YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!

SCRIPTURE

The Holy Trinity
John 3:1-17 (NRSV)
Entering the reign of God

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

DEVOTION

In today’s scripture we encounter a man named Nicodemus. Scripture says that he came to Jesus at night asking how to be “born again.”

I think it is significant that Nicodemus came at night, for it is often at night, or when we think other people will not notice or judge us, that we feel most comfortable exploring questions of faith.

See, the Bible teaches us that Nicodemus was an important man and a leader in his community of faith. He was someone who should have had “all the answers.” But, he did not.

If we tell the truth and shame the devil, none of us has all the answers. But, many of us perpetrate a fraud pretending that we understand matters of faith, whilst really possessing no faith at all.

One of the wise old ladies in the church I grew up in used to say, “You can be in the church your whole life, without the church being in you!”

WOW! Just because we go to church on Sunday, recite our prayers by memory before eating and sleeping, and try to be “good people” does not mean that we are in a saving relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 says, “"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

This one verse has been called “the Gospel in a nutshell.” It is the very essence of the GOOD NEWS message.

God loves. God gave. God saves!

God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.

My friends, it is not about religion—IT IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIP!

We are invited into a reconciled relationship with God. We enter into this relationship by putting all of our hope in Jesus. We put our hope in Jesus when we choose to believe that God loves, gave, and saves!

Jesus called this “being born again.” When we put all of our hope in Jesus, we are spiritually reborn. This rebirth is enacted when we are baptized. As we go under the water we metaphorically enter into the womb again and as we come up out of the water, we are “reborn” into everlasting relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

As Christians, our relationship with God is sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift is like a baby shower present. At our re-birth, God places the Holy Spirit inside of our hearts to love, guide, counsel, and help us as we walk with Christ. The Holy Spirit also helps us to share our story with others; it empowers, equips, and enables us to share the GOOD NEWS that Jesus saves and He saves to the utmost!

If you have not put all of your hope in Jesus, you may have been thinking, “this can’t be all there is to life!” You may have laid awake at night overcome with all of your many questions and wishing that there was someone who could give you some answers that made sense.

Today, I am here to tell you that JESUS IS THE ANSWER to all of your questions.

Am I loved? YES.

Is God real? YES.

Does anyone really care about me? YES.

Can my sins truly be forgiven? YES.

Is there life after death? YES.

YES! YES! YES!

Jesus is God’s YES!

Listen, dear heart, if you have not put all of your hope in Jesus, I hope that you will do so today.

If you have been going through the motions, but not feeling anything in your heart, I hope that you will be real with God--and with yourself--and put all of your hope in Jesus today!

If you have wandered away from your faith and find yourself lost, I hope you will return to the loving arms of God today.

You are precious beyond measure! God loves you so much that God decided you were worth dying for!

NOBODY has ever--or will ever--love you as much as God!

There is nothing—absolutely NO THING--that you have ever done that will keep God from loving and forgiving you.


You can’t out sin, out fox, or out run the love of God!

You don’t need to do a thing; God has already done all pf the work!

All you have to do is believe…


Will you put all of your hope in Jesus today?

If so, please pray with me…

Dear Lord, here I am! You are my only hope. I know that you love me. Thank you for loving me and for giving Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life. I am glad that Jesus was resurrected on the third day in victory! Your love for me is so wonderful and your grace is amazing! Please forgive me of my sin and fill my heart with your Holy Spirit. I want to be born again! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! I would be so honored if you would let me know about your decision by clicking “Yes” in the poll located at the top/right of today’s devotional! I am so happy for you! Happy Spiritual Re-Birth-Day!

Next steps: In response to what God did for you just now, let me suggest that you consider telling another Christian so that they can celebrate with you! Ask them to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand so that you can learn more about your new-found faith! Ask them to help you find a good Bible believing church where you can make new friends who will walk with you on your new journey! You are already saved; now let God mature you by faith! Congratulations!



ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to the people who have recently put all of their hope in Jesus! We celebrate your re-birth-day and promise to hold you in our prayers!

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

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Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com