The Lord Jesus said that we need to be born again. In John 3:3, it says: “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Apostle Peter taught that we were born again by the incorruptible word of God: 1 Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” So, according to the Scriptures, we now have a new nature. We no longer live according to the dictates of the flesh. Our new nature and DNA comes from God’s Holy Spirit. Galations 5:25 says: “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives”. Paul gave us a snapshot of the difference between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Galations 5: 19-26 (NLT) says: “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.” It’s very clear and simple. The above verses clearly outline whether or not you are following the Spirit’s leading, or still allowing the old nature to control you. The more time you spend with God’s word and His Holy Spirit, the more the fruits of the Spirit will shine through you! We have a Spanish saying that translated to English is: “Tell me who you spend the majority of your time with, and I’ll tell you who you are”!
The Proverbist once wrote: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There are correct times and seasons to sow, to be born, to invest, to speak, to remain quiet, etc. We have the God-given authority to make our own decisions and live the way we choose. And in doing so, many times we make decisions outside of the correct timing or season. Due to this, some of the things we do will not succeed. 1 Peter 5:6 says: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time.” The word “appropriate” in this verse contains a powerful principle. It means “due season, proper time, time of visitation, appointed time, His own good time, the right time, His timing.” God has a perfect time in His will to exalt, promote or prosper you in the place of His service. This includes everything you need to accomplish His purpose in your life. So instead of praying for God to prosper you, may I suggest that you pray to God to give you discernment regarding His timing as you serve Him. This way, you won’t get ahead of His timing, and you won’t miss your time of visitation. After all, to everything there is a correct and and accurate time and season!
