Daily Encouragement

February 22, 2009 - Born Again

Meditation on John 3

Three times, Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you" in this passage.

Following the first time, He continued, "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (v. 3 NKJV) Nicodemus, a ruler and teacher of the Jews did not understand what it meant. So Jesus repeated the serious statement again to emphasize the importance of what He said first, and then he explained, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God...."

We can understand that the Spirit is referring to the Holy Spirit of God who gives us spiritual new birth from above. But what is the water Jesus was talking about? I believe it implies the Word of God. For the Jews who are familiar with the Scriptures, they will recall Deuteronomy 32:2 says, "Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew." And Isaiah 55:10-11 echoed with these words, "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do no return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Therefore the water is the word of God that makes man born again as Peter says this about Christians, "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." (1 Peter 1:23) Paul also says this about the church in Ephesians 5:26, "that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word," The water then is the word of God.

The third time Jesus said "most assuredly, I say to you" is in verse 11. Following this attention getting phase, He said a lot of things which led to the prediction that "even so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Believing in Jesus is the only way to be born form the Word and the Spirit and have eternal life.

Have you been born again? If not, put your total trust in the word of Jesus and receive Him as the Lord of your life right now. The Holy Spirit will quietly convict you of the sins you have to repent, come into your heart and give you Christ' life which is the eternal life. Nicodemus apparently had done that. For we found him came to anoint Jesus' body after the crucifixion. I can imagine that he would be among those who witnessed the risen Christ also.

February 23, 2009 - Jesus' Model Of Personal Evangelism

Meditation on John 4

After recording Jesus' personal encounter with Nicodemus at night, John showed us His dialogue with the Samaritan woman during a stop in His journey.

For the Jews, this woman was not an easy candidate to be witnessed to. In the first place, she was a Samaritan whom the Jews in those days considered as half breed and was looked down upon. Besides, it was not customary for a man to talk to a woman then. Moreover, this woman was living with a man whom she was not married to. And she has been divorced five times previously. Please note that she came to draw water during the noon time rather than the evening time before the sunset when all the women would come out. She was apparently trying to avoid talking to other women. But Jesus broke all the barriers and asked her for a drink.

But it should not be surprising that this woman was interested in religion. She was also looking for the coming of the Messiah. She was willing to take the living water Jesus offered to her. She asked question about the proper place to worship. Jesus answered her that the place was not important but "...the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (v. 23 NKJV) Jesus also nicely pointed out her problem of relationship. She must acknowledge her sins before she accepted the Messiah as her Savior. Later she introduced many others from her town to Christ.

In our journey of life, we do want to follow Jesus' example to look for opportunity for witnessing. We must break all barriers to initiate conversation. We want to introduce Jesus as the living water who will bring eternal satisfaction to our lives. We must lead the prospect to admit sins. We must lead the person to accept Christ to be his or her Savior and Lord.

February 24, 2009 - The Witnesses For Jesus

Meditation on John 5

The Jews sought to kill Jesus because Jesus had violated their laws of Sabbath and also because He said that "God was His Father, making himself equal with God." (v.18 NKJV) So Jesus told them that whatever He did was under the direction of the Father and the Father had given Him the authority to give life and execute judgment.

Then Jesus went on to give proofs for His divinity and divine authority by presenting four witnesses. First, of course was John the Baptist who testified that Jesus was the Son of God who was preferred before John the Baptist himself and whose sandal strap He was not worthy to loose. To Jesus, John pointed out that He was the Lamb of God. (John 1:27-36)

Secondly, Jesus said that the work He did bore witness for Him that the Father had sent Him. (v. 36) Indeed the miracles He did was the proof that only God could perform such thing such as turning water into wine and healing the sick just by His word.

Thirdly, Jesus said that the Scriptures testified of Him. (v. 39, cf. Isaiah 7:14, 9:6)

Finally Jesus brought up the fact that Moses wrote about Him. (v. 45-46, cf. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18) Certainly many other Scriptures in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms have spoken about Jesus. (Luke 24:27, 44)

All these were the best proofs that Jesus was the Son of God as well as the Son of Man. Let us thank Him and praise Him today!

February 25, 2009 - The Bread Of Heaven

Meditation on John 6

The miracle of feeding of the five thousand men with five barley loaves and two small fish was Jesus' preparation to show that He was the bread of heaven that could feed us eternal life. When the great multitude sought Him for food, He told them, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." (v. 27 NKJV)

Jesus wanted us all to switch our focus from seeking earthly food to eternal food. He wanted us to have everlasting life. For He told the crowd that He was the bread from heaven, He was the bread of life. We should drink His blood and eat His flesh. He further explained to the disciples that His words were the spirit that would give life.

How do we eat His words? It is to believe in His words. Like Peter, we must recognize that "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life...." (v. 68)

Do you believe in Jesus' words today? If you do, you believe in Him and you have eternal life. Also you will be raised up at the last day too. (v. 40)

Spiritual food is always more important than earthly food.

February 26, 2009 - The Living Water

Meditation on John 7

The feast of Tabernacle that Jesus participated here was a Jewish festival held five days after their day of atonement. They would set up booths all over the Jerusalem for seven days in remembrance of their journey in the wilderness after Exodus. On each of the seven days, priests drew water from the pool of Siloam and carried a golden pitcher full of water to the temple and then around the altar with the high priest leading the way. When the priests approached the water gate, the shofar was blown, and the psalms of praise and thanksgiving from Psalm 113 to 118 would be sung to God for the harvest. They would also pour the water on the altar as an offering to God. On the seventh day, they would march around the altar seven times instead of just once. This ceremony was a memorial of the water that flowed from the rock when Moses struck it. (Exodus 17:6) Then on the eighth day, they would have solemn convocation. At night, lamps and torches were lit to commemorate God's leading of the people in the wilderness by a pillar of fire.

On this occasion, the Scriptures says, "On the last days, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (v. 37 NKJV)

I believe that this dramatic scene demonstrated Jesus' proclamation that He is the rock of salvation. Out of His Spirit, we will be given the living water to satisfy the thirstiness of our soul.

In the wilderness of life, we will not be able to find anything to satisfy us for a long time. Man is always searching for something more thrilling to take away our boredom. Only the living water from Jesus (His Holy Spirit) will be able to fill us and bring lasting comfort to us.

Let us turn to Him, confess our sins, let His blood of the cross cleanse us and His Spirit fill our lives.

February 27, 2009 - Jesus Confronting Sin

Meditation on John 8

The Jews brought to Jesus a woman who was caught in adultery and asked Jesus how he would deal with it? Jesus did not answer but stoop down to write on the ground with His finger. When they pressed Him for an answer, He stood up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." (v. 7) Then He continued His writing. The crowd being convicted of their conscience went away one by one until only the woman left. Jesus raised up and said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of your? Has no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."(v.10-11 NKJV)

Following this, the Bible says, "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'" (v. 12)

Since He is the light of the world, he exposes sins. I imagine that what Jesus wrote on the ground was the words for many sins. He wanted men to confront their own sins before condemning others. Praise the Lord, when we confess our sins, He is willing to forgive our sins so we do not walk in darkness any more.

In the same chapter, Jesus also tells us that if we abide in His word, we will continue to be His disciples and we then shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free from being the slave of sins. (v. 31-32)

Everyone must face one's own sins and let Jesus' word free us.

February 28, 2009 - Relying On Religious Ritual May Keep You Blind

Meditation on John 9

The healing of the man born blind was the sixth sign out of seven recorded in John. These signs were used to point to the divinity of Jesus who was the Messiah. Indeed, an impossible thing happened. Only God could do such a thing. Jesus made clay with His saliva to anoint the eyes of this blind man and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam. John gave us the meaning of name of the pool specifically which is "Sent". (v. 7) He went to wash and came back with the ability to see. Later on Jesus looked for Him, and he worshiped Him as the Messiah. Spiritually speaking, God word is teaching us that when we are washed by the water, that is the word of Jesus, we will be made whole.

However, the Pharisees did not and would not accept the implication of this miracle. Their main objection was that Jesus healed this man with an elaborate process on the Sabbath Day which was against their interpretation of the law and regulations. Their path to God was keeping the law with their own rituals while the Bible already mentioned that their hearts were full of wickedness. Therefore Jesus considered them to be spiritually blind and sinful because they did not understand Jesus while maintaining that they were close to God. (v. 40-41)

Today, some of us may act like the Pharisees. We judge others by carefully observing whether they follow our rituals of going to church, tithing and participating in some easy projects once a while. Yet we never want to do anything more than the minimum. Our spiritual eyes are blind to God's power and might. We question anything unusual in the church. Can God do this and that? How come I don't experience that? We have no faith and vision in planning anything unless there is money. Our determination of God's will is solely dependant on income. If others do thing different than our way, we don't like it. And we think that we are better than other Christians.

May God have mercy upon us and may we admit our blindness so we can see.