Saturday, March 27, 2021
Hallelujah! He is risen!
A Lenten Devotional Guide
Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the
kingdom of God unless he is born again.
John 3:3 NIV
“I’m not one of those ‘born-agains,’ am I?” Marge’s agitated question startled the Bible study. Coming from Catholic background, she often asked about Bible phrases that bothered her but not usually with this intensity. Sensing the Spirit’s leading, I replied, “Marge, go home and read John 3 over several times this week and then you tell me whether you are born again or not.”
A week later, Marge came back with her answer. Obviously uncomfortable with the thought but wanting to be truthful she admitted, “I am one of those ‘born-agains.’”
It was two years before we saw Marge again. During that time she and her husband moved, struggled with a son’s attempted suicide and lost their home in a devastating fire. As we welcomed her back, Marge said, “I just had to come and tell you. If I hadn’t been one of those ‘born-agains’ I would never have made it through the past two years.”
Our first birth, the fleshly one, came about through no choice of our own. We have all been born once. But Jesus challenges us to accept the second birth – one which is a matter of our choice and comes from above through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we choose the second birth by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we become a part of the kingdom of God.
After you read John 3, where do you stand? Are you one of those “born-agains?”
Lord, help me to look at the truth of John 3:3 and to
accept its necessity for entering the kingdom of God. Thank you for making it
possible for me to be one of those “born agains.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen
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