John 3:1-6

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 min)

2) Scripture Reading - John 3:1-6 (click to listen)
 ¹Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.  ³Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” ⁴“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” ⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

3) Devotional
We seem to have a preference for engaging God on our terms, putting God in a man-made box of ideas, doctrines and theologies. Nicodemus came to Jesus that night almost 2,000 years ago because Jesus wasn't fitting into the box that the Pharisees had forced God into. But, Nicodemus came to Jesus humbly and respectfully, calling Him "Rabbi", willing to learn and reshape his box with a fresh understanding of the God whose ways were higher than his ways and whose thoughts were higher than his thoughts.

We need to remember that every effort we make to define, or describe who God is or what He has done, or what He will do is at best an imperfect man-made thing. So, like Nicodemus, we need to hold such boxes with great humility and willingness to learn and experience God in new and fresh ways. And we need to be gentle and respectful with each other when our boxes bump into each other.

4) Questions to Consider
What box, or boxes have you put God in?
In what ways might God be wanting to reshape your box?

5) Prayer
Father, help me to see where I've boxed you in, or boxed you out. Give me a spirit, born again of your Spirit, that is gentle and humble and willing to learn anew from You. In Christ's name, Amen.

6) Conclude with Silence (2 min)

John 2:23-25

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes) 



2) Scripture Reading: John 2:23-25


 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

3) Devotional: The word “but” has a way of changing everything that came before it in a sentence. Someone can give us a great compliment that really makes us feel good up until the word “but.” (“I love your outfit, but…”) The moment that word appears, we immediately forget what was said before it and brace for whatever is coming after it. That’s exactly what’s happening in this short concluding passage of John 2. Jesus has been performing signs and miracles, and many believe in His name. So far, so good. In verse 24, the dreaded “but” appears. Jesus does not entrust himself to these new believers, and John goes on in verse 25 to illustrate that Jesus sees what is truly at the core of each of us. In the original language, the same Greek word used for “believe” in verse 23 is also used for “entrust” in verse 24. The literal understanding of this word is “to pledge something to someone,” and can also be translated “commit.” Scholars are divided on why Jesus does not entrust himself- perhaps their belief is only “sign faith,” based on the signs and miracles they have seen, but regardless, two lessons are clear: Jesus sees past the facades and the opinions and affirmations of man right into our hearts to the root of our motivations for belief, and He commits His message and ministry to us as vessels to carry it to the world based on what He sees there, or not. A rather sobering thought.

4) Questions to Consider:
Do you believe because of what you have seen, or because of who Jesus is? Does the “vessel” of your life have enough integrity to carry the ministry of Christ to the world? What are the hidden things inside the core of your being that are compromising the flow of Christ in you and through you? Are you willing to commit those things to Christ and be set free?

5) Prayer: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:24-24)

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)