To Be Born Again

SUN., JULY 24, 1994, 6:26 AM
FARM, STUDY

As Jesus I had a conversation with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Out of this came My statement to him, now famous in the evangelistic world – you must be born again… of the spirit rather than the flesh. And your experience tells you that it can be… born again and then again.

To be born is to come into a new form, different from what you had been. Physically, you humans spend, typically, 9 months developing from the union of sperm cell and ovum to a viable small human of, say 6 pounds or so. Until birth you are attached to your mother, with essential oxygen, food, and liquid coming through her. She breathes for you… eats and drinks for you. A successful physical birth means that the baby can breathe on its own and can suck and swallow, sufficient capacities to live outside of the womb.

Symbolically, you are born to life when you take in your first breath of air and then exhale. Since I, the Holy Spirit, am identified with wind, I like the symbol that life begins when, on your own, you take in a breath of Me. You are independent of your mother, but I am now available as a source of spiritual strength. And you know that spiritual strength does translate into physical strength. So… the first birth, into the earth, is physical, but with a definite spiritual component.

Even for those of you who are raised in a church, with baptism and regular Sunday School this relationship with Me, that I want to be active, remains “in potential.” Unfortunately, for many it is thus throughout life, even as they remain “practicing Christians.” They just don’t take the step that’s necessary to be born again… or… they don’t respond to My invitation to yet another birth.

For you it was this latter experience. The study of My Gospel of John and of My letter to the Romans (with some use of Paul, of course), just what appeared to be an ordinary Bible study, brought forth the spiritual knowledge of Me, as Holy Spirit, and grace as the ultimate gift. For some 20 years that birth was sufficient to motivate you into good Christian service, in several churches.

Then… you were born yet again. You were ready, in several ways. I even “arranged it” by way of one of your professional writing responsibilities. I came to you in an unexpected way, and you are now into your 16th year of your second new birth. You are called to this place, generally, and to this pen and this type paper. You listen, you hear, and you write… Teachings from the Holy Spirit that tell you directly how I feel about life in this time, so different from the time when Scripture was written. I guide your life, and, independent as you are by nature, you have almost accepted such a gift. These Teachings of Mine can be of help to others, and you still are almost too reluctant to share these. I want you to be comfortable in this, so I don’t push as hard as I might. Just do appreciate the letters, like Caryl’s that tell how a particular Ruminations has been helpful, even “just right” for a present situation.

Could you be born even again? It’s possible that you could, in your older, retired state, be born to more overt sharing of these Teachings. I push a bit for that, but you are not yet ready for such a “birth.”

You know, of course, that your bodily death will be a birth into a realm of spirit. This is just as real a birth as your physical advent. You took your first breath and became a human person. You shall take your last breath and be born again into a spirit realm. It has not been decided exactly what that shall be. If you have rested sufficiently it shall be one of active service. If you have been active right to the “end,” as you envision now, it could be one of rest and peace, until you are ready to seek more spiritual growth.

Some physical births are sudden. Others are quite prolonged. Likewise, some spiritual births are sudden and dramatic, while others just seem to develop. You have had both kinds, and you progress well, even as you don’t accomplish all that I request or suggest. Each birth is also a death, meaning that you have dropped something of the past for a new state of being.

Selah
7:29 AM