Good morning. Pursue peace
with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
First of all it is in the imperative tense. That means it is not a suggestion –
it is a command. Secondly, we have to pursue peace and sanctification. They
don't just happen without effort (legally sanctification does, but
experientially it does not). In today's world, it takes a lot of effort to have
peace with others. They don't want peace. It's like Israel with some of the
groups they have conflicts with. The groups don't really want to have peace
with Israel. No matter what Israel might do, they would still want the
destruction of Israel. Do you want to see the Lord – pursue sanctification. See
to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness
springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled. A root of bitterness
can be very hard to get rid of. It's like some plants that you would like to
get rid of. If you just chop them off at the top and don't dig them up by the
roots, they will come back over and over again. You may think you have the
root, but then something happens and bitterness springs up again. As long as
there is no provocation, the root of bitterness remains hidden. But then… it
takes more than Roundup to get rid of that root of bitterness. Father thank You
that the reader constantly pursues peace and sanctification. He/she makes sure
that others do not come short of the grace of God.
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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