WATCHWORD:
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.[b] 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[c] John 3:1-6
Meditation:
Happy Birthday!
First things first. Happy (Censored)th birthday to my sister, Shirley Davis, in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, a member of this network. Today is her human birthday. I do not know when her Spiritual Birthday occurred, I just know that she had one a long, long, long time ago. J
Spiritual Birthday. We all have one, you know. That day, some call ‘born again’, is the day we know, with conviction, that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.
The story of Nicodemus is an interesting one. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was made up of Pharisees and Sadducees, who were notorious for not getting along, for disagreeing on specifics of the Holy Writ, such as the Resurrection.
In addition to being a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a rabbi, a teacher of the law. Many rabbis continued teaching long into the night, which may explain why he approached Jesus at night, or he simply did not want to be seen.
Some Biblical scholars think that Nicodemus was representing a number of Pharisees who were secret supporters of Jesus, who were fearful of being so identified. Nicodemus, on the other hand, was unafraid of defending Jesus, to a degree, at various times.
From what we know of this Pharisee, from his first night-time encounter with Jesus, to his role with Joseph of Arimathea in claiming the body of Jesus on Calvary, we see a picture of a man in the process of being born again. The scriptures do not continue the story Nicodemus, but it would not be hard to imagine his reaction to the Resurrection. I would think that would seal the deal for him, and he would experience his Spiritual Birth.
How about you? Can you narrow down the year, month, day of your Spiritual Birth? When you are a ‘preacher’s kid’, like Shirley and I, it gets a little fuzzy. But, one thing I know, Christ became key in my life as an adult, probably age 40 or so. It was about that age when I was led to the Lord and experienced the classic born again “high” that signified Christ truly entering my mind and heart.
To be sure, the evidence of a born-again life is played out over the lifetime. It’s not a momentary high, it’s not a short-lived conviction, it’s a life changed.
Think about the disciples. They were following a teacher because they liked what he was saying. They continued to follow him, and, on the way, witnessed miracles and changed lives. Among the Twelve there was a gradual realization that He was a Man of God, but it took an encounter with Jesus, days after the crucifixion, for most of them to turn the corner.
Here is an excerpt about Peter’s experience from my book, A Life for Barabbas:
Barabbas left the inn[AAC1] [sE2] and wandered through town (Capernaum), thinking about what John had said and hoping he would meet with Peter.
Eventually, he stood on a sand dune, high above the shore, and watched one fisherman bring his boat onto the beach. There had been some [AAC3] [sE4] boats out on the water, but John had said that Peter would be coming ashore soon, so he assumed that this must be Peter. He watched as the man pulled his boat onto the sand, carefully spread his fishing nets to dry, then started walking toward a group of men gathered around a fire on the beach.
(Barabbas could see) that one of the men was John, then he recognized another man, a man he had last seen dying on a cross. Oh, my Lord, he thought, it was Jesus! He is alive! He is not a spirit; he is a real person. Barabbas dropped to his knees and wept. Through his tears, he saw that Peter, too, was kneeling, and he seemed to be crying. Then Jesus stepped close, touched Peter’s shoulder, and the two stood together. Their conversation went on for a while. Peter appeared sad, tears lining his face. Yet, when the two parted they embraced, as close friends. Peter stood there, a look of unbelief on his face, as Jesus walked down the beach and out of sight.
Peter joined the other men, all of whom looked stunned, shocked as if they had seen something [AAC5] [sE6] difficult to process, to understand, and believe. Barabbas realized that those men were disciples of Jesus, and, for the first time, they had witnessed their Master, alive. They looked at one another in wonder, without speaking, and then, one by one, they embraced.
For some our Spiritual Birth is a process, varying between questioning and denying, belief and wonder. Sometimes it comes in a sudden revelation that can’t be denied. Then, there is the Spiritual Birth where there is an almost imperceptible change as we see the faith of those we respect and love, and realize “I want that, I believe that, and I embrace that.”
Warren, a PK like me, tells of never doubting, always believing. He marveled at my own experience, but I know that somewhere between his birth to his final reward, last year, there was a Spiritual Birth.
And Jesus says, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.”
Happy birthday to you, Shirley, and to all of us! Amen.
Morning Prayers:
By Ray Stedman — There is only one attitude that will avert the coming judgment of God: repentance, deep humiliation before God, an understanding and acknowledgment of guilt, a willingness to recognize that we have lost our right to exist as a nation, and a cry to God that he will heal us and change us and forgive us and heal this land. When that occurs, God himself assumes responsibility to recover the nation. Despite all the damage which has been done, he will restore the years that the locusts have eaten. But if a nation ignores God, it goes down into the dust of history, as hundreds of kingdoms and nations before us have perished.
Lord, I ask you to heal us as a nation. Heal our land, and turn us from evil. Amen.
Submitted by Gary Oden
