There are many analogies and correlations made in scripture between the spiritual and the natural aspects of life. God does this for our benefit, as He did when he came to earth robed in the man Christ Jesus, he told his disciples parables. These were earthly stories that had a deeper and heavenly meaning. He did this because he wants us to succeed in our lives in every way. He is our biggest cheer leader. He wants us to understand Him and grow and mature in our relationship with Him. He is not standing with a baseball bat in His hand waiting to hit us over the head at every wrong move we make. We know this, because John gave us the nutshell explanation, in 1 John 4:8, “He that loveth not knows not God; for God is love.”
We will focus on one correlation for the sake of this short study. The reason for the name of this article is because we will all start our walk with the Lord as unborn. The church, being the mother (those already born again), will share the word of God with us, we will respond to the word, and subsequently if we accept by faith what we have heard, we will go through the birthing experience as they did, that is spoken of in John 3. Once this happens, we are nurtured by the church and begin to mature and grow in the Lord, until you guessed it, we become spiritual mothers also and the cycle of life continues as such. Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It is a simple concept if we stop and take a moment to contemplate it.
Here are a few simple words of admonishment to the mother, aka the church, do not abort your unborn. Do not try to make them crawl before they are born or walk before they can crawl. Do not try to give them a steak before they have teeth to chew it with or try to make them a mother before they are even born. In Matthew 18:3-6 Jesus told his disciples, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Our physical and spiritual children are a great responsibility that God entrusts into our hands to nurture and love. We are never fully ready for motherhood, but we can and will be successful at it, if we give it our full effort and attention.
To the unborn I would like to say, that living for God is not complicated either, though many would make it seem this way. This small article is to admonish those who have not been born yet, to let them know it is worth it. No, the mother may not be ready for everything that is coming her way, and is far from perfect, but she has so much love to give, that you will not regret your decision. 1 Peter 2:2-3 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” As we grow in knowledge of the word, we start to turn our eyes from the mother, aka the church, and begin building a personal relationship with the Father, aka God, who will become our all and all. Here are ten directives that could help you on this journey.
The first D is, Duty. After a lifetime of following his own pleasures, Solomon expresses in Ecclesiastes 12:13, what really matters. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” In the beginning, humankind was created perfect and innocent, but the caveat was, they had a free will. God wanted them to have a choice. We are made in His image, and we know God is love, therefore, this is where we get our inherent need for love and affection. However, we know humanity disobeyed, and hid from God in their shame. From that point to now, the quest to come back into that relationship with Him began. Romans 3:23 and 5:12 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” But Romans 6:23 and 5:19 shines a light on hope, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Though this is an ancient message, it is not old, stale or wilted as an old garment, shoe or piece of lettuce that would be discarded. Mark 16:16 and Psalm 150:6 tells us, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” It is still our duty and privilege and only hope of salvation to come unto Him. However, the choice is still ours.
The second D is, Decision. Once we have heard the gospel, the ‘good news’ of Jesus Christ, we must decide what we will do with it. The truth of God’s word demands a response, whether affirmative or negative. This fact is substantiated in scripture repeatedly. Joshua told God’s people in Joshua 24:15, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” When Nicodemus came to Jesus in John 3, wanting to get some direction from God, in Jesus’ response, there was action needed, to see or enter the Kingdom of God and/or heaven. The reaction of the hearers to Peter’s sermon, as seen in Acts 2:37 was, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
Not everyone makes the right choice. We see in Genesis 6 and 7 that the people had around 120 years to decide to enter the ark, but when the flood came, no one went in except Noah’s family. Though this was a response, it turned out to be a catastrophic choice. “In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, and the Lord shut him in. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth,” In his second letter to his son in the Lord, Timothy, Paul wrote, “Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…” Demas had apparently become a Christian, and then made the decision to leave Paul and the faith, because his former life had more of an appeal to him. Sadly, we still see this today. However, ‘truth’ is just that, absolute facts, and cannot be changed to fit the whims and likes of anyone.
The third D is Direction. When the crowd asked what they should do, Peter gave them specific instructions in Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” John 3:3-6 gives us this account. “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.” This new birth is demonstrated on the day of Pentecost after Peter preached his phenomenal sermon in Acts 2.
The story of Naaman needing direction from the Lord is seen in 2 Kings 5:9-12, “So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So, he turned and went away in a rage.” He wanted direction, and healing, but was insulted by the messenger of God, Elisha’s methods, and he did not like the message, ‘go wash in the Jordan,’ and he thought that he could have produced a much better idea. He left, angry and still with leprosy. Embarrassment and pride can get in the way of our healing and finding direction from the Lord and can lead us to taking wrong paths. Isaiah 55:9 tells us, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” John 14:6 states, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 10:9 Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” He is the way, and he is the door. When God gives direction, it is not negotiable, yet always has our best interest in mind, because we are His children.
The fourth D is for Demonstration. The way for us to show we believe, and we trust God is through action. James 2:17 says, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” When it comes to salvation, we can read in Acts 2, 8, 10, and more, that once they heard the word, they acted upon it and obeyed. What happened to Naaman, did he persuade God to change his mind? The rest of Naaman’s story has a wonderful ending as we see in the subsequent verses, “And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.” He decided to follow God’s directives and obey the instructions and it worked out very well for he and his family.
In Isaiah 1:17-20 God states, “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” God works on a covenant bases. If we do this or that, he will keep his end of the bargain and keep, lead, direct us and heal us as he did for Naaman.
The fifth D is Determination. This is obtained and realized by knowledge of the gospel, the principles, and doctrines found in God’s word. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” And Romans 10:17 lets us know how that is possible, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Ephesians 2:8 gives us a second element to the recipe of walking with God with determination, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Galatians 3:24 shows that building faith and determination through knowledge is not a new concept, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Without the fortification of the word, we will not be able to succeed in our Christian walk. Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” However, to stand against the lies of the enemy, we must have a solid foundation in truth.
The sixth D is Doubt. This is one directive that we should not have. Doubt comes through deceit. Satan is not our friend, and his only weapon is deceit. This began in the garden of Eden and continues today. Eve knew God’s command but was not fully versed on the details nor did she have a personal relationship with God as Adam did. She fell for Satan’s lies and tricks because he twisted the truth to confuse her and cause her to doubt God’s word. This process all took place before any disobedience occurred. In 1 Timothy 2:8, we see God’s desire for us is to not doubt, which shows our faith and trust in Him, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
The seventh D is Discouragement. Defeat is often a contributor to discouragement. This can cause people to walk away from their walk with God and ‘throw in the towel.’ We must all fight against this from time to time, but when we call on Jesus, he will be there for us. We see in the parable of the Sower, where Jesus explains a portion of it in Mark 4:16-17 “And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.” The instructions we need to help us thwart off discouragement are, James 4:7-8, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” Psalms 51:16-17 says, “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” These are things that Eve did not consider before reacting. We must take initiative by studying the word and not be reactionary when adverse circumstances come our way.
The eighth D is Discipline. This is a particularly important aspect of our walk with the Lord, but it cannot be all consuming, because this will lead us to a life that has no joy in it. They say a rut is just a ‘grave with the two ends knocked out of it.’ This is not somewhere any of us want to live. We must not lull ourselves to sleep, become complacent or lethargic, by living without enthusiasm. There are only three things that we do through discipline. These are bible reading, prayer and fasting. The rest, God does for us and gives to us freely. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
The nineth D is Desperation. We should be pursuing after God in earnest daily, so that our soul does not reach a point of desperation and dehydration. David said in Psalm 42:1, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” Just as we need food, water, and oxygen to sustain life physically, we need the living water, the bread of life, and the breath of the Holy Spirit for our spiritual man. There is nothing that can fill the void in our souls but God. Our efforts to satisfy ourselves any other way will not work; they will leave us unfulfilled and will not quench our thirst. Jesus taught the multitude in his sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
God removed Saul from the throne and anointed David to be king, not because he was perfect, but because David was always desperately desiring to please God. 1 Samuel 13:14, “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.” Our desperation should not be because we have tried to make it on our own, but because we are proactively seeking Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We can all have ‘happy’ moments in our lives, depending on the circumstances at the time, but they are just temporary at best. True joy and peace come from our relationship with God. Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:13-14, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
If you need an example of the desperation, we should have in our pursuit of God you can see this in a person who is dying. They will cry for help, they will claw their way from danger, they will grope in the dark to reach the light, or gasp frantically for their last breath. They will use every ounce of strength they have left. This type of desperation coupled with determination is seen in the woman with the issue of blood. The full story is found in Mark 5. She had spent all she had, seen every doctor she could see, tried every potion they had given her, but was still growing weaker daily because there was no cure to be found for her ailment. She fought her way through the crowd for the mere chance of just touching Jesus’ garment. So great was her faith and desperation that she received her healing from the master the very moment she touched him.
The tenth D is deliverance. When we completely surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, he breathes His breath of life into us and gives us deliverance as he did for the woman with the issue. We are His creation, and we need the breath of life daily. This was not just a one time thing we see in creation. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Adam could not and did not struggle with God. A person dying that needs air is given CPR by another person who is trying to save their life. They are in essence breathing into them, breathing for them. The one needing the breath is not fighting or struggling with them but receiving the ‘breath of life.’ Romans 9:20-21 shows us this concept as well, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” We must allow Him to mold and make us into the vessel he wants us to be.
After Jesus resurrection he told his disciples, in John 10:20 21, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” God has called us all to live for him and work for Him. We must pass on His deliverance to others; however, we cannot do it alone. We must allow him to breathe His Holy Spirit on us, in us, and through us. As we implement these ten directives in our lives, we will mature and become the mother, aka the church, that we need to be for the next group of babies who are yet to be born.