Jesus was sent to bring new Life to the World

The spirit unfolds within us

Verses: John 3 : 14 - 20

My thoughts about the verses:

The spirit of God unfolds in these verses.  Just like a butterfly ready to take flight we can see how Jesus unfolds his spirit within us.  The Spirit is fresh and new waiting to fly within us and to lift us to a new life.  A life that is full of endless light.  A beauty we cannot truly imagine. Yet, how many of us understand how much of the Hebrew scriptures were fulfilled by these verses.  The fact is that Jesus is compared to the snake that Moses lifted in the dessert.  How ironic that this is the comparison made by Jesus right before the reason for the saviors birth is told.

How many times have we skipped over this verse maybe it is too hard for us to take because when we think of serpents we think of them being sneaky and foul.  We think of the spirit of Jesus as that of a butterfly flirting within the wind.  Yet, here is where Jesus shows that he is replacing all of the promises made to the Hebrews.

Think back to this story of Moses.  The people were becoming inpatient.  Moses had gone up the mountain to get the commandments, the people's link with God.  God made the people very ill, but Moses begged for the forgiveness of the Parent.  God told him to make serpents and raise in the air those that would trust and look upon it would not perish.

Now Jesus is saying that he was replacing the serpent that was raised that day to save the lives of God's people.  That they must put their whole trust in the saving grace of God and they would find the salvation they desired.  Just like Moses lifting the serpent it is the people's decision to accept that Christ would do the healing.

I also feel that a serpent was used to show that the deeds of Satan would be stomped out by the power of God.  That the salvation would cleanse all things that happened before Christ's arrival.  That it would also carry forward to our time.

So in reality there are two serpents to choose from.  The two serpents serve two purposes one leads to eternal life the other to eternal life. Those that choose the first serpent will face an eternity of darkness.  Their hearts will always long for peace, but due to their choices they will never find it.  Yet, those that choose the second serpent will have their sickness removed.  They will be healed of all faults they will become a light unto the world which is what God desires from all of us.

Prayer:

God you are amazing.  You are the light that we so need in our life.  We thank you for providing us a way of recovering from all the ills of the world.  We ask that you open our hearts and minds.  May we accept the light and new life that you want to freely give to us.

Questions:

Have you opened your heart to the spirit of new life?  Have you looked up to the risen savior and asked for Christ to enter your heart?  Are there things that you need to leave at the bottom of the cross?  Are there things that must be nailed into the cross that you have left in your life?  Is today the day that you turn it all over to God?  Are you willing to transform into the butterfly that Jesus gives you through the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus tells Nicodemus that you must be reborn of the spirit

You must be reborn 

Verses: John 3: 1-13

My thoughts about the verses:

Have you ever seen a small bird that was just learning to fly.  It is amazing how they spread their wings and fly from the nest.  You can tell that this little guy was proud of his trip.  He was cooling his body in this nice little puddle.  He was cleansing himself from the impurities of the world.

This is something that we all need to do.  We need to wash our body in the spirit of God.  Cleanse ourselves from the impurities of the world.  The Holy Spirit is the one remedy that we need to make the rest of our life worthwhile.

Jesus's death on the cross occurred so that we could be cleansed from the sins we have done here on this earth.  We are cleansed in a puddle of water that will wash away the bad. As we dry from the cleansing the Holy Spirit enters us.  The old is gone and we are reborn with a freshness that will last throughout all eternity.

Nicodemus had a hard time understanding this because he was living in the time of Jesus's life on earth.  He saw the miracles understand that they were from the power of God.  Yet, he still could not understand how Jesus expected him to be reborn.  The concept was so far from the reality that he lived in that he could not fathom any way of being born again without an actual birth happening.

The difference between us and Nicodemus is that we now live in a time in which Christ has already has passed.  We too question the rebirth theory, but there are different reasons.  Our faith is only through total trust that the things of old actually occurred.  The trust is what true faith is built on. Nicodemus was also expected to totally trust that what Jesus was saying would come true.  He was being asked to put his trust in things he could not explain.

Prayer:

God we thank you for the cleansing spirit.  We thank you for the love that you so freely given.  We ask that you help us put our blind trust in you.  May we fully accept you into our lives.  We ask that you surround us with your loving arms as we take the next steps to get closer to you.  In you Holy name we pray.   Amen

Questions:

Have you been reborn in the spirit of God?  Have you accepted all the gifts that God is offering you today?  Is today the day you change your future?  What have you held onto from the past that you need to turn over?

Jesus Understands Humankind because He Was God in the Flesh

Time to Believe Before it is Too Late.

Verses: John 2: 22-25

My thoughts about the verses:

Haven't we all had those moments where we think to ourselves that Jesus has no idea what I am going through.  How can God truly feel the pain that I am in?  Would God really let me go through this struggle if Jesus really knew what it was like?

Yet, isn't that why God became human flesh.  God knew that we would have to see to believe.  True Faith is trusting in Christ without having to see it to believe it.  Yet, we fail this many times.  Jesus was a sacrifice for us so that we could understand how much God truly loved us.

That sacrifice wasn't just a mere thought but a truly living breathing human being.  God knew that we needed to see before we would believe in the sacrifice.  Imagine being able to see Jesus when he was on the earth.  How could you not truly believe in Jesus?  Yet, Jesus knew the hearts of humankind and realized that for many seeing would not lead to true belief.

Would we be one of those that saw Jesus but would not truly believe in Jesus? Jesus felt the hearts of man and knew the only way that people would believe was through his own sacrifice.  Those healing and other miracles would not be enough.  That we would need a sacrifice of blood and spirit to bring us the salvation we needed.  Jesus understood this because of living in human form.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for the many sacrifices that you have done for us.  We thank you for giving us Jesus.  We ask right now that you surround us with your love.  May we truly understand how much your love is for us.  In your precious and holy name we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Do you believe in God's sacrifice?  Have you accepted Christ in your heart?  Are you willing to trust through ultimate faith or do you need to see miracles first?  What was the last miracle that you saw?  Are you dealing with something that you believe Jesus doesn't understand?  Do you need to turn things over so you can receive all the healing that your body, mind, and spirit needs?