THE GOD OF THE “RE” PREFIXES

On Sunday in worship Rev. Wes Olds, the pastor of Grace Church where we are attending while in Florida, suggested that the God we worship is a God of the “Re” prefixes. The sermon series is on “Rebuilding” which is a timely theme for the area of Fort Myers following the devastation of Hurricane Ian last September (2022). This church also has a huge “Recovery” program with a worship service dedicated to “finding freedom from your addictions, afflictions, and compulsive behaviors.”

It got me thinking about all the “Re” prefixes that God is involved in. In addition to Rebuilding (Nehemiah 2:4-5) and Recovery (Isaiah 6:1) here are others that came to mind, in no particular order, with Scripture references: Redeeming (Ephesians 1:7), Reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20), Return (Zechariah 1:3), Rebirth (John 3:3), Relationship (John 17:3), Release (Galatians 5:1), Revive (Isaiah 57:15), Renewal (Romans 12:2), Restore (Psalm 51:12), Reunite (John 20:20), Repent (Mark 1:15), Respond (Matthew 4:19-20), Rescue (Psalm 31:5), Remember (Isaiah 49:15-16), Receive (John 1:12), and, of course, Resurrection (John 11:25).

I am sure there are other words of faith that begin with the prefix “Re”. But you may find that one of these listed here, along with its Scripture verse, is just what you need to hear today. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#5522

A FRESH START FOR THE NEW YEAR

"Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new”. (2 Corinthians 5:17, The Message).

[Renovation] takes solid work, requires real change in behavior, and sometimes the recognition that failing will be part of the journey. A fascinating and convicting book is “Renovation of the Heart” by Dallas Willard. It’s one to put on your reading list – and recognize that you might be reading one chapter over and over and over. He spends some interesting time thinking about the role of the will and the relation to the Holy Spirit in this “renovation”, in becoming “new creatures”.

The key to this renovation, however, as opposed to the fad of New Year’s resolutions, is that spiritual fresh starts are based in a power that is not our own power. In fact, we have to give up our “own power” in order to be effective, and that makes all the difference.

So looking at that verse again, we can be assured that when we unite with the Messiah, when we are reborn in Christ, when the Holy Spirit becomes part of our hearts and minds… we have a true chance at a fresh start. 

-- Lt. Colonel Carol Seiler, the Salvation Army

#5507   

FILLING OUR MINDS

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  (Romans 12:2 NIV)

How we act will be determined by how we think. If God is to change our lives, He must first change our minds. The human mind cannot be a vacuum. It will be filled either with good or evil. It will be filled either with Christ or with carnality. What will make the difference? It depends on us, and on what we allow to enter our minds. Negatively, our minds must be turned away from evil. We must be careful what kind of [things we watch on the screen], what kind of books we read, the things that occupy our thoughts. But it isn’t enough to put bad thoughts out of our minds. Positively, they must be replaced with good thoughts -- thoughts that are shaped by God and His word, by prayer. 

-- Billy Graham in “Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith”

#5146

DAILY RENEWAL

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)

To prepare for flight, the eagle spends an hour each day preening its feathers.  Perched high on a rock, the eagle methodically passes each feather, up to 1200 in all, through its mouth and breathes on each one.  This action produces a similar effect to steam cleaning.  Once the feathers are restored, the eagle is ready to soar through the sky.

The eagle also has a gland that secretes an oily liquid, making its feathers waterproof.  When it rains or the bird dives into water after prey, the eagle's feathers do not become heavy with water or endanger its ability to fly.

We, too, must renew ourselves daily before the Lord or we will become "grounded."  Without those necessary "quiet times," cares and concerns bring on anxieties and fears that slow us down.  We take on burdens we were never meant to carry... Worry comes from natural concerns that are part of our lives.  But when these legitimate concerns are handled wrongly, they dominate our lives.  Worry can make us forget that our caring God is in control and cause us to wonder about our future, over which we have no control.

Renewing ourselves is a daily process just as it is for the eagle.

-- Sheryl Lynn Hill in “Soar as the Eagle”

#4967

A NEW CREATION

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV)

Faith is unlearning the senseless worries and misguided beliefs that keep us captive. It is far more complex than simply modifying behavior. Faith is rewiring the human brain. We are literally upgrading our minds by downloading the mind of Christ. 

-- Mark Batterson

#4877

WHERE TRUE TRANSFORMATION BEGINS

Too many of us have lost a sense of expectancy that God will show up and transform our lives. Because of that disposition, we do not cry out with urgency or find ourselves willing to pay a price for revival to happen within us. In Ephesians 3:19, Paul prays that we would “know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” To be filled with the fullness of God, we have to go beyond intellectual knowledge of the Lord and find intimacy in the presence of God. We need to hunger for more of God and seek Him with all our hearts. This is where the true transformation begins. Did Jesus die on the cross so we could feel and be just a little bit better on occasion? Was it for small victory or life-changing victory? Have we settled for less than God’s fullness in our lives and [churches]?

If God speaks into your heart and He lovingly humbles you, don’t run. Go to the Scriptures and pray, “Lord, through Your Holy Spirit, reveal Your truth to me, even if it’s painful. I am yours.” 

-- Madeline Carrasco Henners, from the book “Firm Foundation”

#4847

RENEWED STRENGTH

“LORD, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.”  (Isaiah 33:2 NIV)

Life is a hard fight, a struggle, a wrestling with the principle of evil, hand to hand, foot to foot. Every inch of the way is disputed. The night is given us to take breath, to pray, to drink deep at the fountain of power. The day, to use the strength which has been given us, to go forth to work with it till the evening.

-- Florence Nightingale


#4790

CONQUERING OF THE WILDERNESS

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil.”  (Luke 4:1-2a NIV)

When sorrow comes, let us accept it simply, as a part of life. Let the heart be open to pain; let it be stretched by it. All the evidence that we have says that this is the better way. An open heart never grows bitter. Or if it does, it cannot remain so. In the desolate hour, there is an outcry; a clenching of the hands upon emptiness; a burning pain of bereavement; a weary ache of loss. But anguish, like ecstasy, is not forever. There comes a gentleness, a returning quietness, a restoring stillness. This, too, is a door to life. Here, also, is a deepening of meaning -- and it can lead to dedication; a going forward to the triumph of the soul, the conquering of the wilderness. And in the process will come a deepening inward knowledge that in the final reckoning, all is well.

-- A. Powell Davies in “Life Prayers”


#4789

BEING TRANSFORMED

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  (Romans 12:2 NIV)

In his letter to the Romans (12:2) the apostle Paul writes that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. ‘Transformed’ in Greek is ‘metamorphosis,’ which is the biological term for the change of a caterpillar into a butterfly -- change from within. We are to constantly ask God in prayer to teach us to think as He thinks; to discern that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. I know of no better way to find that out than to get into God's inspired Word. I know of no better place to do that than in small group Bible study where there is encouragement and support for the journey.

Some time ago, I learned a related word, though. It is ‘metamorphobia,’ or the fear of change. Don't be afraid to change if it is in God's direction.

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson in a sermon entitled "Great Expectations"


#4699

ALL CREATION WAITS

“No more let sins and sorrows grow
nor thorns infest the ground:
He comes to make His blessings flow
far as the curse is found.”  (From “Joy to the World” by Isaac Watts)

Any careful reading of the Bible provides a lot of evidence to support the claim that trying to make all things good and beautiful is very much a part of being God's people.  When Jesus saved us, He called us to be partners with Him in the work that He wanted to do in the world.  There is little doubt that our Lord very much wants to recreate this world through us and make it like new.  Part of the reason why Jesus came into the world and saved us from sin was for just that purpose.  Through us who are saved and sanctified by His grace, He wants to renew the earth.  God's will is that everything, ourselves included, should be made new and beautiful again.  The Bible says as much in Romans 8:19ff:

"For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering.  We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as His children, including the new bodies He has promised us." (Romans 8:19-23 NLT) 

-- Tony Campolo in “Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God” 


#4485

THE MEANING OF EASTER

Easter never fails us. Even in the worst of times, amidst destruction, death and despair, Easter arrives as surely as daybreak, boldly proclaiming the message of renewal and hope.

…Biblical accounts of the first Easter Sunday have proven to be a powerful source of inspiration and transformation. The world was never the same again. The blood stained linen wrappings and the empty tomb ushered in a radically different era of brave new beginnings. The message of love, faith and hope still resonates across the globe…

Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said in “The Brothers Karamazov”: "Without God, everything becomes permissible." But Easter declares: "With God, everything becomes possible." That means hope -- hope that transcends our limitations and triumphs over our worst fears. Easter epitomizes the kind of tragic optimism that cannot be crushed by all the forces of darkness, including death. This is the true meaning of Easter!

-- Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., C.Psych., Trinity Western University

#4310

A DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION

Again the Lord said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.”’”  (Ezekiel  37:4-5 NKJV)

God’s Spirit once took the prophet Ezekiel to a vast valley filled with brittle, parched-dry bones -- a potent picture of widespread spiritual dryness. But by the Word of God proclaimed through Ezekiel’s mouth, those piles of bones took on sinew and flesh and skin, then were infused with life-giving, wind-driven breath from the Spirit of God. A sweeping vista of skeletons was turned instead into a force of fired-up warriors ready to do battle for the Lord. A transformation just as dramatic is what God wants to generate in our individual lives today and in the life of His church.

-- from the Publisher’s Description of “Dry Bones Dancing” by Tony Evans

#4170

PUTTING TEAMWORK INTO ACTION

“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’"  (Nehemiah 2:17 NIV)

Spiritual renewal often begins with one person’s vision.  Nehemiah had a vision, and he shared it with enthusiasm, inspiring Jerusalem’s leaders to rebuild the wall.

We frequently underestimate people and don’t challenge them with our dreams for God’s work in the world. When God plants an idea in your mind to accomplish something for Him, share it with others and trust the Holy Spirit to impress them with similar thoughts.  Don’t regard yourself as the only one through whom God is working.  Often God uses one person to express the vision and offers to turn it into reality. When you encourage and inspire others, you put teamwork into action to accomplish God’s goals.

-- from the “Life Application Study Bible”

#4097

THE JOY OF THE PRODIGAL

I became aware that my whole life was consumed with doing rather than being. I knew what it meant to believe in Jesus, I didn't know what it meant to be with Jesus. I knew how to talk with Jesus, I didn't know how to sit still long enough to let Jesus talk to me. I found it easy to do the work of God, but I had no idea how to let God work in me. I understood soul-saving, but I was clueless about soul-making. I knew how to be busy, but I didn't know how to be still. I could talk about God, I just couldn't listen to God. I felt comfortable with God's people, but I felt uncomfortable alone with God. I was acquainted with the God "out-there," but I was a complete stranger to the God "in-here." I could meet God anywhere... except in my heart, in my soul, in my being.

It took only a few hours of silence before I began to hear my soul speaking. It only took being alone for a short period of time for me to discover that I wasn't alone. God had been trying to shout over the noisiness of my life, and I couldn't hear Him. But in the stillness and solitude, His whispers shouted from my soul, "Michael, I'm here. I've been calling you. I've been loving you, but you haven't been listening. Can you hear Me, Michael? I love you. I've always loved you. And I've been waiting for you to hear Me say that to you. But you've been so busy trying to prove to yourself that you're loved that you haven't heard Me."

I heard Him, and my slumbering soul was filled with the joy of the prodigal son. My soul was awakened by a loving Father who had been looking and waiting for me.

-- Mike Yaconelli, Youth Specialties

#3803

FOCUS IS THE KEY TO RENEWAL

Renewal happens as the church moves from a vague theism to a clear faith in Jesus Christ. The focus of the church is not the church, but Jesus Christ! God is made known to us in Christ. Faith comes alive in Christ...

Renewal is much more than adding a little more Jesus to the mix. A little more Jesus won't work. Jesus has to be the absolute focus. It must be an all-or-nothing proposition. A clear focus on Jesus Christ as the object of faith and the cause of truth is the key to renewal.

-- Michael Slaughter in Beyond Playing Church

#3717

MARITAL RENEWAL

I am often asked by [my college] students if I will perform their wedding ceremonies…

There are those who say, "We are the ones getting married.  We should have the kind of ceremony that is meaningful to us."  I always respond by saying that such a perspective shows far too limited an understanding of what weddings are all about.  While it is true that the couple in the front of the church is being married, it should be understood that, if the ceremony is properly constructed, those in the pews may go through a symbolic process of being remarried at the same time.  When we attend weddings in which we hear repeated the same words that we ourselves uttered when we were married, we experience a sense of marital renewal.

Whenever I hear a young man saying the same words that I myself said almost forty years ago, I seem to go through that same ceremony of commitment once again.  When he says, "I, John, take thee, Mary, to be my lawful wedded wife; and I do promise and covenant, before God and these witnesses, to be thy loving and faithful husband ... ," I can hear myself saying, "I, Tony, take thee, Peggy, to be my lawful wedded wife; and I do promise and covenant ... "  It all comes back to me in the ritual.  The past is renewed.  I feel again what I felt on my wedding day.  I sense the commitment I made on that day, and my marriage is renewed.

-- Tony Campolo in Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God

#3697

REFORMATION OR TRANSFORMATION?

If you had won a prize to have your home completely redecorated, how would you feel if the prize amounted to someone coming in and merely rearranging your old furniture?

When God promises you a new life, He doesn't mean that He'll just come in and reorganize the "old" you. That would be mere reformation. Instead, God is in the business of transformation and renewal. His plan is for you to become a new creature.

We can't understand our need for transformation without a deep recognition of the uselessness and deadness of the old self. If we always harbor the feeling that the old self is not all that bad and can somehow be salvaged, we will be looking for reformation instead of transformation. In God's process of renewal, we need to let go of the old in order to grasp the new.

"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!"  (1 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV)

-- Unknown


#3318

A NEW SONG

"O sing to the Lord a new song," the psalmist cries; "sing to the Lord, all the earth" (Psalm 96:1). We moderns and postmoderns, committed as we are to the idea that whatever is most recent is best, are likely to think that the psalmist's call for "a new song" is a quest for novelty. I'm sure it's far more than that. His thinking, rather, is akin to the eighteenth-century hymnist and preacher Charles Wesley when he cried, "O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise…!" Wesley wrote those words on the first anniversary of his transforming religious experience. Recalling all the wonders of God's work in his life, Wesley found one tongue, yes even a choir, inadequate. Such is the mood of the psalmist. All his vocabulary seems stunted and insufficient for the wonder he feels, so he yearns for a new way to declare the glory of God. He wants much more than new words, a fresh melody, or a different set of musical instruments; the poet wants a newness within his own person.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in Longing to Pray: How the Psalms Teach Us to Talk with God


#3315

BLOWING YOUR OWN HORN

Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have -- right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start -- comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

-- 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31 The Message (MSG)


#3052

RENEWING YOUR MIND

J. B. Phillips’ famous translation of Romans 12:2 is “Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold, but instead let yourself be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
It’s easy to apply this to the big things in life: immorality, drunkenness, pornography. But Paul has in view the subtle as well as the obvious, as the next chapters prove. And perhaps the best way to expose our failings in this area is to examine the things we do without thinking. It’s those things that show us what our mind is really like…

So what of you? What of me? Has the world squeezed us into its mold? If so, then Paul’s help is clear. I need to take a view of God’s mercy, and offer my whole self to Christ. Whatever You want me to be, I will be. Wherever You want me to go, I will go. Whatever You want me to do, I will do. Here I am Lord, send me. I hold nothing back. Then, having given myself to Him, I must fill my mind with Him.

-- Mark Barnes

 
#2790