Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday Evening gathering with lots of food. He also blessed us with a sweet time in Word as we shared, listened, and were challenged. We were looking at the midnight encounter between a very religious man named Nicodemus and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Nicodemus came to Christ in the dark midnight. He came to Jesus, the Light of the world. Our Lord is so good to those who seek. He spent considerable time listening, sharing and challenging. He spoke of the need for New Birth. In the New Testament Paul put it like this: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).
Eventually, Nicodemus evidently experienced a new birth, in spite of his initial spiritual dullness and resistance. We read of him defending Jesus before the Pharisees as they were plotting against him — earning for himself a severe rebuke (John 7:50-51). He also showed up after the crucifixion of Jesus and helped Joseph of Arimathea anoint the body of Jesus, wrap it, and bury it (John 19:38-40). Both of these acts were done at great personal risk, and possibly got him expelled from the Temple. Something had happened to the heart of Nicodemus. He could have held on to his title as a religious teacher in Israel, resenting that Jesus was trying to teach him something, but he humbled himself and experienced a new birth.
Eventually, Nicodemus evidently experienced a new birth, in spite of his initial spiritual dullness and resistance. We read of him defending Jesus before the Pharisees as they were plotting against him — earning for himself a severe rebuke (John 7:50-51). He also showed up after the crucifixion of Jesus and helped Joseph of Arimathea anoint the body of Jesus, wrap it, and bury it (John 19:38-40). Both of these acts were done at great personal risk, and possibly got him expelled from the Temple. Something had happened to the heart of Nicodemus. He could have held on to his title as a religious teacher in Israel, resenting that Jesus was trying to teach him something, but he humbled himself and experienced a new birth.
No one can bring about their own conception and birth; this is the gift of God. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Again it says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5-6). We have a physical birth that brings us into this physical world, but then we need to be born into the Family of God, anew, from above. This is the work of God. It happens as we invite Christ to live in our hearts .
The Bible says, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13). If it were not possible for us to know that we are right with God the Scripture would not make this wonderful promise. God does not want to keep us guessing. He is not out to keep us in suspense and full of guilt. God is expressing his love to us in countless ways and wants us to receive it and respond to it.
The man we refer to as Saint Augustine was a leader in the church approximately 400 years after Christ. Augustine was not always a saint. He lived a life of lewd debauchery prior to his conversion. Not long after his conversion and his new relationship to Christ, he was walking down a street in the city of Milan, Italy where he lived. As he walked, he came across a prostitute whom he had known very intimately. She spoke to him, but he would not answer and continued to walk. She was surprised and called to him again, “Augustine, It is I!” He never looked back or broke stride, and simply said: “Yes, but it is no longer I.” He had the assurance that not only did he now have an experience with Christ, but that he was a new man. A change had taken place. The old was gone because the new had come.
The Bible says, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13). If it were not possible for us to know that we are right with God the Scripture would not make this wonderful promise. God does not want to keep us guessing. He is not out to keep us in suspense and full of guilt. God is expressing his love to us in countless ways and wants us to receive it and respond to it.
The man we refer to as Saint Augustine was a leader in the church approximately 400 years after Christ. Augustine was not always a saint. He lived a life of lewd debauchery prior to his conversion. Not long after his conversion and his new relationship to Christ, he was walking down a street in the city of Milan, Italy where he lived. As he walked, he came across a prostitute whom he had known very intimately. She spoke to him, but he would not answer and continued to walk. She was surprised and called to him again, “Augustine, It is I!” He never looked back or broke stride, and simply said: “Yes, but it is no longer I.” He had the assurance that not only did he now have an experience with Christ, but that he was a new man. A change had taken place. The old was gone because the new had come.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus our Lord.
In Him,
Brown
On FEBRUARY 11, 2012 Saturday, at First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Ave., Endicott, at 5:30 PM - There will be a Special Banquet prepared by Joe Walker, including a variety of international Cuisine... It will be a great celebration. At 6:30 PM there will be a Hymn Sing with Aric Phinney at the Grand Piano and Yancey Moore at the Organ. Dave Berry will lead the Hymn Sing.
Sponsored by The Union Center UMC.
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