Born Again

February 5th, 2024
by Nathan Boyd

Scripture

John 3:1-8, 16-17, NLT
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just 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.”

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Devotion

As a kid who was raised in church, I reached an age when most of my church friends had made decisions to follow Jesus and had been baptized. I had not, and every time our church had communion, I couldn’t participate. I felt left out. I was left out. So because I believed all the facts about Jesus (that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay for my sins, and rose again), I made a “profession of faith” and our pastor baptized me.
The only real change in my life at that time was that I got to drink the grape juice.

Years went by and I knew something was missing in my life. Trying to be a good Christian, I read my Bible. One day I came across this verse in John where Jesus said, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, ESV). Like Nicodemus, I didn’t understand what Jesus meant about being “born again,” but I knew it had never happened to me. For over a year and a half I struggled with this. I tried to convince myself that the steps I’d taken as a child were enough to get me into heaven.

Thankfully God didn’t leave me alone. He continued to work in my heart. One day I decided I’d had enough of my own way and I wanted Jesus. I surrendered my confused and troubled heart to Him. Immediately I had a new heart and a new outlook. 2 Corinthians 5:17 was true in my life, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT)

Action Step

Take time to read through John 3:1-21. What did Jesus mean when He said, “You must be born again”?

Take time today to write out your “born again” story. How did you come to Jesus? What differences has He made in your life?

Who do you need to share this good news with today?

Prayer

Father, thank you for your convicting Holy Spirit, who reminded me again and again that I needed Jesus. Thank you for your mercy and patience, your love and grace.

Posted in For Generations