Renewal

 Renewal

Guest Blog by Gary Riedel

S - SCRIPTURE:Titus 3:5b 

The washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

O - OBSERVATION:

This is obviously speaking of Baptism, but God’s Holy Spirit makes His people new in different ways. For example, in Luke 19, in the story of Zacchaeus, he is a changed man after an encounter with Jesus, the women at the well in John 4 was changed by an encounter with 

Jesus. In Genesis, Abram was changed to Abraham, the father of many by an encounter with God. And in Acts 9 Saul is changed to Paul by an encounter with Jesus. There are others for sure, but that’s enough to give us an idea of how God changes those who encounter Him!

A - APPLICATION: How has our encounter with God changed us? We each encounter God in Baptism, in Communion, and in His Holy Word. We may even feel like we encountered Him through the testimony of a fellow Christian. For me this change doesn’t seem to have been as instantaneous as in some of the examples above. It’s rather been a process, 2 steps forward and one back. However, by God’s Grace the process is allowed to continue and every day He draws me closer to Himself and makes me more like Him. That is my prayer as I go through life, that (His promise in 2 Corinthians 5:18 “anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come,”) is made manifest in my life and in those who read this.

P - PRAYER: Gracious Father, May Your Word fall on fertile soil in those who read this and may it always be manifested in the lives of Your people, including this humble servant. 

In Jesus Name, Amen