The simple truth: for God so loved
I want to greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus just as I always do, but I want to be as simple and straightforward as I can with a series of messages that simply say"for God so loved".
Nicodemus was a learned man and a humble man in the Jewish law. He acknowledged the deity of Jesus, and was a master teacher among the Jews of the law of Moses. That is why Christ did not waste any time in sharing the"good news"with him. The hand good news is simply you must be born again. In the book if John 3:3-21 we see the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus about being born again. This is the first reference to the concept of being transformed from an old life and into a new life in Christ.
The idea of being changed is very strange to us...just as it was to Nicodemus. Even the most educated people among us cannot wrap their minds around this idea of being born again until they experience it for themselves. Jesus said "The light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil". We don't want to hear things like that because we are shown our true condition in God's eyes. We have to see that we are in a situation where we do not have a choice about our condition until we turn to God in the form of Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness. We cannot automatically do that until we believe that He is who He says He is.
Becoming a new creature is not as easy as simply saying the right words; it is a part of a change in our heart about our condition, and an acceptance of who God really is, and what He has already done for us. " For God so loved" is a very simple thought, but it is our acceptance of who God is as Lord and creator, and that He really does love us, and will forgive us that makes the difference. When we come to the point where we realize we need God's forgiveness it is time to repent, or turn around from what you have been doing in life. That is what John the Baptist was preaching when Jesus first started His ministry " Repent for the Kingdom is at hand" Matthew 3:2. We have all understood that Jesus had a real problem with the way the Scribes and Pharisees lived hypocritical lives by saying one thing and doing another thing. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said " Unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven".
It is that thought that should cause us to rethink some of the value systems we have created around us...what I mean is to begin to look at those things we have been placing the most value on in life. We all have things that we cling to in this world that we know are not things we will be able to take with us when we die. God wants us to fit into the Kingdom of Heaven, and we cannot fit until we are changed within our heart into a spiritual child of God. I want to come back to this idea for the next few blogs because we need to understand the importance of family to God. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Nicodemus was a learned man and a humble man in the Jewish law. He acknowledged the deity of Jesus, and was a master teacher among the Jews of the law of Moses. That is why Christ did not waste any time in sharing the"good news"with him. The hand good news is simply you must be born again. In the book if John 3:3-21 we see the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus about being born again. This is the first reference to the concept of being transformed from an old life and into a new life in Christ.
The idea of being changed is very strange to us...just as it was to Nicodemus. Even the most educated people among us cannot wrap their minds around this idea of being born again until they experience it for themselves. Jesus said "The light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil". We don't want to hear things like that because we are shown our true condition in God's eyes. We have to see that we are in a situation where we do not have a choice about our condition until we turn to God in the form of Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness. We cannot automatically do that until we believe that He is who He says He is.
Becoming a new creature is not as easy as simply saying the right words; it is a part of a change in our heart about our condition, and an acceptance of who God really is, and what He has already done for us. " For God so loved" is a very simple thought, but it is our acceptance of who God is as Lord and creator, and that He really does love us, and will forgive us that makes the difference. When we come to the point where we realize we need God's forgiveness it is time to repent, or turn around from what you have been doing in life. That is what John the Baptist was preaching when Jesus first started His ministry " Repent for the Kingdom is at hand" Matthew 3:2. We have all understood that Jesus had a real problem with the way the Scribes and Pharisees lived hypocritical lives by saying one thing and doing another thing. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said " Unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven".
It is that thought that should cause us to rethink some of the value systems we have created around us...what I mean is to begin to look at those things we have been placing the most value on in life. We all have things that we cling to in this world that we know are not things we will be able to take with us when we die. God wants us to fit into the Kingdom of Heaven, and we cannot fit until we are changed within our heart into a spiritual child of God. I want to come back to this idea for the next few blogs because we need to understand the importance of family to God. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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