Five Minute Friday: Deserve

Today I am participating in Five Minute Friday, where a group of writers get together and free write about a one word prompt for 5 minutes. Today's word is "deserve."

Deserve-to have earned because of some act or quality

I don’t or haven’t really liked the word “deserve” in the past. I think it conjures up all the thoughts in my head about what I am not, where I am lacking. And I don’t really need any help in that area- I already know.

And I didn't already know, there have been people who were eager and ready to let me know.

I feel as though I don’t measure up on a daily basis in so many areas.

In Ephesians 2:8, it says,

By grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

                                       -Ephesians 2:18

God had to tell us twice in that Scripture that we didn’t deserve it.

By grace you are saved.

Grace is God’s undeserved, unmerited favor. You can’t earn it. It’s only because of His goodness.

That not of yourselves…

You didn’t do anything to earn it.

He told us twice. This means we just have to trust Him.

Under the New Covenant, we get nothing by earning, or by deserving it. It’s all by grace through faith, by trusting what He said was true.

From Darkness to Light

In Matthew's genealogy of Jesus there are four women mentioned, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, all with seedy pasts. Yes,  even Ruth. She was a Moabite. They sacrificed babies to their gods and their people was a product of Lot and one of his daughters, an incestuous relationship.

Today, I heard a minister, (someone I love), say that if he were writing the genealogy, he would have thought Sarah or Rebecca would have been more appealing to include. But they both were sinners too.

Sarah had her husband sleep with their slave, Hagar. And that created a huge division and strife in people groups. Rebecca conspired with Jacob to deceive her husband, Isaac, and steal the blessing that was supposed to belong to his brother Esau.

Those girls were no better than the list in Matthew's genealogy.

We are all in one of two places. We are either in Adam, or in Christ. We either belong to darkness or light.

And, truth be known, Jesus has already (past tense) reconciled you to God. You might just be finding out about it right now, in this moment. And that is so you can receive his payment and become part of the light, part of the Kingdom of God, part of Christ.

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,- 2 Corinthians 5:18 (NKJV)

No other human is better than you. You were the same before Jesus, and you are still on the same level playing field with the rest of the Body of Christ, when you step out of the dark and over into the Kingdom of Light.

All it takes is a moment of faith.

to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.-Acts 26:18 (NKJV)

The New Birth, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Water Baptism, Part 1

The new birth, water baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are three separate events in the life of the Believer.  These three happenings are all very important experiences to the Christian, and are for every Believer today.  Let’s look at the Bible and examine what the Scriptures have to say about each of these experiences.

The New Birth

The new birth or being born again is what Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3.

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”-John 3:1-8 ESV

Jesus called it being born again and being born of the Spirit.  The Bible also calls it the new birth, or being saved.

“He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”-Titus 3:5 NLT

“By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the first fruits of His creatures.”-James 1:18 Holman Christian Standard Bible

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”-Ephesians 2:8 ESV

“who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”-1 Timothy 2:4 New American Standard Bible

In John 20:21-23, we see the disciples become born again.  The Holy Spirit is the one who gives everyone new life or salvation.

“That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

When this happened, Jesus had already risen from death, so the new birth, or salvation was a possibility to all who believed.

So, how does one become born again?  In Romans 10, we are given the steps that a person has to take to be saved.

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. –Romans 10:8-13

You can prayer that prayer right now.  If you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then confess him as your Lord and receive Him into your heart and life.

In part 2 of this series, I am going to teach about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and how that is an different experience and follows salvation.

All posts in this series include:

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit-The Life of Jesus

The New Birth, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Water Baptism, Part 1

The New Birth, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Water Baptism, Part 2

The Holy Spirit Came on All Who Heard the Message