John 3:3-8
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
- Reflect On: John 3:3-8
- Praise God: For building a kingdom that will endure.
- Offer Thanks: That God has called you into His kingdom.
- Confess: Any tendency to try to pressure or force others to believe.
- Ask God: To help you to spread the kingdom His way.
Have you ever thought about the challenges of being a king—of presiding over a large group of people with differing temperaments, desires, needs, values, and interests? If you’ve ever been a parents, a teacher, a boss, or a building contractor, you know how difficult it can sometimes be to get people to act responsibility—like trying to get ducks to fly backwards or dogs to stop barking. Of course, one way to get people to behave is to force them.
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The tendency to try to control people crops up even in free societies where filmmakers distort the truth to sway public opinion or political parties use lies and half-truths to influence elections. But God’s kingdom, presided over by the most powerful ruler in the universe, operates on entirely different principles. Its integrity depends not on external forces but on the internal, indestructible power of Christ’s love. Our king begins by inviting, never compelling, us to join His kingdom. When we do, He reverses the outside-in formula whereby we are forced to conform, and instead, begins to transform us internally by the power of His Spirit. …
Thank God today for the greatest of all invitations—to entrust your life to King Jesus, who calls you to live and reign with Him forever. And while you are thanking Him, remember that there is never any compulsion in Christ. We cannot pressure or coerce others into the kingdom. …Each of us is called not to advance the kingdom by force but to spread it through the contagious power of Christ’s love. Pray today that God will use your life as an eloquent invitation to bring others to Himself, so that they may join you in praising Him as King of kings and Lord of lords.
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