is the resurrection. Paul said: Because Christ rose everyone will rise (Acts 24). In the wisdom of our God when all was sin and shame a last Adam entered into the fight  to the rescue man. "As He was, so are we in this world." Christ Jesus says I am the resurrection and the Life. Christ raised me from the dead! God perpetuated that miracle in me: "You hath He quickened who were dead on trespasses and sins." At the end of Revelation Christ says: "Listen, I am He that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive and I have the keys of death and of hell." "All power is given unto Me," there were other resurrections, but they were all different. You know, Christ was comfortable in the presence of death. He raised Jairus' daughter, He raised the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus. Three people He raised from the dead. The difference between their resurrection and His: ·       theirs had no vicarious power to it  they were all called forth from the tomb, He wasn't ·       when they came forth from the tomb they were all bound. Christ Jesus slipped out of those cloths, and did not need anybody to call Him forth. So everybody else that was raised from the dead had somebody else called them, they were bound with grave cloths, and they all died again. Scripture say "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him" (Romans 6:8). The other 's died twice and Scripture says, " It's appointed unto man once to die." Enoch and Elijah did not die, or do they. God said, "whatever a man shall sow, that also shall he reap." And if God says in Adam all die, they are going to die. But He says, "Jesus came..." knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him." The Spirit that raised up Christ from the dead is the Spirit that quickens us, because man is dead in trespasses and in sin. The Holy Spirit of God has done His work; Christ in you the hope of glory! Paul said "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation! (II Corinthians 5: 17). God makes man a new creation. Now when a man is born again in the Spirit of God "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4- 5). For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Writing to the Colossians Paul says, "If ye be risen in Christ seek those things which are above." When you are born again of the Spirit of God and become a new creation, all of our dirty, filthy, habits drop off us because we gave our life to Christ and He became not only our Savior, but Lord. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Christ came into my life and He completely changed and revolutionized my life. That's the work of the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. I am the "you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sin." Paul says, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things 'which are beneath.'" (Colossians 3:1-2). Our destination rest in life above. We are to set our affection on them. God has made it possible, and we are to appropriate it. "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the un-circumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven all trespasses; Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 'Which perish with the using') after the commandments and doctrines of men?" "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, 'wherein' Christ sitteth on the right hand of 'the Father'" (Romans 2: 12,20, 3: 1). Paul, is a man who's reached the peak of spirituality and yet he says, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection." He was content to walk in His resurrection life. He said, seek the lofty things, the holy things, the life of prayer, the life of inspiration, the life of joy in the Spirit. Just remember this: that while you and I are on earth we are passing through enemy territory. It is a corrupt, evil, sinful, wicked world that follows its god; Satan, the prince of the power of the air. There is an eternal rivalry between the two, and we can draw strength from the resurrection life of Christ. The resurrection life of Christ is the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus form the dead. The Word of God says that Jesus was raised from the dead and He dieth no more. Because He lives we shall live also. The death of the Lord Christ Jesus on the Cross proves the love of God. The resurrection proves the power of God, and "if He were risen from the dead," we as believers will be also. God intended we have the world, the flesh, and the devil under our feet. "That I might know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable to His death." The moment Christ died, I died with Him. The moment He rose, I rose with Him... He died that we might be cleansed, He died that we might be pure, He died that we might lead a victorious life. The resurrection life of Christ quickens our mortal bodies. One day that resurrection will actually take place in a triumphant shattering of the graves of those who believed. They are going to come "from earth's wide bounds and ocean's farthest coasts, through the pearly gates. We were buried with Him (Christ) through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4) The death and resurrection of Jesus are the greatest events in history. Resurrection power is promised to every believer in Christ and we receive it in the same way that Jesus gave it. That is by accepting the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross for an atonement of our sins. This is how we receive the life of Jesus in us. God gives us both the ability and the power to accomplish this through His Holy Spirit. There is a process that a believer goes through of emptying our self of our life in order to receive more of His life. This is the process of sanctification and it is a work of the Holy Spirit and it is accomplished through our cooperation. The word newness in the Scripture means renewal, to be renewed. We should walk in newness of life, this means renewal is to be a way of life. The resurrection power of Christ is given through the Holy Spirit. It flows through us as a river of life bringing constant revival. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11). The same form of life that raised Christ from the dead is in all believers. The main ways that we give up our life and receive the life of Christ are by directing our love toward Him. This kind of relationship with God brings renewal and revival, and that person will bear much spiritual fruit as God is glorified. The choices we make daily are life or death decisions. "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; "that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). We are often faced with decisions, the consequences of which, may lead to more or less of the life of Jesus in us. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6:8) What we speak and what we think is very important. What we think leads to actions and words; and those actions and words sow to the flesh or to the spirit. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name (Philippians 2:5-9) Jesus gave up His life twice, He was in the form of God He humbled Himself by giving up His life as God to become a man. When the Bible says that He made Himself of no reputation it means that He completely emptied Himself of His life. He then received life as a man and once again He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death. On the cross He emptied himself of life as a sacrifice for our sins. Christ gave up all of His man-life and died on the Cross. Three days later He was raised from the dead. The resurrection happened when Jesus received God-life and once again the fullness of God filled Him. The humbling yourself begins with an attitude, a thought process, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Choosing life is what happens when we make decisions that sow to the Spirit. It is what allows the process of sanctification in our lives. Sanctification is the process of becoming holy before God. Sanctification is a work of God in us through the Holy Spirit. The right to be sanctified was given through the shed Blood of Christ on the Cross. The power to accomplish sanctification is given through the Holy Spirit. As we humble ourselves before God to the point of obedience we cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification in us. Obedience follows humility, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death.” We must also empty ourselves through humility to the point of obedience; the greater the sacrifice the greater the reward. Obedience to the voice of God is in itself a form of dying to yourself. It is giving up your life with the result of experiencing God’s life. When we deny ourselves we are giving up our life and we receive more of His life in us. Christ Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matthew 16:24-25). For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57:15). Revive means to give life. Revival begins with humility and it makes a home for God. As we empty ourselves we are able to receive the life of God in us. As we remove the things from our life that separate us from God, then He is able to occupy more of our heart. Love and life are a hand in glove, where there is life there is love and where there is love there is life; and where there is hatred there is death. Christ Jesus is our source of life and our connection with love. "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love." "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."  "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you (John 15:9-14). In this holy connection of life and love we see that obedience and sacrifice must be motivated by love. Sacrifice without love is works and will ultimately fail. Sacrifice and obedience which are motivated by love are a work of God’s grace in us. The difference is between operating in our strength, which is “works”, and operating in God’s power, which is “grace”. Resurrection power is in us through Jesus the Christ. Christ Jesus is the source of all life. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26). Jesus is Life, in Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:4). "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live (John 5:24-25)  . "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63). "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me(John 14:6). If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).