Virtual Devotions

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” – John 3:3

 

Dear Friends,

 

Under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus, a powerful and respected member of the Jewish society came to Jesus.  It’s uncertain why Nicodemus came to him, but most likely to question Jesus about his teaching.  Nicodemus begins by trying to gently flatter Jesus calling him Rabbi and saying that he knows God is with him based on the miracles Jesus has performed.  But Nicodemus’ idle flattery is cut short and Jesus gets right to the heart of the matter telling him that ‘no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’

 

I believe the concept of being born again is greatly misunderstood today.  Presuming that a Christian will not argue with the Lord Jesus Christ, the fact is simple, ‘no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’  This truth is truth.  So why is it that so many Christians are averse to calling themselves born again or accepting that all must be born again if they are to see the kingdom of God?

 

My best guess is that they fear being labeled.  In today’s society, if one calls himself or herself a “born again Christian,” he or she is likely a person very outspoken about the faith and certainly counter to the current politically correct culture.  The “born again crowd” are the “Jesus freaks,” the one’s who are insistent that the only way to the kingdom of God is through Jesus.  These people are open to accusations of intolerance and narrow-mindedness.  A group many would prefer not to be associated with.

 

Today, April 27, 2009, is the sixth anniversary of my being born again.  I consider myself fortunate to be able to point to the exact time when God made me into a new creation by giving me a new heart and a new mind and a new life in Him.  Maybe God allowed me to experience a specific date and time just so my faith would be strengthened.  I know fellow Christians who are born again, yet their new birth came over a season, not a sermon.  Being born again is not an experience; it is a state of being.

 

As for me, I was living the life of works righteousness.  I knew I was a sinner, a very wretched sinner.  Twice, I had been denied by the Catholic Church their sacrament of confession because I was considered by them to be too far outside of God’s grace.  In response, I was determined to make up for my past sins by being the best I could be in God’s sight.  Unfortunately, my best was not nearly good enough and certainly nowhere close to covering my sins.

 

After having lost much, God called me to a church where the Gospel was preached.  With the words of the sermon titled, “Don’t Associate with the Unsaved,” God made me fully aware of my awful sinfulness and the absolute futility of trying to overcome such a burden on my own.  It was at that time that the Holy Spirit moved inside of me and I surrendered myself to Christ and with that surrender I knew that all of my sins; past, present and future, had been washed away.

 

From that moment, I was a new creation.  I was born again.  For those who had known me prior, a definite change was evident.  Justification had been granted to me and now the life long process of sanctification had begun. 

 

I am a born again Christian.  I am gladly labeled a Jesus freak.  I will tell you and everyone that there is no other way to the Father except by Jesus Christ.  If you believe otherwise you believe a lie.  And this is not arrogance; this is simply believing the words of the One whom I know is God, the One who rescued me from eternal death because I couldn’t rescue myself.

 

I don’t know why He chose me.  I don’t deserve it.  On the contrary, I know I deserve to spend eternity in Hell.  But by His mercy, He chose me.  By His love, He died for me while I was yet a sinner.  By His grace, I was born again into His everlasting life.

 

Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

In Him,

David

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” – Mark 13:32-33

 

Dear Friends,

 

One day when they were leaving the temple after a confrontation with the religious leaders, the disciples marveled at the greatness of the temple.  Jesus then told them that one-day the temple would be destroyed.

 

Wanting to know when this would occur the disciples asked two questions, “When will this happen?” and “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”

 

With these two questions Jesus begins a long dissertation on the end times, a speech whose meaning has been debated ever since.  I certainly am not going to end the debate here, but I do want to direct our attention to what I believe are the two most important statements, which come at the beginning and end of the monologue.

 

The first thing Jesus tells the disciples is, “Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”  Most interpreters will suggest there will be false messiahs, and I believe this to be true, but let me suggest an additional view. 

 

Why did God forbid the Israelites from adopting the divination and fortune-telling practices of the pagan people of Canaan?  Who alone is the true source of all revelation?  Only God the Father knows all things even the day and hour of the Second Coming of the Son. Not even the angels or Jesus Christ himself knows.  This knowledge is reserved only for God the Father.  Any man who claims to know this claims to be equal with God – the Messiah – do not be deceived.

 

Jesus ends the teaching by instructing the disciples how to go about their lives with the knowledge that the end is coming, but not knowing the exact time the fateful day will come.  His instruction is simple, be faithful and wise servants doing what the Master has instructed you to do until the day of his returning and do not be found doing otherwise.  For those who are faithful will be rewarded and those who are not will be thrown out of the Kingdom.  Advice we should still heed today.

 

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, ”Party like it’s 2012.”  I suppose you too have heard about the December 2012 predictions.  It’s almost comical to do a Google search of dates for the end of the world.  I found a listing of over 220 dates going all the way back to A.D. 44.  The truth is no one but the Father knows the day of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus.  While I believe it could be at any time, even before I finish writing this devotion or before you finish reading it, I feel confident it will not be on 12/12/12.  The day will come when we least expect it.

 

So until that day, I plead you to obey the Master’s command.  Do not be deceived.  The Mayans and Nostradamus are not the givers of revelation. Do not listen to those who would suggest they know.  Instead, go about the business of the Kingdom.  Continue to go into the world making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything he has commanded.  And if you are not a Christian, then turn to Christ in repentance and faith for the Kingdom is near!

 

In Christ,

 

David

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

 

Dear Friends,

 

This famous passage, which comes at the end of the Book of Joshua, may seem like a strange verse to use for the Easter message, but I think you will see the wisdom in considering this passage in the light of the victory of Christ.

 

If you recall the Book of Joshua, he led the Israelites into the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, basically Israel, and conquered the pagan peoples who were living there.  The Book of Joshua is a book of war, a story of good over evil, a story of God’s victory on behalf of His people.

 

In the closing verses of the story of Joshua, I see a foreshadowing to the world today.  Like the Israelites who lived in the light of God’s great victory on their behalf, we stand in the light of Christ’s great victory on our behalf.  And like the Israelites, who were given the choice whom they would follow, we are given the choice whom we will follow. 

 

The Israelites had the choice to follow the LORD who led them out of Egypt and gave them victory in the Promised Land or to turn and follow the false gods of their ancestors or to follow the pagan gods of the people of the land in which they were now living.   Likewise, we have the choice to follow the Lord Jesus Christ who gave us victory over sin and death or to turn and follow the false gods created in our own minds, in our own image for our own satisfaction or the pagan gods of spirituality and vaious world religions.

 

And, though Christ is the victor, the choice is still yours to make.  Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God came into this world by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He had no original sin, nor in his life did he ever sin.  As a man, he died as our representative taking our place on the cross.  As God, his sacrifice was so infinitely sufficient so that all who have faith in him will be saved.  And as was foretold in the Scriptures, he rose again on the third day and now sits at the right hand of the Father in bodily form waiting for the day of his return.  A day in which all who are his will be resurrected with him in glorified bodies so that we may live with him forever in Paradise.

 

But turning to Christ does require something from us.  It requires humility, that we admit our guilt, admit our helplessness to save ourselves and turn to him alone in repentance and faith.  If this seems undesirable to you, then choose this day whom you will serve, but in light of Christ’s great victory and the Good News that is Easter, the choice is clear.  As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

 

In Christ,

 

David

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Dear Friends,

This week marks the most holy week of the Christian calendar, the Passion Week of Christ, and I encourage you to take time to consider this event. To do so, I hearken back to an old, spiritual, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”

When we imagine the crucifixion in our minds, we may see three crosses and that’s about it, but based on the four Gospels, there were many people present at the crucifixion. I know this is the longest devotion I have written to date, but I believe it is a worthy meditation. As you consider each participant in the crucifixion, try to determine which one you are.

Pontius Pilate – now Pilate wasn’t actually at the crucifixion, but he certainly played a major role in the event. He was a man who looked truth in the face and asked, “What is truth?” He gave in to the demands of the crowd to keep peace at the expense of the truth of Jesus Christ.

Roman soldiers – these men who mocked Christ by putting the robe and crown of thorns on his head, mercilessly beat him, forced him to carry the cross, crucified him, cast lots for his clothing, sat and watched as he died, and finally pierced his side with a spear to assure he was dead. To them Christ was just another criminal to be executed, just another religious zealot, no different than any other.

The Centurion - for this man who led the Roman soldiers this was just another day at work. Presumably he had seen tens or hundreds of people crucified in his career. But after witnessing the darkening of the sky and the earthquake at Jesus’ death, the centurion proclaimed that surely this man was the Son of God.

Simon of Cyrene - We know little about this man other than he was forced to carry the cross for Christ. But we also know that he was the father of Rufus and Alexander. We do not know who these two were, but because they are mentioned by name, it suggests that the early church would have known who they were, presumably members of the Christian community. Could it be that though Simon was forced to do work for Christ, somehow the truth of Christ was eventually revealed to him?

The chief priests, scribes and elders - they called for Christ’s crucifixion. They claimed he had broken the Jewish law. And what was Christ’s crime? Jesus claimed to be God. Though these religious men should have recognized the fulfillment of the Scriptures in Jesus Christ, instead they denied his divinity, mocked and insulted him and had him put to death.

“Those passing by” - some simply mocked and insulted Jesus as they went on their way in and out of the city. These people had no time to stop from their own schedules and concerns, but gave a “drive-by shooting” of insults. They really didn’t give any thought to who Christ is, what he has done for them or their own sinfulness.

“Those standing nearby” - It was the ancient equivalent of reality TV. They were voyeuristic when it came to Christ.  They had no desire to consider what was happening or why, they were simply caught up in the unfolding drama and stood on the sidelines.

“The group of women” - who had followed Christ through his ministry and supported him. Included in this group was Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene and others. They mourned and wailed as they watched Jesus taken to be crucified. Yet it is likely that they did not realize that Jesus was the Messiah until after his resurrection. For them, the crucifixion would be the end until they learn of the resurrection.

John - The only disciple whom we are told was at the crucifixion was John. He stood there with Mary, Jesus’ mother. John had followed Jesus from the beginning and now he was watching his Master die. Jesus entrusted the care of his mother to John before he died.

The First Thief – crucified with Jesus. He to his last breath joined in with the rest of the crowd mocking and insulting Jesus.

The Second Thief – crucified with Jesus. He too began by mocking and insulting the Lord, but by God’s grace he came to understand that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. His life of sin was forgiven as he turned to Jesus in repentance and faith and for that he received the blessed assurance from Jesus’ own lips, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

Now that you have considered each character, which one most exemplifies you?  

In Christ,

David