God’s Life in You

 

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” JOHN 3:3

 

PONDER THIS

Parents don’t manufacture babies. Parents transmit life from themselves to the child. I have in me the life of my father, Arden Rogers, and the life of my mother, Rose Rogers. That life continues in me. When you are born again, the life of God comes into you. God’s life is put into you, and you are a part of the life of God.

Salvation is not simply getting Man out of Earth into Heaven; it is getting God out of Heaven into Man. It is the life of God that comes into you. The theme of the Gospel of John is life. By your first birth, you have existence, and by your second birth, you have supernatural life. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I’ve come that you might have life” (author’s paraphrase). When you are born again, you are a partaker of God’s life, a partaker of the divine nature. The life of God is in you.

If you are saved, God’s life continues in you. Are you representing Him every day?

What are some areas in which God is currently growing His life in you? What parts of your life are hard for you to surrender to Him?

PRACTICE THIS

Talk to a fellow believer and ask your friend to share how he or she sees you representing Christ. Ask also about any areas in which you may need to grow.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Must Be Born Again

PRAY OVER THIS

“…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” 1 Peter 1:23

 

PONDER THIS

The Bible teaches that those who are members of the Church are not members simply because their parents were members of the Church. They must be born again. They must have a new birth. Jesus said to Nicodemus, who was already religious, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). If you only are born once, you will die twice. The first death is the physical death; the second death is eternal death in the lake of fire.

But if you’re born twice, you can only die once. Your physical body may die, but your spirit, forever united with the Lord, will be with Him in glory. The Lord said, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Born once, you die twice. Born twice, you only die once.

Have you been born again through Jesus? If not, how is He speaking to you about that today?

If so, how does your life look different compared to before you met Jesus?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time today to share with another person your experience of being born again.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Don't Argue Someone Into Heaven

BIBLE MEDITATION

“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.” John 3:3-5

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

If you know someone who is not a Christian, don’t try to argue. Nobody was ever argued into the kingdom of Heaven. Anything someone can argue you into, you can be argued out of. The problem is, that person cannot see. Would you scold a blind man for not seeing? But a blind man would be foolish to say there’s no light just because he cannot see it.

There is light, but man needs more than light. He needs sight. “...unless one is born again, he cannot see….” He may have 20/20 sight, but spiritually he’s blind. “Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18). The eyes may be fine, but the heart is blind.

Maybe you’ve shared the Gospel with people—even members of your own family—but they haven’t a clue as to what it’s all about. They never will, until the Holy Spirit opens their understanding.

ACTION POINT

It takes more than preaching for someone to be saved; it takes the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray, “God, open the eyes of those who have been blinded, that the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the image of God, might shine on them.” (See 2 Corinthians 4:4.) Before I ever preach, I get on my knees and pray, “God, for those who need Jesus Christ, give them sight.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers