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June 7, 2009
READ: John 3:1-15
I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God (v.3).
The electrocardiogram (EKG) is a test that helps your doctor determine your heart’s health by measuring its electrical activity. The pattern of these signals can tell your physician if your heart is functioning normally, under stress, or damaged. What if every follower of Jesus could get a spiritual EKG today? I wonder what it would say about our spiritual health.
Jesus gave this sort of test to a man named Nicodemus (John 3). Externally, Nicodemus looked like a man who was spiritually healthy. He was from the upper class of Jewish society and was conservative in his Jewish beliefs. He was a Pharisee (belonging to the strict religious sect of Judaism) and was a member of the ruling council (Sanhedrin), which implies he was a rabbi. He was sensitive to the prevailing doctrinal trends of the time and possessed the appearance of a man who had a strong spiritual heartbeat. He was well-versed in the Torah and was even interested in Jesus’ teaching.
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night (v.2), fearing intense criticism and persecution. But Jesus didn’t criticize him. Instead, He met him at his point of need—he needed to be born again. In his time with Jesus, Nicodemus found out that his spiritual EKG didn’t even register a heartbeat. He was spiritually dead. External conformity to the Law, knowledge of the Torah, and his ethnicity (Jewish) were not enough to experience the kingdom of God. He needed a new heart, one that could be given by God.
Many people are relying on external religious associations—church attendance, religious friends, good works—to grant them access into God’s family. But the only way to gain access into the kingdom of God is to have a heart transplant, where God takes out our dead heart and replaces it with a new one (Ezekiel 36:26). —Marvin Williams
Have you placed your full confidence in Jesus? What is Jesus saying about the present condition of your heart?
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Loading ...words and numbers
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June 7, 2009
READ: John 17:20-26
I and My Father are one. —John 10:30
My husband is a “numbers” person; I am a “word” person. When my incompetence with numbers gets the best of me, I try to boost my ego by reminding Jay that word people are superior because Jesus called Himself the Word, not the Number.
Instead of trying to defend himself, Jay just smiles and goes on about his business, which consists of much more important things than my silly arguments.
Since Jay will not defend himself, I feel compelled to do so. Although I am right about Jesus being the Word, I am wrong in saying that He didn’t refer to Himself as a number. One of the most moving passages of Scripture is Christ’s prayer just before His arrest and crucifixion. Facing death, Jesus prayed not only for Himself, but also for His disciples and for us. His most urgent request on our behalf involved a number: “[I pray] that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21).
As people who live by the Word, we need to remember that “right words” sound hollow to the world unless we, being one in Christ, are glorifying God with one mind and one voice. — Julie Ackerman Link
God calls His children to unity.
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