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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 23 March 2024:
John 3:1-15 — Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Only the Holy Spirit, received by those saved through Jesus, can bring enlightenment. You MUST be born again. Spiritual birth comes through faith in Jesus, not through anyone or anything else. Schools can inform, but only Jesus can transform. You can understand what the Bible says intellectually, but you can never really understand the wisdom of the word apart from the Spirit.
From Henry T. Blackaby – “Entering a saving relationship with Christ is a life-changing experience! All things become new! Not some things, but all things (2 Cor. 5:17). For the first time in your life, Christ is Lord; God is Master. When you become a Christian, Christ’s presence will affect every part of you. You will have new thoughts, new attitudes, new values, and new sensitivities. New priorities will dramatically affect your relationships. You will view everything in your life from a Christlike perspective. Christianity is not something you add to your life; it is life!
Nicodemus thought that salvation meant performing certain religious exercises and holding to particular religious teachings. He had no idea of the all-encompassing nature of salvation! When you become a Christian, God gives you a new heart so that everything becomes new! God gives you a new mind, like that of Christ, so you think differently. He gives you new emotions, so you feel deeply about completely different matters. You become sensitive to sin, so you are no longer comfortable with it. Your recreation will be affected as you are made aware of what is honoring to God and what is not. Your relationships will now be guided by the Holy Spirit. Destructive habits and attitudes, previously immune to change, will be transformed.
Have you noticed the changes God has brought to your life since you entered a vital relationship with Jesus Christ? These changes should be very noticeable as a testimony of the new life you received when you trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord.”
John 3:8 – The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
We cannot know who the Spirit is convicting and drawing to Jesus. We are called to serve as Christ’s Ambassadors to all people. The Holy Spirit will convict as the Spirit wills.
Perhaps you have been made fun of by non-believers for being a “born again Christian.” Perhaps, as was the case with Jesus, you were mocked by someone who claimed to worship God. Jesus explained that this was inevitable. However, as is clear in both our Old Testament and New Testament readings today, we are called to proclaim the Gospel to all, whether they choose to hear it and despite the abuse we will inevitably receive by the rebellious. God’s charge to us is much like what God commanded of Ezekiel: “Son of man, I send you… to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you [the word of God is our bread].”
– Matthew 28:19 — Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
John 3:13 – No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
Compare John 3:13 to Proverbs 30:4 – “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!”
John 3:14 – …who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil….
The cross was always God’s plan.
John 3:17-18 — For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
God wants everyone to be saved and offers salvation freely, but people must take the free gift in order to possess it. Those who go to hell choose to. Not knowing God is a choice. Those who truly seek Him will find Him; that’s a promise from God.
Those who reject Jesus are condemned because they condemn themselves.
John 3:19 — And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
It isn’t that people don’t have enough evidence to believe in Jesus, they just don’t want to believe. It isn’t a knowledge problem, it is a heart problem.
John 3:21 — But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.
You come to the light through obedience, and obedience demonstrates unity with God, being one in purpose with God, or being “in God.”
John 3:27 — John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”
You cannot save yourself, and no one else can save you. Your salvation can only come through Jesus.
God is the Creator and Source of everything. We cannot produce wisdom, love, or anything else; it must come from God. We will either use what God has created in a good way through obedience or pervert God’s good creation through sinfulness.
John 3:30 — He must increase, but I must decrease.
The saved Christian desires to become nothing that Jesus would become their whole life and that all that they are would be a testimony of Jesus to the world. Don’t let anyone look to you. Always point to Jesus.
John 3:31 — He who comes from above is above all.
Never forget that!
John 3:36 – Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Again, eternal life comes only through Jesus. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God…. unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God…. You must be born again….whoever believes in him may have eternal life…. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life…. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:3, 5, 7, 15, 16, 18, 19)
– Matthew 18:14 — So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
– 2 Peter 3:9 — The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 23 March 2024: Walk with God today, in oneness with Him by obeying Him completely. Perhaps the hardest place to learn obedience is in relationships with others. To follow Jesus, you must deny self in relationships and take up your cross in relationships. The first command is love, and love must be willing to suffer injustice for the sake of reconciliation. (John 3:21)
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 