Since the teaching and life of Jesus was so radical to the Jewish tradition, Nicodemus came to Him at night, I suppose to avoid being seen hanging out with Him. Of course, His life and teaching still affect us that way.
So, it is not enough to acknowledge Jesus as a great teacher, nor enough to know so much about the bible that you could be called a ruler of the Jews. Jesus even went so far as to say to Nicodemus, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” (John 3: 10) When we stand before the Lord at the judgment, He will not ask us if we followed Jesus’ teachings, or how much of the bible we can quote. He will either know you as one of His own or not. There is a parable Jesus told about ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, which is a metaphor of Jesus and His Bride, the church, all collective believers from all ages. At the end of the story He says to the foolish ones, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” (Matt. 25: 1-12) Now, it is obvious that God is aware of every single thing in His creation, so knowing them or not in this passage refers to intimate friendship. By the way, scripture is clear that there is a judgment. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” (Hebrews 9: 27, 28) Notice the adverb used in the second sentence. Eagerly waiting should be the normal life posture of the believer. The dictionary definition of eager is: keenly desiring; wanting very much; impatient or anxious; ardent. In the old King James Version the Greek word is translated as “looking for,” which is a good mental image. When you are in love, you can’t wait to see that person. You daydream and fantasize about them. The clock seems to move very slowly while they are away from you. Do you think God loves you that much? It seems incredible that the Lord of all creation would even be aware of my existence let alone be in love with me. But the scripture is very clear.
If you don’t know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, now is the time. Today is the day of salvation. The biblical way to salvation is from the heart through the mouth. Paul explained this with several Old Testament references in his letter to the Romans.
You may feel a gentle nudge inside you after reading this, and it may stay with you for a while. It is the Lord’s Holy Spirit calling you. Talk to Him, tell Him you love Him and want to live with Him forever. Make Jesus the Lord of your life and enter God’s rest.
AER Amps Short for Audio Electronic Research, these amps are spectacular for acoustic guitar and are very small and lightweight. With a very clean direct out, it acts as a monitor in a church or concert situation and sounds great in the P.A.
D'Addario Strings I endorse D’Addario strings and am confident there is the right set of strings for you no matter what style of music you play.
D’Pergo Guitars Stefan D’Pergolas specializes in strat and tele bodies made out of old growth wood. He made a tele-style for me and it is sweet.
Fender I have a Fender Vibralux and a Princeton both from the early ’70’s that I love.
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