Signs of the New Birth
As the fog lifts to reveal the beauty that was always there, the new birth opens our eyes to God’s kingdom.
Devotional Credit: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Photo Credit: Unsplash
When Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit, He was not offering a new religious standard for people to strive toward, but a new life entirely. Oswald Chambers reminds us that this life does not come from refining our moral virtues or adding religious activities. It begins when we let go of every self-reliant prop and receive the life of Jesus Himself. This new birth produces both a conscious turning from sin and an unconscious holiness that flows from the Spirit’s life within us.
Chambers asks the piercing question: is your knowledge of Jesus second-hand, built on what others have said, or is it based on a living, personal encounter with Him? The new birth opens our eyes to the reality of God’s kingdom all around us. It is not about chasing signs and wonders, but about recognizing the rule and reign of God that has always been present, now visible through new spiritual sight.
He also points to the reality that being born of God changes our relationship with sin. This is not a call to grit our teeth and try harder, but an affirmation that the Spirit’s life in us makes sin unnecessary. We may still stumble, but we no longer live under sin’s authority. The life of God in us is not a theory, but an active power that transforms our desires and our conduct from the inside out.
The new birth, then, is not a distant aspiration, but a present reality for the believer. It is the life of Jesus making His home in us, giving us new sight, new power, and a new way of living—life from above that shapes every step we take here on earth.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I have given you My life, not as an idea, but as your new reality. You were born from above, not by human effort or decision, but by My Spirit. What was dead has been made alive. What was blind now sees. What was bound is now free.
I have not called you to polish the old life, but to live in the new one. You are a child of God, and My Spirit bears witness to this truth. You can now see My kingdom, for I have opened your eyes. Do not search for signs as proof of My rule, for My reign is already among you and within you.
The life I have placed in you is holy. It turns you from sin, not by coercion, but by transformation. When you walk according to My Spirit, sin loses its hold. You are not powerless, for I have placed My power within you. Rest in this, for you have passed from death to life, and I will complete what I have begun in you.
Scripture References: John 1:12, John 3:3–7, John 3:4–5, 1 John 3:9, Romans 6:4–7, Colossians 1:13–14, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 1:6
Real-Life Analogy
It is like waking up one morning to find that a fog, which had always clouded your vision, has completely lifted. The familiar landscape is still there, but now you see it in crisp, vivid detail you never imagined possible. Nothing in the terrain changed—the change happened in you.
In the same way, the new birth does not alter the physical world around you, but it changes your vision and life from the inside. You can now perceive God’s kingdom where before you saw nothing. Today, when you encounter temptation or discouragement, you can say, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment, for I have been made alive in You.”
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that I have been born from above. You have given me a new heart, a new vision, and a new power to live in Your kingdom. I praise You that sin no longer rules over me, for I am under the authority of Your Spirit within me. Today, I walk in the reality of this new life, trusting You to express Yourself in and through me.