Ye must be born again
"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:7
My wonderful mother-in-law informed me that it was a year ago today we had our first talk about 'spiritual things'. I can't remember what was said in the hour long chat, but I do remember the reasons I went to her to have the initial discussion.
So it's a year later and I am so very far from that situation having been blessed in so many ways. Due to restrictions caused by Covid-19 I am yet to be baptised, however I am proud to say I have become a member of the PCC and am eager to serve the church and community. I do still find myself distracted by Worldly things and susceptible to old behaviours, however I do recognise this and am working on it in my daily life.
In the course of the year many of the sermons I've watched, and songs I've listened to not only resonated with me but often felt directly aimed at me. One of those (and believe me I could have chosen many!) is Best Friends.
The lyrics describe the struggle with the old and desire to become new.
One of the phrases that has come up again and again during my early walk of faith has been 'counter culture' alongside scripture stating that "Even though we are in this world Christians are not of this world" from John 17 and "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" from Romans 12.I don't wanna be on my phone but I can't be aloneWelcome to the modern wayTrying to be somebody I'm not but it's not what I wantTell me there's another wayAll the lights I chase now are fadedAll the cheap thrills were only time wastedTell me why society's plan should define who I amSurely there's a higher way
It's a beautiful song from the Bethel Music family sung by the very talented Josh Baldwin (see vide below).I don't want a stereotype to decide who I amI never knew me anywayOver tryin' to find the next hype cause the high never lastsSo I'mma go the other wayAll the lights I chase now are fadedDylan was right the times they are changingTell me why society's plan should define who I amSurely there's a higher way
There was some confusion at the time over the meaning behind the hoodie with one thought being it was a barb by Drake regarding the transformation and character of Kanye West, however the brand confirmed it's meaning was indeed from the Bible verse. Context matters!
I'm still of the inclination to share my faith and journey outwardly with the World and my writing in this blog is just one authentic (and cheap!) way of achieving this.