Showing posts with label John 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John 3. Show all posts

Sunday 31 January 2016

Born into A New Family.



Who am I?

Someone who was born into a second family with a new father and brother.

Jesus said:
"Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15


Children are teachable and curious; they begin asking questions as soon as they can speak. They usually trust and love their parents. They have a need for love and attention. They are innocent of the evil in the world. They are teachable, open to new experiences and simply lovely to be around.


A ruler of the Jews came to visit Jesus and asked some questions.
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”

A new born child has to rely completely on her parents. She cannot do anything for herself. She would die if left alone. We need God, like a baby needs her parents.

“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. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit...”

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." 

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 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 3:3-21

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 1John 5:1

Who Is God?

Someone who wants us to be his child.






Wednesday 23 December 2015

Immanuel.

Jesus wasn't loaned to us. He was given to us forever. He is still what he called himself so many times, "The Son of Man," yet he sits on the throne with his father. They have united with their created beings. What did Jesus give up to become a man? What did God the Father give up when he gave his only son? We don't know now, but perhaps someday.

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this."

Isaiah 9:6,7

"All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us')."
Isaiah 7:14

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16







Saturday 10 October 2015

Look and Live.



Who is God?

Jesus said:
"As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."John 3:14-18

After snakes had entered the camp of Israel, Moses lifted up a pole that had a sculpture of a snake on it. God told the people if they would look at the snake they would live. Some looked and were cured of snake bites, those who did not look died. Why did God do something so strange?  What was the lesson?

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
The people in the wilderness bitten by the fiery serpents, the poison-virus spreading through their veins, and causing burning pain, torpor, and death—this was symbolic of the world lying in the misery, restlessness, and spiritual death, which came from the Serpent’s victory in Paradise. 

The serpent of brass lifted up by Moses, in which the sufferer saw the means of recovery determined by God, and was healed by faith in Him—this was symbolic of the means of salvation determined by God for the world.

MacLaren's Expositions
So here we have Christ accepting, as well as discerning, the Cross. And we have more than that. We have Christ looking at the Cross as being, not humiliation, but exaltation. ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up.’ And what does that mean? It means the same thing that He said when, near the end, He declared, ‘The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified.’ We are accustomed to speak-and we speak rightly-of His death as being the lowest point of the humiliation which was inherent in the very fact of His humanity. He condescended to be born; He stooped yet more to die. But whilst that is true, the other side is also true-that in the Cross Christ is lifted up, and that it is His Throne. For what see we there? The highest exhibition, the tenderest revelation, of His perfect love. And what see we there besides? The supreme manifestation of the highest power.


Paul writes, "God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."  2 Cor. 5:21

There is so much to learn about God in these verses.

1. He loves us so much he gave his Son to us. Forever. He is called the Son of God, but also the Son of Man.

2. All we have to do as a Christian is keep our eyes on Jesus. We are not saved by anything we do. We look at Jesus through the Bible and talk with him thru prayer. This is how faith starts and ends. We are saved by faith in the Son of God.

3. God went through hell for us. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Hell is the second death. Jesus went through that on the cross. That is why he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." He went through the second death in his mind. He felt hell, which is being separated from God for eternity. It is not endless suffering, as some people teach about hell. If it was, then Jesus could have never left the cross.

4. God does not want to condemn the world. He loves the world. He wants to draw all to him so they can be saved. It is true he will one day judge the world; he must decide who is safe to take to heaven. Those who hurt people will not be allowed in. They would continue to do evil in heaven as they do it here. They would also hate heaven, because nothing inside them would be attracted to what is done there. They would not want to praise God and live in love and peace.

Okay, this is a looong post. But hey, it explains the plan of salvation! You can't do that in a few sentences, although I guess that is just what Jesus did.

Who Am I?

I am someone who thought I had to be a good girl (perfect, actually) to be saved. Of course I lived in fear of God because of that. It took many years for me to understand Jesus did it all and does it all. I have no need to worry about being perfect. If God wants me to be perfect, it is up to him to do it to me. I am happy in his love and acceptance of me. All I have to do is look and live.