John 3 Today w/ Journalin

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God Bless You Today, Lena B

John 3
Jesus and Nicodemus
1After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, 2came to speak with Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you."
3Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, F15 you can never see the Kingdom of God."
4"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"
5Jesus replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. F16 6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. 7So don't be surprised at my statement that you F17 must be born again. 8Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."
9"What do you mean?" Nicodemus asked.
10Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? 11I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe us. 12But if you don't even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? 13For only I, the Son of Man, F18 have come to earth and will return to heaven again. 14And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, F19 15so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
18"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. 21But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."
John the Baptist Exalts Jesus
22Afterward Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem, but they stayed in Judea for a while and baptized there.
23At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24This was before John was put into prison. 25At that time a certain Jew began an argument with John's disciples over ceremonial cleansing. 26John's disciples came to him and said, "Teacher, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you said was the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going over there instead of coming here to us."
27John replied, "God in heaven appoints each person's work. 28You yourselves know how plainly I told you that I am not the Messiah. I am here to prepare the way for him—that is all. 29The bride will go where the bridegroom is. A bridegroom's friend rejoices with him. I am the bridegroom's friend, and I am filled with joy at his success. 30He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
31"He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of earth, but he has come from heaven. F20 32He tells what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! 33Those who believe him discover that God is true. 34For he is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God's Spirit is upon him without measure or limit. 35The Father loves his Son, and he has given him authority over everything. 36And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them."
FOOTNOTES:
F15: Or born from above; also in 3:7.
F16: Or spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also be translated wind; see 3:8.
F17: The Greek word for you is plural; also in 3:12.
F18: Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven.
F19: Greek must be lifted up.
F20: Some manuscripts omit but he has come from heaven.


Lena Journals to John 3
What are signs, wonders and miracles about and for?
To lead us to Christ and His Lordship.
God is not our Great Entertainer.
Jesus is telling this interested man, Nic, the reason you’ve seen what it is you’ve seen about Me and about My Father, is to cause interest to spark inside of you, to show you God, who is your true Father and who will give you eternal life!
You were born a man, as Jesus was also born a man on earth, and your natural born man, must be made spiritually alive or else he’ll die for his own sins someday when he stands before God to give an account of life lived here on earth lived out for whoever it was lived out for.
Life on earth is all about being made spiritually alive and to help lead others to also be made spiritually alive.
Miracles may be seen with natural eyes now, but men need to see the kingdom of God and their reason and purposes for being here for an earthly timeframe. Man needs to see more than just mere signs and wonders, they must see and have and give life, eternal life!
Just as Jesus came to the earth and lived for a time, so does every human being alive, come to earth born as a baby, living here for a time, and then leaves earth whenever their timeframe is over and they then return to God to stand before Him to see if they embraced and lived out His truth all of their earth time when they had opportunity to!
Looking upon Jesus like we have of statues of Him crucified was not the idea God had to save men. He wanted to point us to the redemptive power of His Son’s life born here, lived out on earth, and given up to God for others’ sins.
When Jesus said I’ll be lifted up for all men to see Me, He meant that. That they’d see and copy that, not by being physically crucified, but willfully offered, alive and living on earth as wiling sacrifices, not killed, but demonstrators of lives who live for only this. This, the promise, eternal life being the most important thing to live for. For our earth days not being enough, no matter how many one has, to accomplish enough of His will through as many as will see it, go for it, live it, exemplify it, as he would, and give it for others to also see this, everyday.
God did not come to condemn the world but to save it. When we hear His messages as condemnation, we’re not hearing them in their correct light. Any instruction God gives to us is to show us a better way to go. He’s teaching us things we’ve not known, all we need to do is embrace the instruction, learn new ways and live.
John the Baptist’s statement should be our statement – as earthly messengers of God’s words of life to those who need His great love revealed. He said here - The bride (His church will follow the ways of her husbandman Jesus, She-) will go where the bridegroom is. A bridegroom's friend rejoices with him. I am the bridegroom's friend, and I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them."
Obedience is a sure sign of everlasting and true love.
Have you sensed His great love for you yet?
Do you know He went to the very depths of the ocean for you? He sent His Son. His Son was killed for your sins. He loved YOU specifically that much.
How much today do you love Him in return? Do you give of your life for Him, now, while you’re still alive? Do you hold anything back for yourself?
Give it ALL, all of your life, all of your earth days for Jesus.
He gave it ALL for you!