Wednesday, August 4, 2010

You Must Me Born Again! John 3:1-21 (NIV)

Today's devotional is a bit lengthy but I believe the Lord has a word for you if you will persevere. Blessings! Fred
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You[c] must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[d] 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.[g] 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.".
Commentary:
Nicodemus was a Jewish leader and knew that Jesus was no ordinary man. He came to Jesus privately and gave him a compliment: "I know you must be from God". Jesus did not respond to the compliment but cut to the chase> He said: "no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again. This threw Nicodemus for a loop. He thought Jesus was talking about physical birth. Jesus explained that
He was talking about the "life giving and purifying activity of the Holy Spirit" that takes place when a person is born again. (McCabe) He was talking about spiritual regeneration that can only come from God, not physical birth.
Question: Have you been born again by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior. If not, there is no better time than now to ask the savior of the world to forgive you of your sins and save you from the wrath of God that you deserve. Invite Him in to your life as your King, Lord, ruler and Savior and make a commitment to walk as His disciple for the rest of your life. Look to the left and click on the "What Is the Gospel" video or the other that explains the Gospel with a diagram.

Jesus also said: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." The real truth of why many people reject the truth of God's word is the truth exposes their sin and men love their sins more than they love God's truth!
Question: What do you love more than the truth of God's word?

Then Jesus said: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." This raises the question for me: Am I lifting up Jesus for all the world to see with my life and with my lips. The words of the old hymn expresses my heart!

How to reach the masses, men of every birth,
For an answer, Jesus gave the key:
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
Will draw all men unto Me.”

Refrain

Lift Him up, Lift Him up,
Still He speaks from eternity:
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
Will draw all men unto Me.”

Oh! the world is hungry for the Living Bread,
Lift the Savior up for them to see;
Trust Him, and do not doubt the words that He said,
“I’ll draw all men unto Me.”

Refrain

Don’t exalt the preacher, don’t exalt the pew,
Preach the Gospel simple, full and free;
Prove Him and you will find that promise is true,
“I’ll draw all men unto Me.”

Refrain

Lift Him up by living as a Christian ought,
Let the world in you the Savior see;
Then men will gladly follow Him Who once taught,
“I’ll draw all men unto Me.”

Refrain
Lift Him up, Lift Him up,
Still He speaks from eternity:
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
Will draw all men unto Me.”

Let's pray: Lord I pray that I will lift up your name today through my words, my life and my obedience to you and to your will and to your word. In Jesus Name! Amen!