"What
Is Born
Of The Spirit
Is Spirit"
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 earthy 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."
John 3:1-16
Sometimes
we get a rare glimpse of the grace that God gives us. When that happens, not if
it happens, respond. Allow that grace to turn your attention away from this
world.
God can
enable any of us to change, no matter how deeply embedded we may be in this
world. The miracle of the new birth will take place when we say yes to the
stirring of God's grace in our souls.
Salvation is not reformation but transformation.
Our Daily Bread - October 1, 2005