Morning Manna by Rufus Parker - 2018 October 4

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:1-5).

Today’s Morsel:  A man once asked me if I was born again? I said to him, “Yes sir I am. Are you?”  He said, “O’ yes, I have confessed Jesus.”  I asked him to explain to me.   He said, "You know, I have confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior."  I said to him, "I don’t want you to think that I’m rude, but that’s not what it means to be born again."   I asked him to please look at the scripture again.  It says that you must be born again of the water and the spirit.  To just confess Jesus doesn’t mean that you are born again.  I said to him to notice that when they heard Peter preach on the Day of Pentecost they were pricked in their hearts because of what he said.  It means that they were stricken with sudden sorrow and grief at what they heard, and they wanted to know what they must do.  To which Peter said unto them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:38-41).  I told him that scripture tells us to beware that we are not spoiled by the philosophies and traditions of men and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8-9). Confessing Jesus is just the acknowledgment of Jesus.  It is not being born again.  It’s just one of the steps in the process. But Acts 2:38 shows us the complete process of being Born Again.  Have you completed the process of the new-birth experience?  If not, you can if you ask yourself the same question, "What must I do?"  And read Acts 2:38 for your answer.  

Sing:  Born again, there has been a change in me.  Born again, just like Jesus said.  Born again, and all because of Calvary, I’m so glad that I’ve been born again.

Thought For Today:  Are you Born Again?