"Continuity"

 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" (John 3:10-12 KJV)

  ""Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son. Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem's birth pains begin, her children will be born. Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not delivery it?" asks the LORD. "No! I would never keep this nation from being born," says your God." (Isaiah 66:7-9 NLT) 

  Personally, I look for the Lord to come for His bride at any moment; just to be ready, is my prayer and my hope! Even with that, if I could trade my readiness for some of those for whom I pray for, I would gladly go through the mess ahead, just to make sure they were safe and secure. Wouldn't you? 

  As I was thinking about this section of God's word, it dawned on me that Jesus was pressing into a part of Nicodemus that is very dear to my own heart; it is about connecting the dots! Seriously! We that have tasted and have seen the truth, should be more connected to the power source, that which is able to be powerful enough to change even the most stubborn life. 

  I know I might be on shaky ground here; but there are limits we place on how much change we really want God to have in our lives; and those same limits are the reasons that God's power is limited upon and in our lives. To be straight to the point: Nicodemus was a leader of Israel, the nation of Israel: meaning, the worldly version of Israel, which is that of this world! 

  The picture is really quite simple: we have been saved to show forth a certain power, one that can change the dead to life, the blind to sight, the lame to walk, and those in bondage to be set free; yet, we seldom welcome that same power to change ourselves; we do that by placing limits on the amount of change God will do in our lives. Nicodemus was a teacher of God's law, yet did not have God's law written upon his own heart. 

  In the interest of time, which I have so little of, here is a little quote from Matthew Henry in regard to what Jesus was asking of Nicodemus: "This word is a reproof, [1.] To those who undertake to teach others yet are ignorant and unskillful in the word of righteousness themselves. [2.] To those that spend their time in learning and teaching notions and ceremonies in religion, niceties and criticisms in the scripture, and neglect that which is practical and tends to reform the heart and life." 

  Connecting the dots, is far different, when you are not a dot yourself...

"Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the LORD, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever." (Psalm 15 NLT)