Meditate On

I am looking forward to this week's Global Leadership Summit from Willowcreek. There are always great quotes given. Most of us cannot remember everything a speaker says, but there are always those "pearls of wisdom" that sticks with us. Here are some of my favorite quotes from past conferences.
Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. - Charles Stanley
God's forgiveness does not depend on us getting (understanding) it! - Bob Goff
You need to be more of a contributor and less the critic. - Brene Brown
Lead in the things that matter to God. - Henry Cloud

Even if you don't know these leaders - meditate on their quotes, and how you can use them to grow in the Lord.

Seek wisdom - listen, learn, and let your faith grow.

Amen?

Eyes On

Have you ever been given the advice to: Walk it off ? It's usually given to us when we are afraid or what is happening to us isn't as bad as we're making it to be.
In John 6:16-21 we see Jesus coming through a storm to rescue His fearful disciples. By the way He was walking on water!

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.  A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.  When they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.  But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”  Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

This is a great illustration of the supernatural, fear, and faith (or lack of). The focus of this account is on Jesus and how He protects us, loves us, and wants us to grow in our belief (faith and obedience) of Him. We need to keep our hearts, minds, and eyes on Him alone.

How’s your focus?

Always keep your focus on the one who walks on water. Amen?

There Is a Way

If Nicodemus were with us today I am sure he would want to encourage us on our faith journey. Here are two things he learned:

1. Jesus truly is the only Way, Truth, and Life to the Father. Nic's journey is a classic "Here to There" experience. He was able to leave his old life to find the truth through faith, experience, and action.

2. Share it with your world. Don’t hide in the darkness. Allow God’s light to shine in all areas of your life. Don't wait as long as Nicodemus. Seek and find Christ today. He is not hiding. Jesus said, "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." - John 3:21

Always seek the Truth! Amen?

Believe the Truth

Today we'll look at two more attributes of the man Nicodemus. The first one is that:

He was an Educated Man - Jesus called him “Israel’s teacher”.

There had been no direct voice from God in Israel for 400 years, and here was One whose message carried the stamp of divine authority. So Nicodemus, sought out Christ. In spite of his culture, position and religion, he needed to be born again by the Spirit of God. His name, meaning “innocent blood,” Nicodemus came to realize that his salvation was dependent upon the shedding of innocent blood. "“No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son." - John 3:14-16.

He was also a Man able to receive the truth and believe. Let's look at rest of Nicodemus' story.

"Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." -  John 19:38-42

Here we see that Nicodemus has come fully in to the "light". He believes in Christ as Messiah, and doesn't care who knows. This was a great act of courage, faith, and showing a "born again" life.

May we always stand in and share the light of Christ. Amen?

Light Always Wins

Nicodemus is one of my heroes from the Bible. He came to Jesus in the “dark” but left with the truth of how to be in God’s “light”. Jesus told him that you must be born again to enter in to the Kingdom. Change can happen! In John chapter three we can learn about this man Nicodemus. We can apply some of his qualities to our relationship with God. Here are three of them:

1. He was a religious man- A member of the Jewish ruling council, but he was not going to allow “religion” or “how we’ve always done it” stop him from discovering the truth.

2. He was a man able to recognized God’s power - Knew that Jesus’ miracles were from God. He was in the dark but not blind. We can all start our spiritual journey towards the truth by acknowledging the things of God.

3. He was a Questioning Man - He asked how he could be born again… Another question by Nicodemus, John 7:45-53 (MSG) "That’s when the Temple police reported back to the high priests and Pharisees, who demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him with you?”  The police answered, “Have you heard the way he talks? We’ve never heard anyone speak like this man.” The Pharisees said, “Are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? You don’t see any of the leaders believing in him, do you? Or any from the Pharisees? It’s only this crowd, ignorant of God’s Law, that is taken in by him—and damned.”  Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus earlier and was both a ruler and a Pharisee, spoke up. “Does our Law decide about a man’s guilt without first listening to him and finding out what he is doing?” But they cut him off. “Are you also campaigning for the Galilean? Examine the evidence. See if any prophet ever comes from Galilee.” Then they all went home."

Nicodemus questioned the “old ways” – his eyes were beginning to open to the truth!

Today may we be led, follow, and open ourselves up to God’s truth. Amen?

Night Visits

The next few days we'll be taking a look at a man named Nicodemus, who came out of the darkness and in to the light (of Christ). Today I am sharing a teaching from Zondervan on him

The Man Who Came to Jesus by Night

Whenever Nicodemus is mentioned it is always with the label, “the same that came to Jesus by night.” Why is this master in Israel always spoken of in this way? Was he a coward, afraid of what the fellow-members of the Sanhedrin would say if they saw him seeking out Jesus? We feel that he came by night because it was the best time for both Jesus and himself to have a quiet, uninterrupted conversation about spiritual matters. Nicodemus had been occupied all day with his teaching duties, and Jesus had been active in His out-of-door ministry. Now both could relax and talk through the night. It may be that Nicodemus had such a heart hunger that he could not wait until morning, and so came running to Jesus as soon as he could.

There had been no direct voice from God in Israel for a long time, and here was One whose message carried the stamp of divine authority. So Nicodemus, the cautious enquirer, but a man of spiritual perception (John 3:2), sought out Christ, and listened to one of His remarkable conversational sermons. Nicodemus figures three times in John’s gospel:

He came to Christ (John 3:2). This master in Israel confessed Christ to be a Teacher sent from God and heard that in spite of his culture, position and religion, he needed to be born anew by the Spirit of God. His name, meaning “innocent blood,” is suggestive. Nicodemus came to realize that his salvation was dependent upon the shedding of innocent blood (John 3:14, 16).

He spoke for Christ (John 7:45-52). As a fair-minded man, Nicodemus, although a disciple at heart and afraid to avow his faith, raised his voice on behalf of Christ as the Sanhedrin devised measures against Him. The rulers were His avowed enemies, and Nicodemus raised a point of order in favor of the One he had learned so much from. Perhaps he should have been more courageous and outspoken on Christ’s behalf. When the Sanhedrin condemned Jesus to death, there was no protest from Nicodemus. It is likely that he absented himself from that fateful meeting.

He honored Christ (John 19:39, 40). After the death of Christ, ashamed of his cowardice, Nicodemus rendered loving though belated service to Christ. Openly he joined Joseph of Arimathaea, another secret disciple, in preparing Christ’s body for a kingly burial. But the dead cannot appreciate our loving attention. Mary gave her spices to Jesus while He was alive. It is better to give flowers to the living than reserve them for their burial.

© 1988 Zondervan. All Rights Reserved - Bible Gateway

Missing

Do you ever feel like something is missing in your life? Maybe it is when you are lonely, lost, confused, in crisis, or during other times of trouble. It’s at times like these that we need god’s grace. The problem is a lot of the time we are not sure what questions we need to ask. What really is missing?

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God made known through Jesus Christ.” – Pascal let’s look again at this encounter that Jesus had  with a man who knew something was missing in his life. Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.- John 3:1-5

Feeling lost or something is missing? Come to Jesus - He has the answer. Amen?