Sunday, July 3
You must be born again…again
Scripture: 1 Chronicles 7-9, Psalm 77, John 3
John 3:7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.
Observation
Nicodemus was a spiritual leader in Israel. He was a Pharisee, a member of the most religious, devout and observant sect in Israel. He was a ruler of the Jews, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the ruling council, one of the most powerful men in Israel. He was “the teacher of Israel,” a respected, important and well-known teacher of the faith. And, judging from this visit to Jesus, he was a spiritual seeker of truth, a learner.
Jesus tells this man—one of the most devout men in Israel—that he must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.
Application
Think of the most holy, the most spiritual person you know. I think of my father in law, Pastor Noel. This would be like Jesus telling that person, “You must be born again.”
We tend to think of being born again as a single event. But what if it’s a lifestyle? What if we each must be born again…again? And again and again? What if conversion isn’t just an event but an ongoing process? The continual conversion of being Christian.
Yes, there is a moment when we are born again—when we start our new life in Christ. But the rest of our life will be a series of conversions, of transformations as we change “into his image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
No matter where you are in Christ, there’s more. There is always more room for growth, for change, for transformation into the image of Jesus.
You must be born again—again and again.
Keep changing!
Prayer: Lord, I welcome your work in my life today, changing me, making me new, over and over again.