What? Yes, if everyone took for self enough to meet the immediate needs and released the rest for those in need of it, there would be no rich, no poor in our community! Hmmm!!! A Scottish proverb has it that, ” Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.” What makes it interesting? Jesus Christ says, “…Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the…
Basil of Caesarea said: “I am wronging no one,” you say, “I am merely holding on to what is mine.” What is yours! Who gave it to you so that you could bring it into life with you? Why, you are like a man who pinches a seat at the theatre at the expense of latecomers, claiming ownership of what was for everyday use. That’s what the rich are like; having seized what belongs to all, they claim it as…
1. “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 2. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 3. “Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever…
Yes, the Christian is essentially born again! As believers in Christ Jesus, we are the Christian! The phrase “born again” applies to people who have been born from above, that is, people who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour/Christ or Redeemer. The born again or the christian soul realises that they are a sinner (Romans 3:23) and that the penalty for that sin is death (Romans 6:23). To rectify the circumstances, God sent His only Son to die in their…
Ever central a subject matter! The ancient Greek word translated again (anothen) can also be translated “from above.” Essentially, this is the context, which John used this word in John 3:31 and John 19:11 and 19:23. Either way, the meaning is fundamentally the same. To be born from above is to be born again. That’s it!!!
1. “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 2. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” 3. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’” 4. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory…
Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “It is better to light one small candle than curse the darkness.” Yes, darkness is a cursed reality if you care to understand such a statement! Particularly in light of what we know in 1 Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”(ESV). A Jewish proverb will say: “A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness.” I…
Mother Teresa said: “Do not look for Jesus away from yourselves. He is not out there; he is in you. Keep your lamp burning, and you will recognize him.”
1. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2. “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” 3. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism…
Yes, Jesus Christ declared that new life must come with new birth! Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3): Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus exhausted the Jewish assumption that their racial identity – their old birth – guaranteed them a place in God’s Kingdom. Jesus made it plain that a human’s first birth does not confirm him or her of the kingdom; only being born again gives this certainty. Such a position was parallel to the broader…