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The miracle of new life and a surrendered life.


Israel is perpetually very much in the news. In a striking synthesis, notice at the beginning, the nation of Israel starts out with Sarah with Abraham, Rebecca with Isaac and Rachel with Jacob each barren. In the formative years of God's love affair with His people, the Lord had to intervene with a miracle. It is as if God is preparing us for the miracle of the virgin birth.  

In much the same way, spiritual life is a miracle of God birthing new life in those that receive Him. It may not be too much of a stretch for us to see the miracle of awareness that we are not our own, but fullness of life comes from the Lord a fullness of life in Him.  For it is He that works in us and through us for His good pleasure. There is the miracle of a surrendered life, bringing abundance and great joy. That is why the feedback returned from people that make the transition to mission service is, "I'm having the time of my life."

Among the terms of completing a profile to find a compelling niche of service, we simply ask for honesty and transparency. There are no wrong answers. A question is posed regarding your faith journey with the following choices:

  1. Not yet ready to call Jesus my Lord and my God
  2. Ready to observe Jesus and the nature of His mission using me
  3. Ready to interact with Jesus and serve Him and others
  4. Ready to stretch my experience of Jesus working through me
  5. Take full responsibility for assignments the Lord sets before me 

As we journey we find ourselves stepping through each phase and sometimes moving up and down the scale. Moving from Step 1 to Step 2 or Step 4 to Step 5 seem have the same dynamic.  In each case it is a miracle—a work of the the Lord in our life, moving us from barrenness to fruitfulness. At one time, moving to Step 2 brings great joy until we realize in our journey there is more.  At each stage our assignment is to spend time with the Lord making eye contact with Him, trusting Him with more and more of our time, talent, training and treasure. Where are you on this journey from desert to bloom? 

Nelson Malwitz, Finishers Project Founder, March 2010

Tim of Papua New Guinea wrote:

This is a great blog. I am amazed. Keep up the good work.

I am a journalist by profession but now I teach, write, preach and attend part-time BTh studies. Currently I edit and publish TEE materials in Tok Pisin and English. I want to learn more about writing for distance education.

Ademuyiwa of Aurora, Colorado wrote:

This is a follow-up to my earlier comment on the article "Lord of the Loose Ends.":

If I whole-heartedly believe that Jesus had a margin to be interrupted by anyone, then the Holy Ghost inspired response from me should be: "Lord, I want to be like you. Empower me to be like you, endowed with that special grace to handle interruptions under any and every circumstance."

I want to emphasize that it would amount to a major presumption to do a flippant "Jesus is our example" mind-conditioning!!! That would not be the effective approach to handle interruptions.

Thank you for the thought. It is agreed, that usefulness in serving is not a matter of mind over circumstances, but a matter of relationship before results.

John of Turbat Mekran, Pakistan wrote:

Truly birth in barren old stage. God makes the impossible possible.

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