“‘There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.’” v.18-21

Nicodemus, a Pharisee (Jewish religious leader) seeks Jesus out after dark to ask questions.  Some very good questions I might add, well worth reading on your own.   I do believe Nicodemus is at a crossroads.  He wants to believe Jesus and realizes who Jesus is, but the pull from the other Pharisees causes him to be timid, fearful and cautious.  Thats why he seeks Jesus at night.

I think though when it comes to sin (darkness) and truth (light) we all have that battle of knowing what we should do, but for some reason we stay stuck in the sin that we wish we didn’t do.  I hope that make since.  Jesus words are piercingly true.  We run from the light if we feel it will expose that dark place in our heart that we are battling or struggling with.  For some we avoid that light because we like the sin or darkness. We are fearful of conviction and the shame that might follow if it is exposed. Sometimes we would rather live in the sin, because we don’t like to deal with the guilt and shame that comes we feel when we compare our lives to God truth and light.

However, if we ever want to be more like Jesus, if we ever want to be freed from a specific, we have to let the light shine in all areas of our life, exposing those dark secret places, that sin, that we try to hide so often.  Today, what secret sin need to be exposed to the light?  Who is one person you could talk with and share your struggle and ask them to pray and hold you accountable as you bring this situation into the light so God can deal with it and you can experience freedom from it?  May we be people who aren’t afraid of the light of Christ, knowing that it make us more like Him and less like sin.

“Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like.” v.23-25

Jesus has just turned water into wine, using ceremonial hand washing water (aka dirty water) and cleared the temple of money changers. People are beginning to ask, “who is this guy?” After clearing the temple the Jewish leaders ask him who has given him the authority to do such a thing? He simply responds with, “destroy this Temple and I will rebuild it in three day.” Little did they know that he was talking about his own body and not the temple building.

After seeing these two things, Jesus own disciples believed even more that he was the Messiah, but a crowd began to emerge as well. The verses above say that Jesus didn’t trust the crowd. Ouch! Why didn’t he trust the crowd? Because he knows how we are. It is easy to follow Christ and when we are in environments conducive to that on a mission trip, at camp, or a conference. It’s easy to follow when we see awesome things happen in His Name. I guess the point is . . . it’s easy to follow Christ when things are easy and others are doing the same thing.

Sadly, life isn’t always easy, and people don’t alway value becoming like Christ or living like Christ. Camp, Retreats, Mission Trips, and Conferences end and we have to go back to the “everyday us.” This is where I see many people give up, loose heart, forget what God has said to them and go back to an old life style. It’s a shame to have to say, but it so easy for us to fall victim too if we don’t spend time with God daily through prayer, reading His Word, and Fellowship with other Believers. We need it!!!

How about you, do you find yourself on a roller coaster ride when it comes to your faith? Have you had great experiences with God and then seemed to have given up? Why don’t you ask God for His help and begin today with a new start by spending time with Him. It may take some time, but you can begin to see and experience Him in your “everyday life”.

“John announced: ‘Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!’” v. 7-8

The prophet Isaiah said that the Messiah would have someone preparing the people for His coming. This someone was who we call John the Baptist. John was calling people to repentance and baptizing them to show outwardly that they had repented from their sin and were turning to God.

John knew his mission: declare the coming of the Messiah! One day as John was baptizing, Jesus comes to be baptized. Jesus didn’t have to be baptized because he hadn’t sinned, and well, He had the whole God things going on. But Jesus was baptized for a couple of reasons.

(1) His Baptism marked the beginning of His earthly Ministry to bring Salvation to all people.

(2) His Baptism showed support of John Ministry.

(3) His Baptism allowed him to identify with us, sinners who needed salvation, forgiveness of sin.

(4) His Baptism gave us an example to follow.

Later, the church would use Baptism as a way to show on the outside what Jesus had done on the inside, changing a persons heart. Baptism is a symbol of Jesus Death, Burial and Resurrection. When someone is baptized they are showing people that:

(1) They Believe they are a sinner in need of a savior.

(2) They Believe Jesus to be the Savior of the world.

(3) They Believe Jesus is the only way to experience this Salvation.

(4) They have put their Faith and Hope in Him and plan to live the rest of their life for Him.

Have you experienced Jesus in this way? Have you followed the example of Christ by being Baptized?