Some\nof the most important and powerful words in the Bible start with the letter R\n(in English). These key words describe the spiritual process we are all\nundergoing and are loaded with rich\nmeaning. So, R you ready?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regeneration:<\/strong> \u201cNot by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration<\/strong>, and renewing of the Holy Ghost\u201d<\/em> (Ti. 3:5). Regeneration is spiritual rebirth (being born again), the act of God whereby we become new creatures. Regeneration is not a superhuman act of man but a supernatural act of God. It is not the improving of the old nature but the imparting of a new nature (2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus told Nicodemus, \u201cYou must<\/strong> be born again\u201d<\/em> (Jn. 3:7). It\u2019s not optional; it\u2019s essential! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Renewing: <\/strong>To renew means \u201cto restore to a former state, to make new or as if new again, to restore, or refurbish.\u201d Certain things must be renewed\u2014driver\u2019s, hunting, fishing, and business licenses, memberships, car tags, insurance policies, leases, and more. Renewals usually involve a fee and, if it\u2019s important to us, we are willing to invest the time and money. Spiritual renewal also costs us something\u2014prayer, time in the Word, dedication, worship, and soul searching. The Holy Spirit\u2019s power renews us daily\u2014\u201cEven though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed<\/strong> day by day\u201d<\/em> (2 Cor. 4:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Refreshing: <\/strong>\u201cRepent ye therefore,\nand be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing\n<\/strong>shall come from the presence of the Lord\u201d<\/em> (Ac.\n3:19). To refresh means\u201cto provide new vigor and energy by rest or\nfood, to make fresh again, to reinvigorate (a person, the mind, or the spirit).\u201d\nSometimes we get weary, drained, discouraged, overwhelmed, or stuck in a rut\nand we need a spiritual refreshing. It comes from being saturated in God\u2019s Word\nand presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Revive:<\/strong> \u201cI dwell in the high and holy place,\nwith him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive<\/strong> the spirit of\nthe humble, and to revive<\/strong> the heart of the contrite ones\u201d<\/em> (Is. 57:15). To revive means \u201cto\nmake alive again.\u201d Revivaloccurs when God breathes fresh life into His\nchurch. Revival is not just a series of scheduled services; revival is when God\nsovereignly shows up and shows out. It is similar to the word \u201cresuscitate.\u201d\nWe\u2019ve all seen dramatic scenes where unconscious people receive mouth to mouth\nresuscitation and chest compressions, and they are revived. Revival is Holy Spirit\nCPR! Billy Sunday observed, \u201cRevivals don\u2019t last, neither does a bath, but it\nsure helps!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Restore:<\/strong> \u201cHe restores<\/strong> my soul\u201d<\/em> (Ps. 23:3). To restore means \u201cto\nbring back to a former, original condition.\u201d We watch TV shows where old,\ndilapidated buildings and rusted out cars are restored to look brand new. If\nman can turn clunkers into classics, what can God do with our soul? Notice it is HE (the Shepherd) who restores our soul. Spending quality time\nwith the Shepherd produces spiritual restoration. God is restoring us back to\nwhat Adam and Eve had with Him in the Garden of Eden and even better. Right\nnow, we receive partial restoration; at the resurrection, we will experience total\nrestoration\u2014God will restore everything that has been lost, stolen, broken, or\nforfeited in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remnant:<\/strong> \u201cEven so then at this present time also there is a remnant<\/strong>\naccording to the election of grace\u201d<\/em> (Rom. 11:5). A remnant is \u201ca remaining\nsmall part, quantity, or number of something.\u201d We are part of a righteous\nremnant that is preventing this world from being totally overrun with evil.\nIsaiah 1:9 describes a dark time of spiritual decline in Israel\u2019s history, \u201cExcept\nthe Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant<\/strong>, we should have\nbeen as Sodom, and . . . Gomorrah.\u201d<\/em> In\nother words, if it wasn\u2019t for God\u2019s mercy and grace, they would have been wiped\noff the map in judgment. Why hasn\u2019t God allowed America to be destroyed?\nBecause a righteous remnant is standing in the gap and interceding for Him to have\nmercy and heal our land. God always has a faithful minority who will not bow\ndown to the gods of this wicked world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reconciliation:<\/strong> \u201c<\/em>And you, who once were alienated and\nenemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (Col. 1:21). Reconciliation is\nthe process by which God and people are brought together. We were estranged from\nGod due to our sin, but Jesus bridged the gap and restored us to a right and\nharmonious relationship with Him. A Greek word translated \u201creconciliation\u201d means\n\u201cthe changing of places.\u201d We have changed places from a position of enmity and hostility\nto a position of unity and harmony. If you feel far from God, guess who moved?\nHe hasn\u2019t changed. We occasionally drift away from Him but He always seeks to\nreconcile us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repentance: <\/strong>\u201cThe goodness of God leads you to repentance<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (Rom. 2:4). Repentance is genuine\nsorrow for and the forsaking of sin. Repentance is not just when we cry; true\nrepentance is when we change (Mt. 3:8)! Repentance is something both sinners\nand saints need. Jesus called five of the seven churches in Revelation to\nrepent (Rev. 2:5, 16, 21; 3:3, 19). Repentance is not just a one-time trip to\nan altar to get saved; repentance should be part of our lifestyle (Ps. 51:10).\nRepentance always produces positive results (2 Cor. 7:10-11). Good news: God\nallows U-turns! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Redemption: <\/strong>\u201cYou were not redeemed<\/strong> with corruptible\nthings, like silver or gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ\u201d<\/em> (1 Pt. 1:18-19). To redeem means\n\u201cto buy back out of captivity with a ransom price.\u201dWe were held hostage\nby Satan and sin, but Jesus paid the ransom for our release. To redeem also\nmeans \u201cto bring good out of bad.\u201d Job, in the middle of his crisis, declared, \u201cI\nknow that my Redeemer<\/strong> lives\u201d<\/em>(Job 19:25).In other\nwords, somehow God is going to turn this around in my favor and bring good out\nof this bad situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we repent, we are reconciled,\nregenerated, redeemed, renewed, restored, revived, refreshed, and made part of\nGod\u2019s righteous remnant. All of these R words describe what God has done and is\ndoing in our lives as we approach the rapture and the resurrection. Oh, wait,\nthose are two more R words. Time to write a sequel. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some of the most important and powerful words in the Bible start with the letter R (in English). These key words describe the spiritual process we are all undergoing and are loaded with rich meaning. So, R you ready? Regeneration: \u201cNot by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":618,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions\/618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}