“The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it is coming from, or where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the spirit” – John 3:8

Everyone who is born of the spirit, everyone who is born again lives life at a new level of awareness and is able to accomplish things that others may only understand in the most limited way.  People can see that believers are different.  Believers are able to achieve success, happiness, peace, fulfillment, and that kind of radical inner joy that cannot be compromised by what is happening around them.  However, without being born again themselves, non-believers simply can’t figure out where this level of purpose, dedication, commitment, faith, and vision are coming from or where they are going.  In other words, they can see that something is working for those who are born again, but they aren’t sure why and they aren’t sure if it is just a coincidence or if there is actually a permanent improvement in the lives of those who follow Christ and accept His teaching.

So, which side of the line do you find yourself on today?  Have you committed your life to Christ?  Have you embraced the opportunity to change your life for the better both now and forever?  Are you living your best life now?  Experiencing all the blessings that God has in store for you?  Or are you finding it hard to commit?  Are you unsure what to commit to?  Do you think you have committed but you haven’t seen any results?  Did you commit to something a while ago, but haven’t really done anything about it since?

Here’s the secret to every believer’s success — Jesus offers answers to life’s questions that require complete commitment.  You can’t be “sort of” Christian any more than you can be “sort of” born.  Either you have been born again or you have not.  It’s a commitment.  It’s a permanent change.  And like any commitment, you only reap the benefits if you are actually, fully, 100% dedicated, with no compromise.  It’s like marriage, you can’t be “sort of” married, and people who try to be discover that it is not fulfilling, successful, or joyful.  The fact is, the only way to discover the full benefits of marriage is to be 100% committed to your spouse and to God without looking back, and expecting the same of them.  And its like that with life as well. Too many people try to live life without any intention of following through.  Trying to find some sort of safe middle road that doesn’t offend anyone too badly, that seems reasonable and acceptable to most people, and that doesn’t require any significant change to how they see the world or live their lives.  They may “commit their life to Christ” in the same way that some people try “a starter marriage” before they get to the real thing.  But the tragedy is, for those who lack commitment and an understanding of the life of faith, their experience as a believer will only be limited and will likely end in disappointment, just like those who believe in starter marriages condemn themselves to the tragedy and heartache of a breakup.  Being born again is kind of like marriage, a lot of people focus on the wedding and expect the rest to just happen on its own, when, in fact, the wedding itself is only significant because it marks the beginning of the marriage.  It’s like life, while it is extremely significant that you were born, it is perhaps more relevant that you are alive.

When Jesus explained that every person must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God, He was revealing that every life has the opportunity to experience a complete overhaul, a revolutionary change for the better that takes us to a new level of understanding, a new level of vision, a new level of decision making, a new level of accomplishment, success, fulfillment, peace, happiness, the list goes on.  The benefits of being born again are limitless and eternal, and to get them started in your own life, all it requires is a commitment without compromise.  A choice that will require every day of your life for as long as you live.  A decision that will determine your bedrock, your foundation, your direction, and your destiny.  You can’t go halfway.  It’s all or nothing and it will take everything you’ve got.  Look at your life today.  Choose today, and today could be your spiritual birthday, the first day of the rest of your life.  If this is what you want, then tell Jesus today,

“I want to be a Christian.  I commit my life, my thoughts, my stuff, and my heart to you.  Everything that I have and that I am are yours.  You are the only God for me.  From now on, I want to see what you see, I want to know what you know, I want to love who you love, I want to do what you do.  Nothing will stop me this time.  No weapon formed against me will prosper.  No distraction, obstacle, or challenge will take me away from you.  No doubt will turn me from my purpose to seek and to accomplish your will.  I know and I believe that you have great things in store for me.  I’m yours Lord, save me.”

If you prayed that prayer, than you have been born again.  Get in a good, Bible-based church, and get ready to experience all of the promises that God has in store.  He is going to take you places that you’ve never even dreamed of.

And at the heart of God’s will is infinite love for you, and a passionate, persistent, dedicated, and instense drive to bless you.

When God’s will is accomplished, its results are amazing.  This is because God knows you and everyone else so well that He can provide for the best outcomes in every situation.  And that is what He wants to do.  He is the giver.  He is the provider.  He is the creator.  His will has no limits and His vision sees every possibility.  His willingness to invest in you is unlimited and His readiness to commit to your success is always immediate.  But for all the omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and everything that God brings to His side of your relationship with Him, there are still limits you can place on God’s will being done.  Your willingness to believe and readiness to receive the blessings He is so urgently working to give you and the answers He provides for you — can open the door to radical blessings, or can stand in the way of achieving success and fulfillment.

The choice is yours.

And don’t forget.  This is not a one time offer.  This is not a limited time deal.  This is not a use it or lose it proposition.  This is forever and always.  This is the will of the creator and sustainer of the universe.  This is the opportunity of a lifetime for a lifetime — it never expires. His offer is perpetual.  His patience is infinite.  And you can say no every day, every time you think of it and still He won’t withdraw His offer.  You can buy the competitor’s product.  You can even sell the competitor’s product. You can do every contrary, dysfunctional, twisted, and evil thing you can think of and still God will be looking for the next opportunity to work with you and accomplish His will for your life.  Because God is playing for keeps.  His purposes are eternal and He always goes the distance with every person He creates.  God never gives up. And while He consistently respects your boundaries, and refuses to invade your space, His blessings will chase you down and overtake you when you aren’t expecting it.  He will surprise and delight you even if you only give Him the smallest opening.  And once you open the door, even ever so slightly, God is going to start bringing everything He has and handing it over to you. The blessings may come faster than you notice them or more subtly than you can resist them at first.  But open your eyes and you will see that every time you listen, every time you look, every time you step out in faith — God is right there ready to hand you the victory, bring you the success, give you the answers, and fulfill the dreams of your heart that you never believed possible before.

God is not going to give up. God is a very persistent giver.  He is going to take every opportunity to show you the value of His will, to demonstrate the quality of His blessings, and to send His gifts in such abundance that sooner or later you will take notice.  Don’t let this opportunity keep passing you by.  God’s will is perfect, and its perfect for you. Take the time to talk to Him about it. Open yourself up to the fact that His will is worth pursuing not because its His, but because its the best possible outcome in every situation.  And then get ready to receive, because when you give God the permission He will fill your life up to full and overflowing with good things.  He will give you the desires of your heart, and bless you in ways that you haven’t even imagined.  God’s will, will be done.  And that’s the best possible outcome for every situation.

Re-engaging the past, re-evaluating our memories, and awakening the emotions, images, and experiences of situations that were left unresolved for us, is a requirement for finding peace not just in the case of soldiers returning from war, but in all of our lives when we face things that are beyond our ability to process in the moment we experience them. Things that are beyond our emotional depth and outside of our rational comprehension. Its what some people call baggage.  Everything that we have pushed off or stuffed down for some other day.  All that we have left to be dealt with eventually, but we just don’t want to face yet.  For all this unresolved, incomplete, unprocessed junk – God promises us resolution.

When we really engage reality it is both challenging and encouraging. It means that we will have conflict, discomfort, and personal change.  But it also means that we can achieve real results. We can make lasting improvements to our relationships, we can turn past failures into future successes, and we can receive blessings and restoration in areas of our lives where we have learned to expect curses and damage.

Like soldiers facing life and death on the battle field, we face our successes and failures every day and deal with them in the moment as best we can.  But we need to know that nothing has to be left for the someday, somewhere bucket when it comes to towing around our baggage.  God’s promises are clear.  God gives us the opportunity to put down our baggage. And that opportunity starts with prayer.

Prayer is our opportunity to debrief with God. Tell Him what you know about the situation that left you holding the bag, what you did, what others did, what results you achieved, and why you feel like something was left undone or done wrong.  Be specific.  Be honest.  Be completely open.  Don’t try to be politically correct.  Don’t try to sound holy or right.  Don’t take sides or try to sound like the hero.  Don’t beat around the bush.  And most of all, don’t you be the judge.  Put it squarely on His shoulders to show you the right and the wrong.  Let God provide you with the solution.

God answers all prayers. Often even as we are speaking we know deep down in our soul what He is telling us.  Sometimes, like Samuel in the Bible, we don’t really hear God the first time and so He has to repeat Himself several times until we realize who it is that’s talking.  And like any relationship, as we get to know God better, we get to understand how He talks and what He says better as well.  At first we may project a lot of our own thinking on God, or our expectations might color our understanding of what He says.  But as we become friends and we start to see more and more of who God is, our expectations change, and our willingness to accept Him for who He is takes our conversations to a whole new level.  Because it is when we talk to God, and hear His Word for our lives, that we are able to find the resolution that He promises for every moment of our lives from now to eternity.

God has promised us resolution and restoration.  God knows every moment of your life and the lives of all the people around you.  And although I cannot tell you the specific solutions to each bag on your luggage cart, I know the one who can.  Talk to God, to Jesus Christ Himself, and He will take your baggage piece by piece and show you what you can do with it.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30