The Miracle of New Life and a Surrendered Life

Spiritual life is a miracle of God as He births new life into those that receive Him. It is not too much of a stretch for us to see the miracle of our awareness that we are not our own, but the Lord's.

Israel is perpetually in the news. In a striking synthesis, it is interesting to note that the nation of Israel began with Sarah, the wife of Abraham, Rebecca, the wife of Isaac, and Rachel, the wife of Jacob all barren. The Lord had to intervene miraculously during these formative years of God’s love affair with His people. It is as though God was preparing for the miracle of the virgin birth.

In much the same way, spiritual life is a miracle of God, as he births new life into those who receive Him. It may not be too much of a stretch for us to see the miracle of our awareness that we are not our own, but the Lord’s.  For it is He who works in us and through us for His good pleasure. The miracle of a surrendered life brings abundance and great joy.

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

  1. Ready to observe Jesus and the nature of His mission using me.
  2. Ready to interact with Jesus and serve Him and others.
  3. Ready to stretch my experience of Jesus working through me.
  4. Take full responsibility for assignments the Lord sets before me.

We find ourselves stepping through each of these phases in our journey, and sometimes we move up and down the scale. Moving to Step 1, or from Step 3 to Step 4, seems to have the same dynamic.  In each case, it is a miracle—a work of the Lord in our lives, moving us from barrenness to fruitfulness. Moving to Step 3 brings great joy until we realize there is even more.  At each stage, our assignment is to spend time with the Lord, making eye contact with Him, and trusting Him with more and more of our time, talent, training, and treasure. Where are you on this journey from desert to bloom? Here is a place to start.

Picture of Nelson Malwitz, Founder, Chief Innovation Officer

Nelson Malwitz, Founder, Chief Innovation Officer

Nelson is the generic Evangelical baby-boomer. Born in 1946, raised in the C&MA, he attended Urbana ’67 in college. He holds an MS degree in Chemical Engineering and worked in R&D positions in American industry for 33 years. Nelson is an inventor with formal training in methods of creative problem-solving. He was a founding elder at Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, CT (1982) and served in many leadership capacities of what is now one of the largest Evangelical churches in New England. In 1998 Nelson founded the Finishers Project, now MissionNext. Locally he attends a Torah study and serves as chairman of the Sewer Commission in his community to be a witness among unchurched leaders.

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2 thoughts on “The Miracle of New Life and a Surrendered Life”

  1. HI Tim of Paua New Guinea, Thank you for your response to our Blog. Thank you too for serving in Papua New Guinea. I visited PNG with Wycliffe in 2005 and 2011. Don’t miss updates to MissionNext by signing up for our newsletter. – BB

  2. 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.

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