John 3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The New Birth
3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews; 2 this
man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come
from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless
God is with him.” 3 Jesus
answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 5 Jesus
answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do
not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.
Someone
has said, “Curiosity killed the cat.” I assume that means the cat was curious
and stuck its head into someplace where he could not get lose. Curiosity
doesn’t always kill; in fact often it is the beginning of life. Nicodemus was
curious. He had an inquiring mind. He wanted to know more about this Jesus man.
The stories were circulating about His healing, His teaching and His Holy ways.
It was because of this that Nicodemus asked for a night meeting. His desire to
know more about Jesus led him to make a bold statement. “Rabbi, we know that
you have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that you do
unless God is with him.”
Jesus then answered: To enter the Kingdom of God you have to be born physically and spiritually. Jesus’ emphatic statement, “you must be born again or from above indicates every human being needs to experience a new birth to gain eternal life. Believing Jesus is a great teacher, prophet, humanitarian, or full of good works is not sufficient. Jesus claims Himself to be the Son of God. Faith in Jesus as God Himself is necessary for new birth and eternal life. If you have not placed your faith in Him; why not right now.
__________________________Today's personal note from Dennis
Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ
Hope and pray that all of you are finding strength and power through His Holy Spirit. May He continue to guide you in all your endeavors.
This past week has been one of limited activity. But this week and next are going to make up for it. The older grandsons are all back in school after Fall Break. That means soccer games, band rehearsals, and play practice.
Sandy and I are headed camping with Grace Community Church's Family Camping Group this week end. (17-19) I will be speaking to them on Sunday. We will be at Roosevelt Lake. I really enjoy the fellowship, food, and spiritual uplifting.
I will be speaking at the XYZ Group at Grace Community Church at their noon luncheon on October 30th.
Sammy and Kathy Allen, Sandy's brother and his wife, will spend the week end of October 30-November 2 with us.
November 2 Sandy and I will be speaking at City of Grace in Mesa in a Sunday School class taught by our friends, Mel and Shawnee Worters.
Sandy continues to teach her "YOUNG MOM'S BIBLE STUDY" on Tuesday mornings at FBC Tempe.
I know it is a while ahead but we are anticipating with real joy the trip to Quartzsite again this year in January. Take a moment and google the Quartzsite Rock and Gem Show. You will get a perspective of what we will be doing.
The reason I give you our schedule is because we need your prayers as we prepare and present.
A BIG THANKS to all of you who recently gave financially to Purpose Ministries Inc in order that we can fulfill these needs of ministry. May God bless you real special.
All of the past The Encouragers are on line at: dgtheencourager.blogspot.com
If you have friends or families that would be encouraged by receiving The Encourager please send me their name and email address.
God bless you. ~ DGW
PS: Justin and Johnny are getting costumes ready for Halloween. It is interesting to pick out personalities from pictures.
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