UNDERSTAND

"Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can these things be?'  Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?'" (John 2:9-10)

 

People don't always understand as much as we might think that they do.  Nicodemus is "the teacher of Israel" and apparently is a prime example of not understanding.  It may be that he doesn't want to understand.  After all, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that his religious system is flawed and that he needs to begin all over again.  I've noticed that we are naturally reluctant to change our views even when presented with overwhelming evidence.  We find a nice neat set of beliefs and tend to stick with them.  Here's the problem with that--sometimes we're wrong.  To give Nicodemus credit, at least he is asking questions.

 

Today, let's try to be teachable.  Try to listen more than we speak and maybe...just maybe...we might learn something.

WIND

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).

Wind is not understandable or controllable.  Yet the effects are undeniable.  Both the word for "wind" and the word for "Spirit" in the New Testament are the same Greek word--"pneuma".  The ways of the Spirit of God are not unlike the wind.  You don't necessarily see where it's coming from and you cannot see where it is going but you most definitely know when the pneuma is blowing.  The crazy thing is that this pneuma indwells in the lives of believers--a mighty rushing wind fills your temple--it fills your life.  Others may not see always see the pneuma in you, but when it blows, they can always see the effect.

"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy" --John Mark McMillan

Today, invite the Holy Spirit of God to indwell you, to fill you, and to transform you with His hurricane force. 

QUESTIONS

"Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?'" (John 3:4)

 

Do you ever have questions?  Nicodemus is smart guy.  Surely he understands that Jesus is being metaphorical.  Perhaps he understands perfectly but doesn't really want to understand.  I do that too...lol.  When the message hits me solidly between my two eyes, it's sometimes easier just not to understand than it is to own the impact of the message.  We're often tempted when reading the Bible to dismiss what we read as either being irrelevant or impossible to understand.  Fortunately, we have a built-in interpretative guide known as the Holy Spirit.  We have plenty of guidance and absolutely no excuses.  The Spirit will guide us into all truth (see Jn 16:13).

 

Today, let's crack open our Bibles and read a paragraph or two, listening for what the Spirit might want to say to our hearts.  This isn't something to accomplish--it's something to experience.  It's ok to ask questions.  Just make sure that you take some time to listen for the answers.

TRUST

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God'" (John 3:3).

 

There is only one way into the Kingdom of God--birth.  You have to born a Kingdom citizen.  There is just no other way.  Nicodemus (the conqueror) had to give up his self-willed, self-directed, self-controlled ways and he had to become a helpless baby.  God is not interested in our wisdom and our ability, rather he has His eye on our dependency.  Jesus says the same thing with different words in Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit (the spiritually bankrupt), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".  God wants us to move from "me" to "He".  It's not so much about trying as it is trusting.

 

Today, God is not counting on you to get it right--you usually don't.  He is not looking for what you will do, but rather He is looking just for you.  It's a great day to be born again!

SIGNS

"This man (Nicodemus) came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.'"

 

Nicodemus recognized the authentic power of God in Jesus.  The signs were there and Nicodemus wanted to know more.  In the same way, our friends, our coworkers, our family will recognize the power of God within us when they see it.  It's one thing to perform a miracle--it's quite another to be a miracle.  And it doesn't have to just be the big stuff.  The power of God is shown when you love the unloving, when you bless the ones who curse you, and when you help the helpless. 

 

You will find yourself today with many opportunities to display the power of God.  In the process, you just might meet Nicodemus.

CONQUEROR

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night . . ." (John 3:1-2a).

 

This is an interesting beginning to what may be the greatest chapter in the Bible. A well-educated, well-respected, leader and guide--both politically and religiously--approaches Jesus at night (so as not to be seen?) in order to ask the question of questions, "How does one enter the Kingdom of God?"  For all of his religious training and the elite status that he holds among his people, Nicodemus has questions that haunt him.  Likely, Nicodemus himself tells people how to enter God's Kingdom and yet his answers must seem less than convincing in his own heart.  The name "Nicodemus" literally means "Conqueror".  He is perhaps a self-made man who has overcome a great deal. He is a conqueror...a conqueror with questions.

 

So what about you?  Do you have questions?  Are you less than satisfied with the answers that you have bought into over the years?  The same Jesus who answered Nicodemus' is waiting to answer you.  Why not pay Him a visit today?

VOICES

"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).

 

"Get behind Me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to Me for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's" (Matthew 16:23).

 

Just six verses separate these two statements.  Both are addressed to Peter from Jesus.  Both disclose revelatory thoughts that do not originate in Peter's mind but are given to him by other sources.  The Father speaks to Jesus through Peter and just six verses later, Satan speaks to Jesus through Peter.  Amazing!  Peter illustrates for us why we can't trust people.  One moment we are speaking for God and the very next we are speaking for Satan--and I doubt that we ever know the difference.  It certainly doesn't appear that Peter could tell the difference.  Jesus knew the difference because He keenly understood the call of God upon His life.  He refused to be distracted by conflicting voices. 

 

Today, discern whose voice is coming out of your own mouth.  Equally important is to make sure that the voices you listen to line up with the call that God has upon you.  You will likely hear from both the Father and the Faker today.  Know the difference!

TRUST

"But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord" (Psalm 31:14).

 

The Bible uses the word "trust" 149 times.  The overwhelming majority of these uses declare that we should, "trust in the Lord".  The second most common use of the word is that we should NOT put our trust in men.  Thirdly, we should NOT trust ourselves.  Trust God--not each other--not ourselves!  "Not trusting" is not some cynical and unloving attitude that we might immediately think of.  "Not trusting" means that we understand, as Jesus did, the frailty of the human heart and our tendency to fail to live up to each other's expectations.  It is to understand that we most often act more like Judas than we do Jesus.  So, we are to put our trust in God and simply love each other, warts and all.

 

Today, put your trust completely in the God who never fails and resist the urge to entrust yourself and your emotions to lesser beings.  You will then be free to truly love and to truly forgive as Jesus does.

TRUST

"And because he did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man" (John 2:25).

 

Jesus did not need anyone to tell Him how untrustworthy people really are.  He knew because He had watched human history play out from the very beginning.  He had seen every sin, every act of betrayal, every disappointing failure.  Now this should actually be encouraging to you--it should take some of the pressure to perform away.  You see, if Jesus knows that you are going to blow it, and yet He still chooses to call you, to choose you, and to love you--then you can afford to just be you--a work in progress.  Jesus isn't holding His breath, hoping that you will get it right this time.  He knows you.  He is pulling for you and yet He understands that you will strike out, maybe as often as you get a big hit.

 

Today, understand that God loves you.  It's not based on your performance.  He just loves you--plain and simple!

TRUST

"Now Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men" (John 2:24).

 

The word translated "entrusting" is the Greek word "pisteuo" which comes from the root "pistis". It's the same word that is translated as "faith" or "belief" in other New Testament passages.  Jesus did not trust (put his faith in) men because he knew the hearts of men.

 

If you think about it, most of our relational conflicts, come out of a sense of disappointment.  We trust someone and they fail us.  People (friends, family, coworkers, churches) don't live up to our expectations and we feel let down.  Our faith in them is destroyed.  We might do better to follow Jesus example and to just love each other expecting that failure will eventually happen.  That way, love is not conditioned on performance--but rather it is an expression of value.

 

Today, let's practice loving simply because because people are valuable.  And when they fail us (and they will)--let's practice grace.

SIGNS

"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing" (John 2:23).

 

"Many believed in His name..."  His name is "Jesus" which literally means "God saves".  They believed that Jesus was, in fact, who His name said He was--the Savior, the Rescuer, The Deliverer, The Restorer, The Answer to their questions, and the Solution to their problems.  He is Jesus!  They believed because they could clearly see His actions, His miracles, and the difference that He was making.

 

Today, do you believe in His name?  If so, why?  Will others today see the difference that He is making in your life?

INFLUENCE

"Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment" (James 3:1).

 

At first glance, you might say, "whew, glad I'm not a teacher".  "Teachers" face a greater judgment than others because they profess to have a clear and full knowledge of whatever it is that they might be teaching.  In other words, a teacher should know what they are teaching and should practice their words (like faith and actions).  To teach someone something that we are not ourselves doing brings us into judgment.  We have become hypocrites--actors.

 

Now before you dismiss this teaching as not relevant to you, consider the possibility that all of us are teachers.  We teach our kids, we teach our friends, we teach our co-workers, we teach our neighbors.  Everyday we are teaching our values and our beliefs through our actions.  Yes, we are teachers--all of us!

 

What will you teaching those whom you influence today? 

BELIEF

"For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (James 2:26).

 

Do you feel like James just keeps hammering the same point over and over again?  It must be important!   Here it is again: Our faith is demonstrated by our actions and our actions demonstrate what we really believe.  Expressed faith without corresponding action is like a corpse--no life, no breath, no action, no ability to do anything.

 

What we do says more about what we believe than what we say!

 

If you don't read your Bible--then you don't believe that God will talk to you.

If you don't give--then you don't believe that God will take care of you.

If you don't pray--then you don't believe that God listens.

If you don't come to church--then you don't believe that God gathers with His people.

If you don't forgive--then you don't believe that God forgives you.

If you don't share your faith--then you don't believe that faith makes a difference.

 

What do you believe?  What do you do?

UNLIKELY

"In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?" (James 2:25).

 

I'll not recap the whole story of Rahab for you.  Rather I'll let you do a little reading for yourself: Joshua 2:1-24; 6:22-25; Hebrews 11:31; and best of all--Matthew 1:5.

 

It's amazing that God would use the faith/action of a prostitute to begin His conquest of the promised land for the children of Israel.  It's really amazing that Rahab's faith/action is worthy of mention in the Bible's "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11.  It's absolutely unbelievable that God would so ordain the generations that the faith/action of a prostitute would be chosen for the ancestry of Jesus.

 

If God can use Rahab . . . what can He do with you?

CONSISTENCY

"You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone" (James 2:24).

 

"Faith" and "works" go together.  In baseball, a pitcher needs a catcher and a catcher needs a pitcher.  Neither can accomplish their purpose without the other.  In the same way, faith produces actions and those actions produce more faith.  Both are essential.  We do what we believe and we believe whatever it is that we do.  God is calling us to consistently live out our beliefs--to do what we say that we believe.

 

What is one area of your life where you need consistency between belief and action?  Practice it today...