Good morning. Paul says:
for we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner
man is being renewed day by day. It is easy to lose heart when one sees the
body essentially falling apart. And it is hard enough just with the natural
aging process; but if there's some sort of disease or affliction it makes it
almost impossible to not lose heart. However our inner man, the one that really
matters, can be renewed every day as long as we keep our faith in God and His
word. Paul was under a lot of trials and afflictions and he still said: for
momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far
beyond all comparison. Note the contrast: momentary and light affliction versus
eternal and weight of glory. What he went through was definitely not light
affliction, and I'm sure did not seem like it was momentary to him while he was
going through it. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the
things which are not seen are eternal. Remember from Hebrews Chapter 11 about
faith and hope. We believe in what we cannot see. If we could see it, we
wouldn't need faith. We cannot see ourselves being raised from the dead and yet
we believe that it will happen. For we know that if the earthly tent which is
our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens. Note the contrast – tent versus building; the
first is weak and lasts a short time, the second is strong and lasts a very
long time. The tent is here, the building is in heaven. For indeed in this
house we grown, longing to be clothed with that dwelling from heaven; and
inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. Father thank You
that we have that eternal dwelling in heaven - that strong building versus this
earthly tent we live in now. Help us to keep our eyes on that, whenever
something here on earth goes wrong with our earthly tent.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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