It has been said, “Born once, die twice; born twice, die once.” This oft repeated adage is in reference to the fact that there is a death that is far worse than the death of the body. The death of the body is an appointment that the vast majority of humanity will keep. The second death, however, is not one that anyone must face. Sadly, multitudes will.

Revelation 20:11-15 KJV – “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The way to avoid the lake of fire and the second death is to be born again. This puts our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and, as Jesus told the Christians at Smyrna in Revelation 2, the second death has no power over us. This is a glorious truth we should rejoice in every day! It should also remind us that knowing Jesus not only gives us eternal life, but it also gives us power and purpose in this life.

John 10:10 KJV – “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 6:4 KJV – “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Abundant life and newness of life are two of the wonderful benefits of being born again. Old things have passed away making it possible for all things to become new. As born again Christians, we have a new eternal destiny, but we also have newness of life and that life is one of abundance. The Greek word translated as “abundantly” in John 10:10 actually means “superabundance.”

That means when we need strength, we will have it. When we need hope, it will be supplied abundantly. When we need to quench the fiery darts of the enemy, we can. When we need to take thoughts captive, this is ours in abundance. We need to remember that when we were promised eternal life through faith and trust in Christ, we don’t have to wait for it to begin. It begins in this life in these flesh and blood bodies. These bodies will receive a serious upgrade at the rapture of the church, but the abundant life doesn’t start then. It’s already ours now as new creations in Christ.

James 4:10 KJV – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

Many today are hesitant to humble themselves before the Lord. For some, this is from deep-seated pride. For others, it is simply an unawareness of the loving majesty of God. His love is unquestionably demonstrated and proven in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. His power is seen in His authority over all creation. He measures the universe with the span of His hand, He names and numbers the billions of stars, and He speaks of the future with absolute clarity. This majestic God has also numbered the hairs on our heads and keeps our tears in His bottle. (Matthew 10:30 and Psalm 56:8 respectively) There is none like Him. There is nothing too hard for Him. He has no equal nor can any match His power. 

Humbling ourselves before Him should be easy, once we understand who He is. Yet, in His typical loving and gracious manner, He lifts up those who humble themselves before Him. We would also do well to remember that He has done more for us that we don’t know about than what we do know. He is always watching over us. He has kept the enemy from destroying us. He has protected us when we didn’t know it. He has averted more tragedies that Satan has planned against us than we could even imagine.

Again, humbling ourselves before such love and power should be easy, but the truth is:

1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV – “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

This is another reason why we “must” be born again and why so many have a hard time recognizing how wonderful and loving our great and awesome God truly is. When you begin to see how amazing God is, surrendering to Him and being obedient to His word become no-brainers. For no one loves us like He does. No one has a better plan for their lives than His. He is perfect in all His ways.

As the old hymn so wonderfully says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.”

No one who has done so has ever lived to regret it!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,