have you been regenerated? I can tell this by looking at your face and by the way you respond to me!

Regeneration is one of the most amazing things that can happen to a human being. We are born in sin, we are sinners, and we grow up in sin. But one day, the Lord regenerates us when we call on His name - and we are no longer men, but God-men! We become a God-man by simply believing into the Lord Jesus! One moment we are only a human being just like the others, and the next moment we are a God-man being, one who has God's life in him and who can be one with God! The greatest miracle in the universe is not the earth, nor love, nor anything else but this - sinners can be made sons of God, and sinful people can be made God in life and nature but not in the Godhead!

Pictures from London - Oxford Circus, in Oxford Street

Welcome to the crowded street called, Oxford street, where everyone who is young wants to go and at least do some window shopping... It's like "the west end" in London, one street with lots of shops. Usually when you go there are so many people that you have to make your way around and not be pushed and kicked. This particular picture was taken at the exit from the Oxford Circus tube station. I am still wondering if there's a way to go shopping in Oxford Street and still be one with the Lord, still be in the organic union with Him...

Have You Been Regenerated? I Can Tell It by Just Looking at Your Face and by Your Response!

Today I heard this story again and it really impressed me, so I thought I should share it the best I can on the blog...

There once was a pastor of a certain religious flavor, and he preached justification by faith to his congregation. Unfortunately, though he preached it, he himself was not saved - he was not justified. He spoke about justification by faith to the people in his congregation, but he himself was not saved. Rather, he was an opium smoker and "dealer"! How about that - both a pastor and an opium addict + smuggler! Opium is a drug, by the way, and it creates addiction ... so this pastor was not saved, was doing opium, and he was speaking about justification by faith to the ones in his congregation.  

One day a sister who preached the gospel came and spoke in his church, and she was a true believer - she believed into the Lord, loved the Lord, and spoke about being saved! After speaking about regeneration and the simple way to receive the Lord, after the whole service would end, she would go to the door and shake everyone's hand, greet them, and ask them, 
Have You Been Regenerated?
One day the pastor himself, as he was coming out of the church, was asked by this lady with a smile on her face, Sir, are you regenerated? He was shocked by this question and abruptly responded, Of course I'm regenerated! I'm the pastor here and I speak in this church! But then she replied, I can tell it by just looking at your face, sir, and by your response, that you are NOT regenerated! ... - this really made the pastor angry, and he went to his home thinking of many ways to cause the lady "bodily harm". 

While he was at home devising a plan how to harm this sister because of her question and her exposing him, the Lord spoke to him and he realized what he was about to do. He was exposed by the Lord and fell upon his knees - he repented to the Lord with tears and invited Him in his heart.... At that time, he was regenerated! Praise the Lord! The next time when she saw him, she told him again - yes, sir, I know you are regenerated, I can see it on your face!

I may have left some details out of the story or maybe I told it a bit different, but I hope you get the gist of it. The fact that you "go to church" or even "preach in the church" may not mean that you are regenerated. Or, taking it a bit further, the fact that you're born in a Christian family, a Christian community, or a Christian country, this does not guarantee that you yourself are a Christian! For a person to be regenerated he needs to see the Lord and receive Him into his heart by repenting of his sins and calling on the name of the Lord! And then a sinner becomes a son of God - a God-man! Everyone can see it on his face - his face shines!

And going even further - we may be believers in the Lord, but many times we are not even smiling, and our face is not expressing Christ. O Lord Jesus! We need to be saved much more in His life (Rom. 5:10) now that we have been reconciled to the Lord! We need to be saved every morning! We need to be saved all the way throughout the day, in every moment! What about at lunch time - we need to be saved then too! Even before going to bed, we need to be saved continually! We need to be saved to such an extent that we fully express You in everything!

[Do YOU have an experience of being saved recently? Do you know of someone who NEEDS to be saved?]

three phone calls that saved me today - 1 picture + 1 experience with the Lord today

The phonecalls themselves did not literally saved me, but they were means through which I got saved from myself, from my situation, and from my tiredness. It's Saturday again and after work I managed to get some rest, right after I paid a visit to the vegetables market in Archway [called, Archway Market] on my way home. I can't believe the sun was shining so bright but outside it was so cold! The days when "you can see your breath" are back, and it looks like they are here to stay for a while! Well... bring it on, fall and then winter! :)

1 Picture Today - London is full of contrasts, check out these cars!

I finally managed to take such a picture of the contrasts existing in the UK and in London in particular. There are all kinds of cars on the street, some more fancy and others more old-style. In this picture, if you look hard enough, you can see a 3-wheel old-style yellow small car, and on the other side a nice black convertible new style car. Sometimes you can see them one after another, or one by the other - one worth £500 and the other £15000. I would say that the driver in the yellow car is happier and more restful than the other guy ;) But the contrast is indeed striking many times... [I finally managed to capture it

One Experience with the Lord Today - Three Phone Calls that Saved me today

This kind of phone calls don't usually happen, but neither are they too special - I would say, they are normal, and they are a nice expression of the saints in the church life which happen to take place today. A few articles back I was sharing that it is so good to be in this lovely place, in the church life - here we can enjoy God in all His riches in the house of God. And the saints are here - Christ is in the saints! We are not just men - we are God-men, those who have the divine life within the human life and who learn to live by the divine life in the human life. As such, we have both a human history (birth, family, school, high school, university, FTT, etc) and also we have a divine and mystical history (God sanctifying us, setting us apart, sweeping in us, our regeneration, our daily growing, being renewed, experiencing Christ daily, being transformed, being conformed, etc).

The First Call - a fellow Romanian brother calls me today (just as I was resting a bit after work). He asked me for some advice regarding some practical situations, and I tried to give him some advice. Eventually, due to my lack of experience in that particular field, I had to direct him to another brother who may help him. But this was not it: as we were talking, we "slipped into" having some fellowship, and there was some dispensing of God and some ministering of Christ! It's so good to hear that God is working in other people's lives, and that He puts the ones around us on our heart that we may pray for them and serve them with Christ! Yes, even the ones at school or at work, wherever the Lord put you, are the best candidates for your prayer and your speaking of Christ!

The Second Call - a brother called me for some fellowship concerning taking care of the young people. In the church life we are not passive; rather, the Lord shows us the existing needs and, according to the burden from the Lord, we cooperate with Him to take care of the need in a coordinated way. How do we take care of the young people? Is it organization? Is it a special group of people who does this? Or iIs it by having young people's meetings? Or is it by learning to take a personal care and a personal interest in one or two young ones? The conclusion of the call was that we are learning what's the best way to both take personal care of the young ones and how to have the meetings with the young people. Amen, we're learning!

The Third Call - is a call I got from a child, who eventually turns out to be the son of a brother in the church life who wanted to call his daddy (who is called Stephen, incidentally) and he misspelled his name on the phone - so he called me! I was startled at first to hear a child's voice on the other and, but I quickly realized it must be one of the kids of the saints... - eventually, I talked to the mom, and it was a pleasant conversation. You know what, even when you take a call that is not for you, that is, when the other person may have made a mistake in dialling, you can still minister life and receive life! I was so much enlivened and encouraged when I got this third call :) A simple call, the wrong person called, yet some flowing of God's life taking place! How about that!

The moral of the story - is not to point out how interesting life can be, but to thank the Lord in appreciation for the church life. Sometimes you're tired; other times you don't have time; still, other times, you can't be bothered to call the saints, or you forget to call the saints. In these times you need the supply of the Body, and you can be saved by the other members simply contacting you... Guess what, if you cultivate a relationship with the Lord and you pursue Him with the saints, the Lord Himself will call you through different members of His Body just to remind you about Himself, and there's some life ministered into you in these calls.... It is so good to "sow unto life" by enjoying the Lord and endeavouring to be in the church life.... - the Lord will then visit you just when you need it, when the time comes...

Today I realized again that I need the Body of Christ - I need the function of the other members of the Body. It's so good to be connected and be dependent o the other members. It's really "to me - for you", and "my going on is for you - your going on is for me". As members in the Body of Christ, we are NOT separate entities - we are an organic Body for Christ to move, be expressed, and be glorified through! I am so grateful to the Lord for the saints - all ages, all languages, all nationalities, from any country, in each one's measure, with their portion in the Body.... Lord, keep us here, connected and built up together as Your Body!